Turning the Page 

Well, here we are, January 1st, 2021 is less than 24 hours away.  Each year, January ushers in feelings of optimism and new starts.  It all happens for a good reason: Janus.  Janus is the god of (among other things) time, transitions, and beginnings in ancient Roman religion. 

While a new beginning is nigh, the transition to normalcy will take more time.  Our economy suffered a devastating blow in 2020, one from which it continues recovering.  Even being months away from the trough and after trillions of dollars in stimulus funds have been added, this has not been sufficient to get output back to the level reached a year earlier.  Fortunately, vaccines are being doled out so the likelihood for further economic recovery is strong. 

Atlas’ general outlook remains constructive.  New technologies are being adopted at a rapid pace.  Surviving firms (which happen to be the majority of companies) are changing how they operate.  Vaccine manufacturers and the U.S. Government worked faster than ever, producing a response to the pandemic.  Rockets launched from American soil are putting astronauts back into space once again.  Rapidly improving computational power interacting with Artificial Intelligence is helping us understand more about the building blocks of life, and biologists keep finding new plant and animal species.  And, oh yeah, economic indicators continue recovering despite cringe-worthy headlines about coronavirus. 

Changing calendars is not a panacea for all that ails us right now, but time should be on our side.  A few months or quarters of challenges are likely ahead, but a transition seems to be afoot.  Before celebrating the beginning of a new year, Atlas would like to take moment to say thank you for being part of our journey in 2020, and we look forward to sharing 2021.