Ads, EVs, and Dirty Words

With a saturated EV market and a massive bait-and-switch from our favorite streaming platforms, it’s time to discuss a particularly dirty word. March 05, 2022 [Turn on your images.]( Ads, EVs, And Dirty Words Streaming services. Most of us pay for more of them than we’d care to admit, but the ability to watch our favorite shows whenever and wherever we want, ad-free, is worth every penny. But what if all that went away? What if streaming platforms were about to pull the biggest bait-and-switch we’ve ever seen? Will it eventually be easier to just keep your money and go back to cable? Also, we’d like to take a moment to discuss a particularly DIRTY word. It’s not a nice word to say, it’s even less nice to hear…but given everything going on in the world, it needs to be said. Please don’t get offended. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Turn Your Images On] [Return Of The Ads: The Death of Broadcast And Streaming?]( Shawn Ambrosino If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 1,000 times: I believe that I grew up in the golden age of civilization. “Oh, come on, Shawn! How many times are we going to have to hear talk about how great it was to grow up during the 80s? Give it a REST!” No…No, I won’t give it a rest! I will wax nostalgic whenever the mood arises. As a GenXer, TV was a staple in my life. Our evenings revolved around the shows we were going to watch. Thursdays were the big days. “Cheers” and “Night Court” were two of my family’s favorites. Those nights were always filled with laughter. The biggest drawback, though, was commercials. As a kid, I hated commercials (except the ones during Saturday morning cartoons, where they introduced all the coolest new toys). They just always seemed to get in the way of the content I was trying to enjoy. However, I came to understand that the reason that we were watching that television for FREE was because of said commercials. My first exposure to quid pro quo… As an adult, I came to actually appreciate commercials because I liked to see how ad executives tried to “sell” me on their products. Some use humor, others fear, others just information–but they all tried to do one thing and one thing only: separate me from my money. The joke was on them, though. I wasn’t buying their products or paying for their TV shows that were being broadcast over network television stations. I’m nobody’s simp. A New Day For Home Entertainment Those were the days, right? Things have changed since then… Now, everybody’s streaming content over the internet rather than paying network TV stations to run their stuff. Every network and production company has its content streaming site, but the progenitor of the industry is definitely Netflix. They brought the idea of commercial-free, episodic “TV” shows via streaming to fruition, and ever since their first few shows (anybody remember Hemlock Grove?), they’ve only gotten better, even when competition popped up from almost everywhere. But what’s the tradeoff here? Back then, it was free content in exchange for being subjected to commercials. Now, we pay a monthly fee to watch our shows with no ads. Is it worth it? I guess it depends on who you ask. But as a guy that doesn’t watch a lot of TV (Gasp! I know, an 80s kid who doesn’t watch TV? The horror!), the very little TV I do watch is better without the distractions. So to me, it’s totally worth it. Commercial-free content is the way to go in my book…but there’s a catch. Not everybody can afford to pay multiple memberships to multiple streaming services. There are lots of great shows only available on certain networks, and each platform uses that specific show as the basis for its advertising. And before you ask, no… I haven’t seen Yellowstone yet. So, with economic hardships causing people to contemplate canceling some of their services, how are platforms ensuring that people get access to these shows can’t afford? Well, they’re meeting them in the middle. It seems that platforms like Disney+, WarnerMedia, Paramount Global, and others will be offering discounted prices for their platform…in exchange for some commercial content. The Biggest Bait-And-Switch In History So…we’ve come full circle. Except now, instead of getting free network television, you’ll get a chance to pay for it (admittedly a little less) AND watch commercials. Does anybody see how jacked up that is?! It’s one of the biggest bait-and-switches I’ve ever seen. But you know what? It’s going to work! People will choose the lower-priced version and deal with commercials in order to get the content they want to see - and it’s going to pad these company’s profits. Not only will they be getting money from the customer, but they’ll be able to charge companies a premium for an ad during one of their shows. It’s a brilliant move, but it makes me scratch my head and wonder if anybody is really paying attention anymore. This is probably a good move for Disney (DIS) though. They could use all the help they can get. [The company's StockPower rating leaves a lot to be desired, coming in as a very strong “bearish”](. Here, see for yourself… [Turn Your Images On] [(Click here to view larger image.)]( You wouldn’t think that a $255 billion company would need help, but they clearly need to do something to turn their outlook around, and maybe a little ad revenue will help do that. Either way, at least people who can’t afford the platform now will have a choice… And isn’t that what life is all about? --------------------------------------------------------------- [Turn Your Images On]( [Green Tech + Government Funding = Incredible Profits?]( Thanks to Section 40107 of the new infrastructure bill, the government is set to push $65 billion into the green tech market… According to my research, that’s 22X what the government gave Tesla over their entire history… Yet [one company]( stands out as a top candidate to receive a huge chunk of this cash… I’m talking about a tiny Silicon Valley firm that uses AI to crack open the largest untapped energy source in the world… With government backing, I believe the sky is the limit here… [To get the details of this stock, click here now…]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Turn Your Images On] [EV Wars Take A New TURN: Ford Announces New Electric Vehicle Division]( by Ryan James The EV wars are heating up once again. The race for the future of the automobile industry just took another turn (pun intended). [Turn Your Images On] Ford has announced that they will be separating their company into two divisions: one for traditional combustion engine cars and one for electric vehicle development. Dang, it’s getting real now. Game on, Elon Musk! [Turn Your Images On] The EV division will be called Ford Model E and the traditional car division will be called Ford Blue. The company is projecting that EVs will account for one-third of global sales by 2026 and half of global sales by 2030. Those are some lofty projections. They better hope for their sake