🍨 Daily Scoop: Last week’s lightning-round
By Mon, Dec 2, 2019
Hello Scoopers,
We are back with another lightning-round edition of The Daily Scoop. Here are the most important events that shaped the movements of the stock market last week:
- We started last week with high hopes that a trade deal is not too far, and the stock markets in the U.S. embraced the optimism. (Read More)
- On Tuesday, the Consumer Confidence Index declined for the fourth month in a row. However, the stock market still managed to finish in the green as the residual excitement over the possibility of a trade deal held optimism high. (Read More)
- On Wednesday, the stock market finished in the green again as Americans officially headed to open up their wallets for the holiday shopping season. (Read More)
- Thursday was Thanksgiving, and we all took a break from the market for a few hours. Phewwww …
- Finally, on Friday, the upward movement reversed. While Americans poured into malls (online or offline) to start the festivities, China wasn’t just feeling festive. President Trump signed the Hong Kong Freedom Act on Friday, and China promised swift retribution. The stock market freaked out and finished in the red.
Beyond the overall market, it looks like there are at least two technology companies that want to get “FIT.” More information is available in the “Water Cooler” section. Don’t forget to scroll down to read more about what happened in the stock market last week.
MARKETS
- U.S. markets: All three indices finished Friday, almost exactly 0.4% lower than where they started it. If it weren’t for 0.06% difference by the Nasdaq, you would have assumed that the indices were in some sort of a controversy to mimic each others’ movement. Scroll to the “Overall Market” section to learn more
- Cryptocurrency: Bitcoin’s price almost reached the $8,000 market, before sliding back to mid-$7,000. The reports are coming that the recent price-decline was due to cryptocurrency shake-down in China, and the market is resuming its upbeat mood, albeit gradually.
SHOUT-OUT
On our Thanksgiving Special Edition (Read More), we shared with you how much we are thankful to you. Here’s one more reason why we appreciate our Scooper family. Thank you, Mohammad R., for taking the time on Thanksgiving and telling us how you enjoy the “What’s Up” and “What’s Down” sections of your Daily Scoops.
As always, send us your questions, feedback, and requests. We read all of our emails. Our email address is members@tradestocks.com. Or, simply reply back to this email.
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OVERALL MARKET
To the up and right… off we go …
What happened on Friday?
We wrapped up the last Friday of November in the red. However, zooming out and looking at the state of the stock market in November, there was much to celebrate. All three indices wrapped November at least 3% higher than where they started the month. The Nasdaq led the pack with more than 4% gain in November. The stock market kept moving to the up and right corner of the charts.
What does this even mean?
Despite the delays in the trade negotiations, the expected backlash by China over the signing of the Hong Kong Freedom Act by President Trump, and the global manufacturing slug, the stock market keeps growing. Why?
One way to explain the stock market’s upward movement is that there is no better place to park money at this moment. Several central banks around the world take a chunk of your money in the form of negative interest rates. The global population is aging and the need for retirement income is increasing. Excessive borrowing by governments and corporations, combined with corporate tax relieves, has led to more cash flowing through the veins of the economy than we have ever seen. All that cash has to go somewhere and generates a return. That’s why the stock market keeps rallying upward. There is no other choice.
What does an investor do in such times?
We tell you what we are doing. We do our research as if our lives depend on it and only invest in companies that can revive to health if things go wrong. At the same time, we never stop participating in the market. Despite all odds, the stock market is still marching to the right and up, and we’d want to be a part of that. Holding some cash on the side doesn’t hurt either. It helps us sleep better while gives us a stash for investing if and when things turn for the worst.
What’s your strategy?
WATER COOLER
Who’s getting FIT?
So, what happened?
A few weeks ago, we learned that Alphabet (Ticker: GOOG / GOOGL) made a $2.1 billion bid to acquire Fitbit (Ticker: FIT). It all made sense to us, because Alphabet is in the business of data, and what Fitbit has is a mountain of health and fitness activity data.
A recent document filed to SEC revealed it wasn’t only Google who had hoped to “get FIT.” Rumor has it that another company, also known as Party A, was also in the race. Who else in the world is in the business of data? Any guesses?
It starts with Z and finishes with G. Did you figure it out?
What happened?
Yeh, it was Facebook (Ticker: FB) who wanted to get FIT too. Something tells us that this story is not over yet. Fitbit’s acquisition by Google is expected to close in 2020, and there are other companies that also want to get FIT.
To be continued …
About the Author
The authors of this Scoop are the editorial team at Stock Card, led by Hoda Mehr. Hoda Mehr is CEO and Co-founder of Stock Card and the host of Renegade Investors podcast. She runs a community of 40,000 stock market investors and manages Stock Card's successful flagship portfolio, Roll with Our CEO, on Stock Card Portfolio Store. Hoda is an Economist with an MBA from Concordia, John Molson School of Business. She applies behavioral economics, data journalism, and storytelling to all aspects of her work. Before starting Stock Card, Hoda worked as a strategy and insights lead at technology companies including Symantec, Aimia and Sony. Create a free account to do your stock market research easily and mistake-free: Stock Card Stock Card
