White House normality, GameStop’s wild ride and the world’s richest football clubs

Image of the week: West Wing calm

Fake news! Nasty questions! Disgraceful reporters! Well, no, actually. The White House is a different place these days, and in the press briefing room it has fallen to Joe Biden's press secretary Jen Psaki to say such outrageous things as "I'd love to take your question" and "I have deep respect for the role of a free and independent press" (while acknowledging to journalists that there "will be days when we disagree"). A rake of Trumpist, MAGA-adhering correspondents from right-wing television networks have been frantically applying for press credentials of late, so perhaps the astonishing normalcy of the past week and a half won't last forever. Still, what's a circus without its ringmaster? A reassuringly dull show.

In numbers: GameStop storm

2,000%

GameStop’s stock had, at one point, exploded by more than this percentage from the start of 2021, as Reddit-influenced day traders bought up the stock, waging war on professional short sellers.

236,000

“Likes” racked up by Tesla founder Elon Musk’s tweet linking to Reddit’s Wall Street Bets forum on Tuesday with the single word “Gamestonk!!”

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44%

Plummet in GameStop’s share price on Thursday as stockbroking app Robinhood enraged retail traders by preventing further stock purchases. Then, as the restrictions were lifted on Friday, another wild ride ensued.

Getting to know: Rodney Baker

Congratulations to Canadian casino mogul Rodney Baker (55) for fighting off the competition and becoming the first millionaire to be exposed for vaccine-jumping. Baker and his wife Ekaterina Baker (32) have been fined in Canada's Yukon territory for breaking Covid-19 protocols when they chartered a private plane from Vancouver to Beaver Creek, a remote community near the Alaska border to receive coronavirus vaccines intended for vulnerable residents. At the mobile health clinic, the Bakers claimed to be workers at a local motel, the Yukon News reported, their story only unravelling when they sought a lift back to the airport. Having succeeded in gambling with the lives of others, Baker resigned his position as chief executive of the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation.

The list: Money league

Accounting giant Deloitte likes to keep its eye on which soccer clubs are generating the highest revenue every year. So in the much-disrupted 2019-2020 season, which clubs stayed well out of relegation danger and vied for the top positions in its latest list?

5. Liverpool: Edging Manchester City into sixth spot, Liverpool racked up €558.6 million in revenues for their first appearance in Deloitte's top five in almost 20 years.

4. Manchester United: The absence of Champions League action during the season wasn't completely fatal to the club's performance, with the season yielding €580.4 million in revenues.

3. Bayern Munich: The Champions League winners were third with revenues of €634.1 million, helped by the German club's ability to complete a full domestic season within the timeframe studied.

2. Real Madrid: The La Liga winners were this year's runners-up in the Deloitte list with revenues of €714.9 million, coming tantalising close to the declared victors.

1. Barcelona: The champions narrowly retained the crown with revenues of €715.1 million in a close financial contest that, given the reduced ticket and TV income, no club will want to relive. Except maybe Liverpool.