Market Mover #8

Last week featured the start of natural disasters in CA (wildfires, smoke) but also a continued fight in the political arena (USPS, ridesharing companies) and tech community. (Apple, Epic, Microsoft) We look to the past to learn but also help us predict the future. Behold below a selection of events that occurred last week that shape the market this week & beyond.

Source: https://www.vecteezy.com/vector-art/350820-vector-news-icon

#Health:

• Hoping to capitalize on his political position, the president pressured the FDA to authorize convalescent plasma treatment for corona patients. Treatment has not been scientifically backed and extreme caution is warranted #WearAMask #SocialDistance
• California is on fire, the set of fires known as the LNU Lightning Complex Fire covers almost 344,000 acres, destroyed at least 870 structures, and damaged more than 230 others. ~10% is contained
• Hazardous air, the wildfires raging in California are causing the hazardous smoke to flow through the air and settle in cities. Keep windows closed and limit outdoor exposure
• ~80,000 new Covid-19 cases in the San Francisco Bay Area, with 10,000 new cases as of last week there seems no end in sight, accept patience for a #vaccine, #precaution, #masks, and #socialdistancing

Source: SFChronicle

#Politics:

• The US House threw a $25B lifeline to the USPS to ensure smooth, mail in ballot processing for the upcoming elections. With the support of #26 republicans the White House still managed to veto the bill. #ToBeContinued

Source: USPS

• Americas of tired of choosing between 2 evils, with so many veto’s gridlocks, changing stance on the fly- its no wonder ~40% of Americans believe there need to be more political parties to fix the political system and actually get things done. Will this every become a reality in the US?
• Ridesharing hanging on by a thread, a new judge from the CA Appeals Court granted Uber and Lyft more time to overturn proposition AB-5 (hearing scheduled for October 2020) that forces them to reclassify their drivers as employees

#Tech:

• #Globalization is here to stay, despite the US pushing for American made products. It’s widely believed that in most cases local production hurts global competitiveness and domestic sales. According to the Harvard Business Review #deglobalization might seems like a good idea for goods of national health & security, but will for the most part hurt a country’s competitiveness in a time when globalization adds value and removes borders
• Microsoft sides with Epic against Apple lawsuit, as Microsoft themselves and other xbox game developers use the Unreal Engine they fear Apple’s actions to block developers (including Unreal Engine based games) from the Appstore will harm game creators and gamers
• Skyrocketing growth in online learning @pandemic, Lambda school, which offers virtual and part-time computer science courses as well as help students land a job raised $74 million in a Series C round

Source: Lambda

• Doordash declares war to grocery delivery platforms. Driven by fierce competition, thin margins, and the desire to #IPO near the end of #2020, Doordash is expanding its service categories to advance its strategy of becoming a logistics platform while opening up new revenue sources.

#Stock market:

• Bull speed ahead — Stocks opened up in a positive mood Monday morning with tech giants and optimistic coronavirus news on lower infections. This pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average up ~1%, and the S&P 500 & Nasdaq Composite both opened ~0.8% higher
• Upcoming earnings, companies such as #Salesforce, #Bestbuy, and #Intuit are set to share earnings this Tuesday, hoping to boost the overall stock market rally that occurred so far

Source: Google images

• Will consumer confidence & spending, pending homes sales, and jobless claims feed into the stock rally? Updates on these topics will partly determine the reaction for stock movements as the week progresses

#Zen moment:

Take a deep breathe, accept that not everything can be controlled. Try to sense the waves of change to ride them, and grow

If you have any questions or comments please reach out below. Views expressed in the articles are my own.