Goldman paints rosy outlook for 2020, Robinhood pulls bank charter request, and Asia finds Wall Street's toughest exam a breeze: This Week in Finance

Welcome to This Week in Finance, your weekly roundup of the conversations trending among financial professionals on LinkedIn. Click Subscribe above to be notified of each edition. This week:

Goldman Sachs's 2020 predictions

Goldman Sachs painted a rosy outlook for 2020. Predictions by a team of the bank's economists were highlighted by an acceleration in growth. They expect consumer spending to remain strong as the U.S.-China trade war will likely subside. They also foresee the rate of unemployment dropping to its lowest level in roughly 70 years, with the risk of a recession dropping to one in five from one in three. For the U.S. economy, the team named next year's presidential election as the single biggest risk. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Disrupting finance isn't easy

Disrupting an established industry like banking isn't as easy as it may seem. That may be the case with Robinhood, the rapidly growing online broker valued at $7.6 billion, which pulled its application for a U.S. bank charter after submitting it in April. The process has dogged other fintech companies, including Square and Social Finance, as U.S. regulators and even courts debate how the system should be designed. Experts say Robinhood will now likely seek to partner with banks that can handle and insure users' deposits while the startup broker continues adding bank-like features. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Schwab confirms $26B broker deal

Charles Schwab announced an agreement to buy rival TD Ameritrade for $26 billion as the brokerage industry undergoes a price war. Schwab in October revealed plans to eliminate commissions, forcing other brokers to follow suit. Buying Omaha-based TD, if approved by regulators, would create a behemoth with $5 trillion in combined assets, helping Schwab compete with companies like BlackRock as the industry undergoes rapid change. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Golden era for Canadian gold mergers

Canadian miner Kirkland Lake Gold is set to buy Detour Gold, which operates a mine in northeastern Ontario, for $4.9 billion. Last year, Newmont Mining bought Goldcorp and Barrick Gold took over Randgold Resources, creating industry giants that may have furthered pressure for other Canadian gold miners to consolidate, according to Bloomberg. The gold industry is more fragmented than other commodities, leaving more room for mergers, noted the Financial Times. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Aramco's retail tranche fully covered

The retail subscription for Aramco’s IPO reached $8.7 billion, according to lead manager Samba Capital. The oil giant is offering 1.5% of its shares on the Saudi stock market, dedicating 0.5% to retail investors. The indicative price range was set between 30 and 32 riyals, and subscription for retail investors ends on Nov. 28. Sources told Bloomberg that Abu Dhabi is planning to invest $1.5 billion in the IPO through one or more government-related entities. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Asia acing Wall Street's hardest test

Asia's finance workers are gunning for the chartered financial analyst (CFA) title in droves. With the region's demand for finance talent growing and American MBAs remaining a luxury, 120,000 in Asia-Pacific — comprising half of all applicants — sat for the test last year. Accustomed to grueling exams, China's CFA hopefuls find the long hours of study required for "Wall Street's toughest test" manageable, Bloomberg reported. Global pass rates have risen to 46% last year, from 41% in 2012. ?? Here's what people are saying.

—With Monica Fike, Riva Gold, Lynn Chouman, and Yunita Ong.

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