Will America Experience An “Economic Slowdown” In Q3?

[Daily Financial Journal]( [TODAY'S DEAL: Honestly, you should get this book](mailto:editor@dailyfinancialjournal.com?subject=Give+me+my+top+stocks+for+2020&body=Give+me+my+top+stocks+for+2020) Todays Top News [Will America Experience An “Economic Slowdown” In Q3?] Will America Experience An “Economic Slowdown” In Q3? According to high-level traders from the big banks of Wall Street, we just officially passed through trading nirvana and are entering a quarter of sub-par economic conditions. I know that sounds like gibberish to you, so let me explain exactly what I mean by “trading nirvana”… Bankers experienced 3-5 times the normal trading volume, which did wonders for dramatically increasing their fees in Q2 2020. Traders perceived the dip in March of this year as the perfect time for buying assets at dirt-cheap prices after the catastrophic sell-off of shares starting in late February. And the big banks themselves? Well, a COMBINED trading revenue of $33.4 billion was reported by Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, and Citigroup. The last time they made such phenomenal gains was in Q1 2020 at $33.7 billion. Compared to Q2 2019, this is an 80% increase in combined trading revenue. Yet the same traders who profited significantly from these unusual market conditions are warning us that this will likely never happen again. The sheer number of bond-buying programs initiated by the Federal Reserve, mixed with ultra-fast changes to client portfolios, were the two factors they used to explain their once-in-a-decade success. If anything, Q3 2020 is most likely going to be the same-old. The anticipated performance is going to be highly similar to some of the “average” quarters over the past couple of years. Some traders even predict trading revenues being 20-30% of what they were in Q2 2020. This may be bad news for those of you who failed to strike the iron while it was hot. But in another sense, this can be seen as some very promising news. Think about it: We would love nothing more than to see nation-wide economic stability. No surprises, no peaks, and no bottoms. Just steady, gradual, and predictable upward movements. We could certainly use a mental – and financial – break from all the chaos we’ve endured over the past six months. But what do YOU think about these traders’ predictions? Are they just trying to stop us from making more money, or are they on to something? Reply to this newsletter and tell us how you feel! Investing [Over 33% of Renters Failed to Pay This Month’s Rent on Time] Over 33% of Renters Failed to Pay This Month’s Rent on Time Even with the economy slowly starting to inch its way back towards its glory days before 2020, the housing market is still severely damaged. And if you’ve kept up with current events, you already know just how difficult it is for people to pay for their homes. Apartment List recently conducted a nation-wide survey and the numbers of shocking: 36% of renters were unable to make their full payments this month on time. When you consider that the overwhelming majority of Americans don’t even have 3 months’ worth of expenses saved up in an emergency fund, these circumstances turn from bad to worse. A minimum of $5,000 is required to pay off 3 months of housing for the average household in America. This doesn’t even include other essential costs such as gas, food, and healthcare. It won’t be enough to apply for mortgage relief payment via forbearance, which would last up to six months. Americans are in desperate need for a second round of funding that specifically helps people stay in their homes for longer. Oh, and the freeze of evictions granted by the CARES Act is going to expire by the end of this week. So unless you can cough up the money needed to make your monthly payments, you might see an eviction notice in your mailbox very soon… Don't Miss This [A Third of New York City Rentals Available at Discounted Prices!] A Third of New York City Rentals Available at Discounted Prices! Continuing on with the theme of housing market disasters, the ultra-expensive New York City is being forced to make some undesirable reductions in their rental prices. Due to the record number of people working from home, if not outright fleeing the city for states that are more tax-friendly and affordable to live in, demand is at an all-time low. 34.7% of all rental properties experienced an average discounting of 6.7% (~$220 per month), according to Fox Business News. Naturally, the highest cuts were seen from the costliest apartments. And many economists predict this will not be the only rent cuts in the foreseeable future. There are unoccupied buildings that have to be paid for, and landlords are beyond desperate to entice potential buyers to buy their now-useless properties. You want to know two more good reasons why this is happening? HINT: It rhymes with “Fuomo” and “de Flasio.” The incompetent governor of the state of New York, and mayor of NYC, have done everything wrong. Forcing sick COVID-19 patients into nursing homes, encouraging outdoor parades in March, abolishing the NYPD, and tactfully encouraging the violent looting and rioting taking place right now. Play stupid and dangerous games, win stupid and dangerous prizes. [Fewer Americans Skipping Their Mortgage Payments?] Fewer Americans Skipping Their Mortgage Payments? One last story about real estate before we move on to other topics, and one that shows the smallest sign of optimism… The Mortgage Bankers Association released some new estimates at the start of this week, and it turns out just under 4 million American homeowners are skipping their mortgage payments. Likewise, this is the 5 th week in a row where the percentage of Americans in forbearance has gone down. Four million sounds like a huge number until you look at this number in context. This is officially the lowest level of payment-skipping on mortgages in the past two months! In fact, new forbearance requests are much lower compared to the start of the COVID-19 crisis. How to explain this? Loosening of lockdown restrictions and stay-at-home orders. As businesses re-open their doors and employees return to their full-time jobs, Americans finally have the funds to make their payments on-time and no longer rely on extensions for paying off their mortgage loans. Things could easily change, especially since the exact details surrounding the 2 nd round of government-funded stimulus initiatives are unknown to us. But some progress is better than no progress at all… [Retail Subscriptions Have Increased by 145% Thanks to COVID-19] Retail Subscriptions Have Increased by 145% Thanks to COVID-19 In the e-commerce space, businesses are increasingly turning towards a subscription-based model. For a certain monthly fee, you can get a new “box” every month consisting of your favorite items and goodies. This was a trend long before the world got decimated by the coronavirus crisis. But COVID-19 has done something magical for businesses who rely on a subscription model. While obvious names such as Netflix and Disney+ experienced 89.9% growth in the streaming category, consumer goods saw a massive 145% increase in growth between the months of March and May. Rather than risk your health and safety to buy your favorite consumer goods, you can just have them delivered to you and enjoyed in the comfort of your own home. And unlike one-time purchases you may regret, a monthly subscription seems more affordable and can be easily canceled at any time. This is a phenomenal move for brands that customers exclusively rely on for one particular type of product (hygiene, clothes, etc.). Just make sure you aren’t burning a hole in your wallet through multiple subscriptions. Make sure you are actually USING and GAINING BENEFIT from any service you give your hard-earned money to! 😊 [Walmart Generously Rewards Its Workers with $428 Million in Bonuses] Walmart Generously Rewards Its Workers with $428 Million in Bonuses Walmart has done extraordinarily well since the start of COVID-19, as they’ve become the #1 stop for people who need quick and cheap access to essential goods. Fortunately, the hard work and labor of their employees hasn’t gone unnoticed. Which is why they’re going to pay anybody employed by July 31st a whopping $428 million in bonuses: $300 for full-time workers and $150 for part-time workers. Walmart has chosen to continue giving out bonuses to their workers (this is their THIRD round of bonuses) when other major retailers have suspended bonus payments. Furthermore, they are even exceeding the bonus payments from companies like Amazon by hundreds of millions of dollars. I just want to chime in here quickly with my own opinion: THIS is how you foster an exceptional workplace environment and retain your most valuable workers for the long run! Workers want nothing more than some form of recognition for the effort they are putting in, especially during a health pandemic where each working shift puts their safety at risk. This is the right move by Walmart and I hope to see many more good choices coming from their upper management this year… [Vote Now] PS. How useful did you find today’s update? 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