Interesting Stories of 2016

I was recently listening to a Bloomberg news podcast where they were discussing the oddest/ interesting stories of 2016.

The stories that they chose were:

1. Jordan Belfort Imitator: Hedge fund manager, Brett Barner, threw a party featuring copious champagne showers, costumed dwarfs and more than 500 revelers in bathing suits swarming around a pool littered with pizza and bottles at $20 million .
2. Mexican Peso: The Mexican Peso’s fluctuation during the election cycle as the dollar strengthened when Trump was polling well and fell when he wasn’t was an interesting phenomenon to look at for forex traders and political columnists alike.
3. Private Prison: A recent Mother Jones article regarding the private prison conditions and Obama’s call to close the private prison industry resulted in private prison stocks to fall but bounced right back with the election of Donald Trump.
4. Goldman Sachs Trader in Tripoli: The Libyan government sued Goldman Sachs as a Goldman Sachs trader convinced the Libyan government to make failed $1.2 billion derivative trade.
5. Bank of Japan: During 2016, the Bank of Japan switched its monetary policy from quantitative easing to one which targeted specific points on the yield curve. It is yet to be seen whether or not this economic policy is going to work.

Wondering if you have a favorite/odd news story of 2016?

For me, the most interesting story in 2016 is not finance related, but sports related with the Cubs winning the World Series (and the Indians blowing a 3-1 lead). Congrats to all of the Cubbies out there.