Playboy — yes, that Playboy — has become the stock market's hottest play for NFTs with its shares jumping more than 150% since returning to public markets via SPAC on Feb. 11, even after a 20% correction over the last two days.

What's happening: Having shed its roots as a magazine dads kept hidden under their beds and rebranded as a sexual health and lifestyle brand, Playboy, now PLBY Group, is catching fire as investors look to cash in on the company's brand recognition and its future on the blockchain.

First-quarter earnings so far have been very strong, outpacing even the rosy expectations from Wall Street and that's a trend that's expected to continue for all of 2021. S&P 500 companies are on pace for one of the best quarters of positive earnings surprises on record, according to FactSet.

Why it matters: The results show that not only has the earnings recession ended for U.S. companies, but firms are performing better than expected and the economy may be justifying all the hype.

Yesterday saw more crypto speculation than any other day in history.

By the numbers: Coinbase, the stock, had $30 billion of trading activity on Wednesday alone. That's more than all the cryptocurrency that Coinbase, the company, trades in a week.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO) agreed to acquire PPD (Nasdaq: PPD), a Wilmington, N.C.-based contract research organization, for around $17.4 billion in cash.

Why it matters: This reflects the buoyed fortunes of CROs. Such groups got hurt early in the pandemic, when most clinical trials were paused, but now are humming gain — arguably busier than ever, as pharma seeks to preempt the next viral disaster.

Coinbase, the country's largest cryptocurrency exchange, is expected to go public today at what could be a valuation north of $100 billion.

Why it matters: This gives crypto a Wall Street seal of legitimacy, after an early existence marred by ties to illicit goods.

Asset management giants BlackRock and Temasek have created a new investment entity to stake companies capable of scaling up the deployment of climate-friendly technologies.

Why it matters: Decarbonization Partners is the latest sign of how finance giants — under pressure from activists but also seeing a big market — are steering more capital into clean energy tech and companies.

Money flowing to stocks globally in just the past five months ($576 billion) has exceeded the inflow seen over the prior 12 years by well over $100 billion, according to data from Bank of America Global Research.

Why it matters: It's further evidence that the sea change in investor psychology continues and has grown to a profound new level.

There are a growing number of signs the bull market in equities is overheating, with indicators of investor complacency and risk-seeking reaching the highest levels since 2007 and 1999.

Why it matters: Those periods of extreme euphoria were followed by market crashes.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is calling on companies to play a bigger role in the world’s problems, saying today in his annual shareholders letter that the business sector should be a “responsible community citizen."

Why it matters: Corporations are increasingly facing more pressure to take a stand on politically divisive issues.

Sarcos Robotics, a Salt Lake City-based developer of robotic exoskeletons, agreed to go public at a $1.3 billion implied valuation via acquisition by Rotor Acquisition (NYSE: ROT), a SPAC led by Wall Street vet Brian Finn.

Why it matters: Expect this one to get some special scrutiny from the SEC. Finn's venture capital firm, Rotor Capital, last year led a Series C investment in Sarcos and also participated in a CES product unveiling. And Finn seems aware of the potential pitfalls, mentioning the existing relationship early in today's investor presentation.