that this whole EV market materializes because, as of now, EVs account for only 4% of new car sales in the United States. However, if you have been reading Money Moves these past five months, you know we are typically bullish on the future of electric vehicles, although a little skeptical on the short timespan for growth. But that time limitation isn’t a concern for the automakers that are charging forward with massive investments in EVs. The war for the future of EVs is getting intense. Last year, there was news from the Land of the Rising Sun that Toyota— long reluctant to get in on the EV game— announced that they intend on producing 3.5 million EVs a year by 2030. [According to the Wall Street Journal]( Toyota intends on making its upscale Lexus brand completely electric by 2030 in the US, China, and Europe. It is easy to forget given Elon Musk’s Twitter feed and his recent status as Time’s Person of the Year, but Tesla isn’t the only player in the EV market. Tesla might have been the first and most brash, but the other legacy automakers are catching up. Most notably Volkswagen and GM, and now Ford have also announced that they are stepping up their EV game. Here are a [few statistics]( that will impress your boys on the golf course or over a pint. In 2020, EVs made up about 5% of new car sales globally. In Europe, which has been more aggressively pushing electric vehicles, the number is 10%. And in Norway, new EV sales account for more than 70% of new car sales. By 2030, EVs are expected to make up 26% of all car sales globally. By 2040, Morgan Stanley projects that EVs will make up more than 72% of car sales globally. So, currently, Tesla has the most market share, but VW, BMW, Nissan, and others are quickly making up ground. And now you can add Ford into the mix. The next decade in the automobile industry is going to be fun to watch. Let the games begin! --------------------------------------------------------------- [Turn Your Images On]( [Executive Order 14008 Could Send This Small Energy Stock on a Tear]( [Here’s what you need to know.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Turn Your Images On] [The Dirtiest Word In The Financial Dictionary]( by Shawn Ambrosino Were you a fan of George Carlin? I know I was. I truly believe he was one of the most brilliant social commentators of our time. Note that I called him a social commentator, not a comedian. The truth is that while Carlin was funny and was considered a stand-up comedian…I never looked at him as such. To me, he was an observationist that was able to cut to the truth of our society, and he did it while making people smile and laugh, even when that truth wasn’t pleasant to hear. [Turn Your Images On] Funny? Yes… But his insight was worth so much more than just “stand-up material,” so to call him a comedian does a great disservice to who he really was. One of his greatest “bits” was his commentary on the seven words that you can’t say on television. I won’t list them here…but I bet you can guess what some of them are. Anyway, the segment showed just how ridiculous it is to have words that we can’t say because they're offensive because being offended is entirely subjective. Subjectivity creates a slippery slope. We don’t know where the line is drawn…or even who gets to draw that line. The Dirtiest Financial Word However, in the financial world, we’re a bit luckier. The words that “offend” are almost universal. To list a few: foreclosure, depression, insider trading, recession, inflation, short-seller… These kinds of terms get our hackles up–some more than others–but even so, there are certain people who don’t mind these terms, which brings us back to the subjective portion of this conversation. However, there is one term that is all-but-guaranteed to ruffle feathers across the board. That disgusting term is Stagflation. [Turn Your Images On] Did you just shudder at the mere mention of the word? Do you feel like you need a shower? Can’t say I blame you… Stagflation is the most disgusting word in the financial dictionary because it represents the non-movement of our economy. Say what you want about the other terms, but at least there’s movement involved. We know what to expect and what to do… When the word “stagflation” gets thrown into the mix, we’re stuck in limbo. Now, why are we even talking about stagflation? Well, because there are more than a few analysts talking about it in the financial news world right now. The war in Ukraine could easily exacerbate the global inflation that has been driving up prices on everything from food and gas to flights and hotels. While a recession could be possible, we’re not even in a bear market yet, so that’s a ways down the road. But stagflation? That could happen… easily. What is stagflation? Well, most consider “stagflation” an economic period of high prices coupled with little to no growth in the economy. It’s a pretty simple definition, though, it’s hard to pinpoint what the “high” and “low” are because, again, that stuff can be subjective. However, what’s important to understand is that historically, most of our economic recoveries ended with stagflation before turning into a recession–and seeing how we’ve had one of the longest recoveries to date since the crash of 2008, we may be overdue. Battling Stagflation: Where To Look So, if stagflation is on the table, what do we as investors do to combat it? Well, we start by finding financial havens that tend to grow during weird financial times. When it comes to combating stagflation, you want to find stocks that have STRONG earnings ability with a healthy cash flow. That means looking in the financials, materials, energy, consumer services, and healthcare sectors for those quicker returns. Or, if you think that stagflation is going to hover over our heads for a while, then you may want to find some longer-term prospects in domestic small-caps or even some emerging markets plays–save for ones in China, of course. You may want to avoid investing there. However, if stagflation is HERE, there’s really only one true kryptonite to bring it down, and that’s commodities. Metals, oil, natural gas–these are the safest places to be during a stagflationary period. Knowing all of this BEFORE it’s here will go a long way towards making sure we’re as prepared as possible. As much as I hate talking so negatively lately, the fact of the matter is that I don’t have a choice. My job isn’t to pull the wool over your eyes; it’s to show you all of the possibilities laid out before us, good or bad. I’d rather you know than be caught with your pants down. I believe that information defeats fear of the unknown… And if you’re not afraid, you can act accordingly to profit as much as possible. --------------------------------------------------------------- For more quality content like this, and to learn more about the Money Moves team, visit us at [( Privacy Policy The Money & Markets, P.O. Box 8378, Delray Beach, FL 33482. 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