The Threecap
Three things to recap this past week.
Tech Continues to Roar
The major indexes - S&P 500, Dow 30, and NASDAQ - continue to set record highs amidst a seemingly unstoppable market rally. Tech as a sector continues to dominate - FAANG, Microsoft, and more are surpassing their records and adding billions to their market capitalizations every day. Bank of America recently found that the tech sector is worth more than Europe’s entire stock market. It remains to be seen if tech can continue its unprecedented rally, or if the market will rotate back into defensive, value-based sectors.
Recently, there has been major news regarding the Dow Jones. The index announced that tech giant Salesforce.com, along with Amgen and Honeywell International, would be added to the index in place of ousted Pfizer, Raytheon Technologies, and Exxon Mobil. Many are seeing this shakeup as a sign of COVID-19’s permanent effect on the old guard of once-dominant blue-chip stocks.
COVID-19 Update
Despite the market’s explosive growth, COVID-19 continues to make its way around the country. Over 300,000 new cases have been discovered in the past week in the United States alone, putting the U.S. total at nearly 6 million. Encouragingly, the death rate remains relatively stagnant. California, Texas, and Florida continue to lead the U.S. in new cases per day, while Guam, Iowa, North Dakota, and Mississippi lead in new cases per capita.
Abbott Laboratories' 5 dollar, 15-minute COVID-19 test has recently received emergency use authorization from the FDA in what could be a game-changer in the fight against coronavirus. According to the New York Times, 9 vaccines are currently in “Phase 3” trials, and 2 have been “approved for early or limited use.” As fall approaches, the world waits in anticipation for trial results - health officials fear that an effective vaccine is one of the only ways for a full recovery from COVID-19.
A Race for TikTok
The TikTok acquisition talks continue to evolve every day. Just a few weeks ago, it seemed that Microsoft was going to be the sole acquirer of the popular social media app. However, Microsoft has now teamed up with Walmart to make the acquisition. Tech giant Oracle has also joined the race, along with U.K. investment firm Centricus. In early August, the Trump Administration deemed TikTok a national security risk, leading ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to explore potential U.S. M&A deals. ByteDance is based in Beijing, China. We will continue to keep you updated on this evolving situation.
Recent Articles
Intro To Behavioral Finance
Investors often make irrational choices when managing their portfolio investments. Such choices are fueled by an array of fears that the human mind is vulnerable to. Psychology looks to break down those fears from a more scientific perspective. The emerging field of behavioral finance seeks to understand what the underlying psychology is behind investment behavior.
The Dot-Com Bubble Explained
The Dot-com bubble of the late 1990s and early 2000s was a speculative economic bubble created by excessive optimism towards Internet companies and their stocks. Today, it serves as a reminder of the consequences of greed, excess, and hype.
Recent Podcast
In this episode, Rohan Gupta and Alex Patel speak with Heidi Roizen of Threshold Ventures about the dot-com bubble. They delve into topics like the irrational exuberance, evangelism, the history of innovation, entrepreneurship, and much more!
Resource of the Week
Robinhood
A simple platform to begin your investing career. The company has revolutionized brokerages with its introducition of commission-free trading, meaning no fees for each transaction made.
Notable Features & Updates Include:
User-Friendly Interface allows for easy management of portfolio.
Access to trading Cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin.
Cash Management Account and Debit Card with 0.3% APR.
Team Member Showcase
Sean Choi
Co-Founder & Managing Editor
Major in Economics & Minor in History at UCSD
Daily Routine: I mainly write articles about stocks, the economy, and education. I also manage content for Streetfins and help edit other writers’ articles.
Why you started StreetFins: I started StreetFins with Rohan and Rajan because I was passionate about stocks and investing. I wanted to share my knowledge with others which is why I joined StreetFins. StreetFins has gone a long way from when we’ve first started and I’m glad to be part of the journey.
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