“How? Try to travel into the future and look back. In 2023, do you think you’re more likely to say, “Back in 2018, I wish I’d been more aggressive” or “Back in 2018, I wish I’d been more defensive”? And is there anything today about which you’d be likely to say, “In 2018, I missed the chance of a lifetime to buy xyz”? What you think you might say a few years down the road can help you figure out what you should do today.”
― Howard Marks

1. Amazon Expands Push Into Health Care With Online Pharmacy — the e-commerce giant on Tuesday unveiled Amazon Pharmacy, a section of its retail website and mobile application that lets people order medication. Shoppers can pay using their health insurance. Prime members who don’t use their insurance are eligible for discounts on generic and brand-name drugs on Amazon’s site or at about 50,000 participating pharmacies. Amazon’s new offering comes more than two years after its $753 million acquisition of PillPack, an online pharmacy known for organizing prescriptions into packets. This expansion puts the Seattle-based e-commerce company into more direct competition with pharmacy giants CVS Health Corp. and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., the two largest chains in the U.S.
2. Tesla Was Finally Added to the S&P 500 — S&P Dow Jones said the 17-year-old company would be added to the gauge in December. The committee is seeking feedback from investors on whether to add it in two separate pieces, an unprecedented step. At almost $390 billion in value and growing, Elon Musk’s company would be the biggest ever added to the benchmark. Given its heft, Tesla would likely be among the top 10 largest stocks in the S&P 500, falling somewhere between Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble Co., with a weighting of more than 1%. That would equal the combined value of the 60 smallest stocks in the benchmark.
3. The Boeing 737 MAX Jet Is Back — the FAA rescinded its temporary grounding of the plane, an order that had been in place for 616 days, or almost 20 months, beginning on March 13, 2019. The FAA officially directed at aircraft safety inspectors, investigators, and flight standards personnel responsible for aircraft oversight. They need to make sure all the MAX jets have updated sensors and software and that pilots have received the appropriate training.
4. US Covid Death Toll Passes 250,000 — The US, which has now registered 250,029 fatalities, has by far the highest national death toll, ahead of Brazil with 166,699 deaths, India with 130,993 deaths and Mexico with 99,026. Two trial vaccines have recently performed well in tests, offering hope for the US and world. The novel coronavirus has killed more than 1,343,000 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com: