Winners and Losers of 2022, Part 2 – The Losers.
I am pleased to announce my picks for the first annual “Who’s Eating Your Pie? Winners and Losers of the Year Awards.” I have selected four winners and four losers, each of whom helped to shape our perspective on economic and cultural success in 2022. In this post I share the losers.
#4 Interest Rates
In an effort to curb skyrocketing inflation and market worries about a recession, the Federal Reserve in 2022 determined to curb the process by implementing a series of interest rate hikes. If you were hoping to ride the last decade’s wave of low interest, 2022 brought a rude awakening.
#3 Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency is far from dead, but it took a dizzying blow towards the end of 2022 with events like the fall of FTX, the demise of billions in crypto assets, and steady cries from the international community to prevent further bloodlettings and fraud through heightened government regulation. Like the phoenix, we may see cryptocurrency rise from the ashes and take its place as a highly respected and safe medium of exchange, but 2022 was not its finest hour.
#2 Big Tech
It was a rough year for Big Tech. After the better part of a decade soaring in low-inflation, low-interest rate skies, the gang at Silicon Valley began to feel the heat of Icarus. There are numerous examples, including Tesla, Meta, and Apple, each of which took a tumble, but no tech giant did as poorly as the energy tech company Generac (GNRC), down 74%, which sent it to the bottom of the S&P 500 for 2022.
#1 Covid 19
The Covid 19 pandemic hit the world during the waning days of the Presidential Administration of Donald Trump. It exploded during the Biden administration, and debates raged over the origin, meaning, lethality and proper response to the virus. We were shut down, shut in, and even shut up as a nation. The implication of the virus and the governmental response to it for the lives of millions and the economy as a whole were far reaching. But by Spring of 2022 , Americans had experienced just about enough of the cultural meltdown and governmental heavy handedness. Covid 19 took a back seat, and a majority of Americans were no longer willing to let the threat of this sickness redefine their lives.