š«£š¤·āāļø My Confession
Happy Wednesday all,
I have a problem. Over the past year and a half, Iāve been making YouTube videos in the hopes that they go viral or hit a broader amount of views. This practice is called āchasing the algorithmā, and often times because my revenue is tied to views - thatās what I try to optimize for.
Thereās some merit to this - people like watching videos on topics/titles they care about - thereās still a lot of value to be delivered because of the content that performs well is what people WANT to see, at the end of the day. But sometimes this strategy can become ātoo extremeā, and often it doesnāt allow me to creatively explore other ideas or share more about my personal life with you all.
For example, my video āThe #1 Wealth Killer No One Talks Aboutā¦ā is one of the best videos in terms of views weāve put out on the channel, but you donāt really learn anything about me, and while I walk you through the craziness of how expensive car ownership isā¦ I can only do so a certain number of times before the content starts to get repetitive. I do acknowledge however that in the personal finance world - sometimes repetition is needed in order to cement certain concepts.
So this is a tough balancing act.
Itās one thatās been on my mind for quite some time now.
The other week a YouTube āhistorianā (a moniker I give to someone who has been on the platform for 10+ years and has seen all the cycles) gave me a compliment and told me that my instincts with content were excellent. I think I needed to be told that in order to trust my own instincts with future content choices.
I will keep you all updated, but if you keep up with our channel online you will hopefully see subtle changes with content selection in the coming months.
Enjoy this weekās Hump Days!
- Humphrey, Rickie & Tim
š Eye-Catching Headlines
ā”ļø Tesla urges U.S. to adopt much tougher fuel efficiency rules (Reuters)
šøšŖ Sweden says second undersea cable damaged in Baltic Sea (WSJ)
š¤ Taylor Swift Eras Tour film posts second-best October box office opening, behind āJokerā (CNBC)
šø Who funds Hamas? A global network of crypto, cash and charities (Reuters)
š¼ Goldman Sachs wants out of consumer lending. Employees say it canāt happen fast enough (WSJ)
š» U.S. to tighten rules aimed at keeping advanced chips out of China (Bloomberg)
š A recession is no longer the consensus (WSJ)
šŗ YouTube passes Netflix as top video source for teens (CNBC)
The Weekly Brief
1. Biden, in High-Stakes Visit, Shows Support for Israel but Urges Restraint (ABC)
President Biden left Israel today after a high-stakes diplomatic mission to show support for a U.S. ally.
Biden achieved one key objective of the trip, as Israel agreed to allow a limited quantity of humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza from Egypt after blocking the border for more than a week.
Additionally, Biden delivered an in-person warning to show restraint, asking the nation not to be consumed by their outrage and for officials to deliberate with their objectives.
Biden was scheduled to visit Jordan and meet with Arab leaders but a deadly blast at a Gaza hospital by a Palestinian Islamic Jihad derailed the meeting.
2. Nvidia Stock Falls After U.S. Announces New Restrictions on AI Chip Exports (CNBC)
Nvidia and other chipmakers saw shares fall after the U.S. announced new restrictions on exports of AI chips to China.
The new restrictions are a step up to the previous restrictions which allowed certain, slowed down, versions of chips to be shipped to China
Under the new restrictions, the slowed down H800 and A800 chips are officially banned from being exported to China.
According to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, the aim is to significantly slow down Chinaās technological development and to prevent military uses that threaten the well being of the U.S. and its allies.
3. Retail Sales Rose 0.7% in September, Much Stronger Than Estimate (CNBC)
Consumers showed surprising strength in September despite high interest rates and worries of a weakening economy.
Retail sales jumped 0.7% on the month, blowing past the 0.3% Dow Jones estimate.
Gas station sales helped propel this number, rising by 0.9% as prices at the pump increased.
Consumers show that they are keeping up with inflation with retail sales rising more than the 0.4% inflation figure from September.
The retail report is considered an important factor for the Fed as officials debate the future of monetary policy.
Markets expect the Fed to be done raising rates for this cycle, but the unexpectedly strong retail report complicates the equation.
4. Scalise Ends House Speaker Bid, Deepening Republican Turmoil (Bloomberg)
Representative Steve Scalise abandoned his campaign to become U.S. House speaker, deepening divisions within the party and prolonging the Houseās inability to address key issues such as their fiscal deadline and the Middle East war.
Next in line is Jim Jordan, but as of today, Jordan lost the second round of votes when 22 Republican voted against him.
The 22 Republican votes against him mark two more votes against compared to Tuesdayās first-round vote.
The Ohio congressman faces an uphill battle to secure the 217 votes needed to win.
Several senior house Republicans expressed doubt that any member of their party could get enough votes.
Youāll Find This Interesting
Gen Z is Buckling Down, 53% See High Cost of Living as Barrier to Financial Success (CNBC)
Nearly 3 in 4 young adults surveyed say they have changed their spending habits amid record high inflation.
Among the changes are:
43% say theyāre cooking at home more frequently
40% say theyāre spending less on clothes
33% say theyāve limited grocery shopping to essentials
Gen Z face unique financial challenges compared to older generations. According to recent research, College graduates earn 10% less compared to their parents.