Barron's Latest Picks And Pans: Airbnb, Bank Stocks, Dividend Aristocrats And More

• This weekend's Barron's offers the guidance of a variety of experts on what's ahead for the global economy and the markets.
• Another featured article examines why the Dividend Aristocrats may be the best bet now.
• Also, the prospects for bank stocks and a highly anticipated IPO under a Biden administration.

"Howard Marks Outlines Investment Opportunities, Risks" by Lawrence C. Strauss offers wisdom from Howard Marks, co-chair of Oaktree Capital Management, whose strategies include distressed assets and high-yield debt. See why his regular memos to Oaktree clients are read widely on Wall Street and beyond.

Reshma Kapadia's "Climate Change Is the Biggest Investment Opportunity Post-Covid" features advice from Afsaneh Mashayekhi Beschloss, founder and CEO of RockCreek. The firm manages $15 billion on behalf of pensions, endowments and foundations, with a focus on sustainability and emerging markets.

In "The Biggest Investment Opportunity for Americans Is China, Bridgewater's Karen Karniol-Tambour Says," Reshma Kapadia features the views of the director of investment research at Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund. Find out why her boss, Ray Dalio, once likened her to a "vacuum cleaner of learning."

Jens Nordvig is the founder of Exante Data, whose focus on data helped the firm see just how big a problem COVID-19 would be — and how to navigate it. So says "How to Invest in the Recoveries of the World's Hardest Hit Countries" by Ben Levisohn. See how to invest in the economic recoveries of Mexico, Thailand and other countries.

In Andrew Bary's "Why Bitcoin Is the Best Investment Opportunity Post-Pandemic," see what historian Niall Ferguson, the prolific author, creator of the TV series The Ascent of Money and founder of Greenmantle, a macroeconomic and geopolitical advisory firm, has to say about what will drive the cryptocurrency higher.

"Overconfidence Could Be Investors' Biggest Mistake, Richard Thaler Says" by Jack Hough offers guidance from Nobel Prize-winning behavioral economist Richard Thaler, who is co-founder of Fuller & Thaler, an asset manager that looks for bargains created when investors overreact and underreact. See how investors can avoid being punished by overconfidence.

See also: Benzinga's Bulls And Bears Of The Week: Amazon, Apple, Ford, GE, Palantir And More

Home-sharing upstart Airbnb could be one of the hottest initial public offerings of the year, and it is poised to gain when travel recovers, according to Andrew Bary's "Airbnb's IPO Will Be Hot. Its Stock Will Be Worth the Price." Discover how much of a challenge the online marketplace poses to the likes of Expedia Group Inc EXPE and to Marriott International Inc MAR. Its listing is expected in the middle of this month.

In "7 Bank Stocks That Could Thrive in the Biden Era," Carleton English points out that the market found comfort in the naming of Janet Yellen as Treasury secretary, but it still favors regional banks such as Bank of New York Mellon Corp BK, Comerica Incorporated CMA and Fifth Third Bancorp FITB over the big banks.

Lawrence C. Strauss's "Best Bet in a Down Year: The Dividend Aristocrats" says that consistent dividend growth over at least 25 years made up the best-performing basket of dividend stocks tracked by Wolfe Research, including many of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, such as AT&T Inc. T and Johnson & Johnson JNJ.

Also in this week's Barron's:

• A checklist will get your financial life on track
• Financial advice for women in their 50s
• Financial advice for women in their 20s
• Why the renminbi will gain wider use globally
• How the COVID-19 crisis could turn into another financial crisis
• Why the coronavirus pandemic was not a black swan event
• How the ugly jobs report was may be good news for stocks
• Why bond investors are taking on more risk
• Whether gold prices will continue the march higher in 2021
• How the technology behind plant-based meat substitutes is just getting started

At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.

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Photo courtesy Airbnb.