Extended stay occupancy levels show strength.

Trading algorithm bots are now much better than they were over a decade ago. In 2010, a mutual fund company Waddell & Reed Financial used an automated trading algorithm to sell 75,000 E-Mini S&P 500 futures contracts. This triggered a domino effect called ‘Flash Crash’ with the DOW losing 1000 points before quickly recovering.

Alright so today we’ve got:

• Families have had to take some tough financial decisions this past year.

• The extended stay market is staying strong.

• The popular slogan ‘Stay away from drugs, kids’, might adapt to ‘Stay away from Social Media, kids’.

  Let’s do a scan.

The Big Picture

An October 2022 Federal Reserve survey has brought light to the effects of inflation on US households. US adults who said they were worse off financially rose from 20% to 35% in the past year.

Inflation was the most common financial problem as 54% of families said that they were affected by overall prices. 66% of adults said they had to pull back on buying a product or halting a product subscription. 18% of adults said they approached rising prices by looking for another job while 8% asked for a raise.

The job market however still remains strong with the unemployment rate at a low 3.5%.

Sector Sweep

Tech

• Uber announced a multi-year partnership with Alphabet’s Waymo. Uber is looking to offer autonomous ride-hailing and food delivery services.

• US surgeon general Vivek Murthy’s office made a statement that research now indicates that there is a detrimental effect of social media on adolescents. A study in 2019 study stated that teenagers 12-15 years old who are on social media in excess of three hours a day experience twice the risk of symptoms of depression and anxiety.

• Biden administration is looking to regulate AI with the help of public inputs towards ’standards, regulations, investments, and improved trust and safety practices ‘

Real Estate

• South Florida’s house prices near the transit rail system keep rising. As Florida’s cities seem to be popular destinations for migration, the roads have become busier. This has caused the housing market near the train stations to prosper.

• Hilton and Marriott International are about to battle it out for the extended stay markets under new brand names. Extended stay is a market where customers seek affordable housing for a period longer than 20 nights. Extended stay average occupancy rates reached about 75% vs the average hotel occupancy market at 63%.

Energy

• The US government last year sold about 180 million oil barrels from the strategic oil reserve in Texas in order to combat rising gas prices due to the Ukraine war. Refilling the reserve at $67 - 72 is proving to be difficult due to market dynamics despite selling the reserves at $95 a barrel.

Automotive

• Ford has made a plan to arrive at 10% operating margins by 2026, with their first-generation EVs expected to profit while running a lean budget on conventional vehicles.

Retail

• Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Bud Light sales volume has dropped by 28% compared to the same period last year after the company promoted transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney triggering a boycott call.

• Retail companies are facing the heat with weakened consumer demand as sales at companies like Target and Home Depot have declined. Party City and Bed, Bath and Beyond have already filed for bankruptcy.

Do keep a lookout for our weekly email about stock deep dives and personal finance strategies this Saturday.

Is there anything you want to dig deeper into personal finance? Hit us with a reply and we will do the heavy lifting for ya.

Toodles!

Memetic Universe

Families taking tough financial measures this year.

When I ask ChatGPT to raise my net worth to a million dollars this year from a savings balance of 1000 bucks.