How Is The US Housing Market Still Alive?

[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 [How Is The US Housing Market Still Alive?] How Is The US Housing Market Still Alive? We’ve reported on numerous stories showing how fragile the housing market is at the present moment. COVID-19 has undoubtedly done an incredible amount of damage, as many renters and households cannot afford to pay their full monthly payments on time. This in turn puts the landlords at financial risk, and… you know how the rest of the story goes. So why is it that the housing market hasn’t entirely collapsed yet, especially with the nearly 53 million jobless claims over the past 4.5 months and over 22 million jobs lost to date? For starters, there are an unprecedented amount of sales and NEW all-time historic lows with regard to mortgage rates (now below 3%). This means there are a LOT of willing and able buyers for a limited amount of supply, which in turn has allowed median home prices to go up by 4.1% last month to $295,300 (another record, by the way). As for where these buyers come from, it’s primarily workers in major cities and coastal states fleeing towards other areas where the living conditions are more affordable and the tax rates are far less punitive. Thanks to the skyrocketing number of companies allowing full-time remote work, there’s just no financial sense in setting up shop where home/apartment prices are so much higher. It also means office space is no longer needed, which helps companies save a pretty penny or two. We also have the generous 12-month forbearance for borrowers that came from the $2.2 trillion CARES Act passed by Congress four months ago, combined with several states issuing orders to prevent landlords from evicting their tenants for a short period of time. And last but certainly not least, the people who were most minimally affected by the coronavirus pandemic tend to be the high-income earners. While ~40% of people making +$75,000/year lost employment income, that number goes up to ~57% for people making less than $35,000/year. Keep in mind that all of this is only temporary. If we see a greater number of job losses amongst higher-income professions, along with fewer house sales and no extensions of any legal flexibility for distraught homeowners, the housing market could very well see another crash equivalent to – or worse than – the 2008 crisis. What do YOU think about all of this? Are we on the brink of yet another “2008” situation with respect to America’s housing market? Reply to this newsletter and let us know what you predict is going to happen! Investing [Millennials Bought Bankrupt Companies, Then Tesla… and Metals!?] Millennials Bought Bankrupt Companies, Then Tesla… and Metals!? Day traders in their 20s and 30s on the Robinhood platform have become notorious for buying bankrupt companies such as Hertz and artificially boosting their value… companies which have no business trading at a higher share value. Then it was Tesla, which shot straight up to $1,643/share on July 20 th. And in a very surprising move, thousands of millennials are flocking towards gold and silver exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Silver is now the 16th most popular stock on the Robinhood platform as of the past 24 hours, and the gold is currently being held by over 28,000 traders. This isn’t your average “f*ck it” options trade where investors stand to make or lose an incredible amount of money within a short period of time. Gold and silver are some of the most expensive commodities on the stock market right now, Just imagine how Wall Street would start reacting if gold shot up all the way to $2,500 and beyond. This would be the 3rd time over the past few months where retail investors had significant influence in the stock market, far more so than institutional investors. And from the looks of it, these reckless young adults are here to stay for the long haul… Don't Miss This [Stock Brokerage E-Trade Sets MULTIPLE New Records in Q2 2020] Stock Brokerage E-Trade Sets MULTIPLE New Records in Q2 2020 Speaking of never-before-seen trading volumes, Robinhood isn’t the only stock brokerage getting in on all the action. E-Trade has had a phenomenal Q2 2020 when it comes to new accounts created and record-breaking trading activity. Here are just some of the numbers they’re happily reporting to the rest of the world: - 327,000 new retail accounts (2,000 shy of the record set in Q1 2020) - Highest number of active revenue trades in a 24-hour period was 1.01 million (+267% from its record in 2019) - Retail organic asset growth in the first six months of 2020 EXCEEDS what was achieved in 2018 and 2019… COMBINED - Retail organic account growth in the first six months of 2020 ALSO exceeded the growth of the previous FIVE years combined So year-to-date, we have the following: 656,000 new retail accounts and $31.9 billion in retail asset flows. They’ve achieved a record quarterly revenue of $716 million at $0.88/share, which outperformed Wall Street’s expectations of $676 million and $0.76/share. And it’s not just them: Other brokerages such as Interactive Brokers, Charles Schwab, and TD Ameritrade are also reporting the same kind of unimaginable growth. This is truly the best (and worst) time in history to be a day trader, depending on how you look at it. And if this trend continues for the rest of 2020, everyone and their mother will be an investor in no time at all… Do YOU think this trend will keep going up? Or have we passed the “golden days” of trading? Reply to this newsletter and tell us what you think will happen in the next six months! [TikTok Will Finance “Emerging” Creators with a $200 Million Fund] TikTok Will Finance “Emerging” Creators with a $200 Million Fund TikTok is currently in an international fight for its survival. Facing threats from the Trump Administration for a nation-wide ban, along with an outright ban from several other American companies and even the nation of India, they need to resort to drastic measures to keep themselves afloat. So in an effort to provide its most influential and up-and-coming creators with a serious financial incentive to stay on the platform, they’ve launched a $200 million fund. The creators most likely to qualify are those leaning towards the “left” – aka supporting minority rights, advocating for greater LGBTQ presence, endorsing Democratic politicians, raising awareness about “social justice” issues, and all that good stuff. Folks, this is a borderline aggressive move to help creators earn money directly from the platform. Not even Instagram or YouTube have taken steps of this magnitude, and those platforms are known as literal money bags for people who can build up a sizable following. Yet there’s another reason why they’re doing this: Many TikTok influencers have started promoting their other social media accounts, possibly aware that TikTok’s days may be numbered. Additionally, the YouTube platform is the easiest path for online creators to monetize their content (via their ad-sharing scheme). TikTok influencers currently make money by advertising for companies, some even commanding as high as six figures for a promotion. This new move from TikTok would provide an additional monetization route, albeit directly through their platform. [1,600 Ann Taylor Stores Set to Close Amid Bankruptcy Filing] 1,600 Ann Taylor Stores Set to Close Amid Bankruptcy Filing Ascena Retail, one of the most iconic retail clothing conglomerates in the United States for women’s fashion wear, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to wipe out $1 billion in company debt. You may have never heard of them before, but they did $5.5 billion in sales last year across all the stores under their portfolio and currently employ a total of 40,000 workers. In order to salvage themselves, they’re going to have to close 1,600 Ann Taylor stores. For those of you who don’t know, Ann Taylor is part of Ascena Retail’s portfolio and they have spent the past few decades providing women in the United States with professional attire. They were acquired a few years ago for a total of $2.16 billion. Prior to the bankruptcy, the total debt held by Ascena Retail was $1.6 billion. Getting that amount down has required a large degree of bankruptcy financing from various lenders. The only silver lining in this story are two small pieces of information: Not only have 95% of stores reopened since the nation-wide shutdown, but the stores within the company’s portfolio are still actively trading on the stock market. [Environmentally Friendly “Whisper Quiet” Planes Are Coming] Environmentally Friendly “Whisper Quiet” Planes Are Coming Bristol-based engineering firm Electric Aviation Group has revealed something called a “Hybrid electric regional aircraft” (HERA), which promises to be the largest commercial hybrid plane in existence. The plane is still a concept in the developmental phase and it won’t officially be in service until 2028, but it holds huge promise for the aerospace industry in the form of new jobs and eco-friendly flying. Here are some of the key features they have released about the HERA to date… - Seats 70 passengers - Range of 920 miles (~1480 kilometers), which may expand to 1,381 miles after 2030 - Carbon-friendly, powered by a mix of jet fuel and electricity - Airborne battery regeneration and a 65% reduction in noise pollution - 70% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions (per passenger over a distance of 1 km) So far, 25 patents have been filed for the aircraft to date, and roughly $5 billion in funding will be required to get these planes into production via private sector investors and government funding. It’s definitely too early to say whether this will be a smashing success or a massive failure. But if it works, I would be VERY eager to fly on one of these planes! [Vote Now] PS. How useful did you find today’s update? 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