🎇 Happy 4th of July from Hump Days!
Hi all! Happy Fourth of July! 🇺🇸 We’re halfway through the year now and boy has it been crazy. If you’ve been invested in the markets, or housing, or lumber, or gold, or crypto, YTD you should be up overall - almost everything is up!
It’s truly been a speculative time in the market, and with increased demand this summer of almost every type of consumption available, we should be seeing increased prices across the board on goods and services. It’s a sign of inflation, and one of the things you can do right now to hedge against inflation is to lock in fixed rates on debt as interest rates are low. When a surge in inflation occurs, a corresponding increase in interest rates takes place. So whether that’s buying a house, starting a business, or refinancing student loan debt, if you have a reason to take on debt at a low rate, now might be a good time!
Right now there aren’t any short-term plans to raise rates, but it should be around the corner in the next year or two. Prices for goods/services may also come down after demand for those goods/services decreases. We’re seeing a lot of activity this summer since in the US, most COVID restrictions have been loosened this past month. Here’s a good article on 5 moves you can think about taking before the Fed raises interest rates.
Anyway, that’s it for now! A short Hump Days this week, we’ll see you next week - enjoy the holiday if you’re celebrating! - Humphrey & Rickie
In the Markets
Weekly News Roundup
TikTok Embraces Longer Videos, Giving Creators More Time to Make Money (WSJ)
TikTok is rolling out a feature to give creators up to 3 minutes per video - a dramatic shift from their original rollout of 15s / 60s clips.
HY: Every social media app is trying to become every other social media app. I think a reason why people like certain apps is because they do things differently than their competition - but if all of them start to converge together, then it makes for a boring landscape imo. It’s unclear whether or not 3 minute videos on TikTok will be successful, I don’t think people have that sort of attention span on TikTok.
Supreme Court Leaves Covid Eviction Moratorium in Effect (BBG)
In a vote that ended 5 - 4, a divided U.S. Supreme Court refused to lift the federal eviction moratorium, leaving it in place until the end of July.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh cast the pivotal vote to leave the moratorium even after stating he thought the CDC had overstepped its power by imposing the ban in the first place.
RH: The decision to lift the eviction moratorium will likely have major implications across the broader economy. It will be interesting to see the tone of decision makers over the next couple months.
Robinhood Agrees to Pay $70 Million to Settle Regulatory Investigation (WSJ)
To resolve regulatory allegations that the brokerage misled customers, allowed ineligible traders to trade on margin, and for having locked millions out of trading, Robinhood has agreed to pay $70 Million.
Robinhood, however, neither admits nor denies allegations.
HY: $57 Million goes to FINRA, and the remainder goes to customers for ‘restitution’. Robinhood is trying to clean up their act ahead of their IPO later this month.