October Home Sales see a 26.6% Increase

 Within the month of October, sales of existing homes soared well past expectations. In fact, sales rose 4.3% from the month of September and 26.6% annually. Also, in an interesting note, the median price for homes sold in October was $313,000 which is up 15.5% annually. This is actually the highest median price on record and reflects "the far stronger sales on the higher end of the market". 

I believe that this can be accredited to the extremely low interest rates that this country is seeing. More people are taking out loans and buying houses. The housing market is seeing a low supply and very high demand. From this, it is expected that prices increase as there is a shortage of the product.

My question for this would be, the housing market continues to increase when it is expected to "correct" and go into a decline, do you see this slowing down anytime soon? If you think it will, what are the indicators for your claim? 

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/19/october-existing-home-sales-see-spectacular-26point6percent-annual-increase.html

Vietnam Economy is Asia's Shining Star During Covid

 https://www.bbc.com/news/business-54997796

There have been many countries in the world that have gone through significant struggles over the past 8 months. Vietnam has actually come out of Covid doing quite well comparatively. They were able to get Covid under control pretty quickly and have been able to obtain a positive growth rate of over 2%, while many other countries will experience a negative growth rate this year. Another part of this growth has been in part due to a relationship with U.S., especially since the trade war has begun with China. Vietnam has become a spot for U.S. businesses to outsource to in search of cheap labor to make high end products. For example, Apple has started working on a production line that will produce Airpods in Vietnam. Vietnam has increased its exports to the U.S. by 23% in the first three quarters of this year. These are big steps forward for Vietnam in becoming one of the more developed countries in the world. 

Do you think that Vietnam has handled Covid so well because they didn't have the back stop of health infrastructure that say the United States has? With Vietnam's growth, what future problems is it possible that they have as they expand faster than the average developed nation?

U.S. companies with China operations look to the Asian giant for growth

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/17/china-important-for-us-businesses-hit-by-the-coronavirus-pandemic.html

The Covid-19 pandemic is not expected to prevent China from being the only economic power to experience positive growth in 2020. At least that is what caused the sharp rise in GDP in the third quarter. But the reliability of these data is questioned, suggesting a willingness of the Chinese authorities to take liberties with the economic reality as Beijing prepares its new five-year plan. These good results support the official rhetoric of the regime, which has repeatedly praised the resilience of the Chinese economy despite a very violent initial shock (a drop in GDP of 6.9% in the first quarter). These figures also seem to validate the policy pursued by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who imposed draconian measures at the start of the year to contain the spread of the coronavirus in his territory. As related to US companies with Chinese operations, the article states “U.S. multinationals’ majority-owned affiliates in China brought in sales of $392.7 billion in 2018, up 4.8% from a year ago, according to the latest available data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.” How do you think that disparity in economic recovery is going to affect multinational companies with China operations?

Is vaccine an elixir for all of economic woes?

 The world is facing dire consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. Lockdowns, social and travel restrictions, disruptions of production, cut off supply chains have created a new face of the world. Big economies are putting in a lot of cash to keep the economy afloat. The Winter surge of COVID-19 has raised new and complex questions.  is the vaccine a solution to all the problems?

Will it be an elixir to the economic woes? How quick? How far?

An effective vaccine, without any doubt, has kindled hope of getting back to normal. But the estimation and expectations of policymakers that the pandemic would be under control within a matter of months have already been failed. Clinical trials are taking place globally while Pfizer and BioNTech are on the way to get authorization by the end of this month.

While a successful vaccine will help the economy to recover in the upcoming months, but this recovery is dependent on many factors. First of all, the trail is demanding. It will take many to test and administer the vaccine to enough people before mass production. Lockdown measures have been reimposed across the West will further hinder difficulties to achieve the targets. Mass production of a vaccine that is needed globally is another challenge along with its availability. 

The price affordability also plays a key role in how easily accessible it will be and how quickly it is distributed. Wealthy and developed countries will undoubtedly be able to address the pandemic first as many countries have already placed orders for the vaccine in huge doses. This raises the question, “How long will it take for developing countries to get their hands on the vaccine?” At the end of the day, many experts think it will take up to two years to fully recover from the effects of the pandemic and for things to back to the normal speed of life. 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-covid-19-vaccine-would-boost-the-global-economy-but-not-all-at-once-11605087345

Small toy stores are worried they won't stay in business after this year.

 

The Winter holiday season is typically regarded as the busiest time of the year for small toy stores. Small toy stores experience a record number of sales during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Since the demand for toys and gifts increase during the festive season, shop owners expect more than usual traffic in the stores. However, this is not the case this year because the pandemic has forced people to stay inside and avoid public places. Since the pandemic, we have seen how businesses are adopting e-commerce activities and implementing strict health & safety guidelines. Similarly, consumers are also adjusting to online shopping creating a new normal. 

The small toy store retailers are concerned about the implementation of new operational protocols. They can’t keep up with their forecasted sales since there is a limit on the number of people allowed in a small retail outlet. Similarly, with low sales, it's difficult for them to maintain the expensive PPE inventories. Furthermore, small retailers in the toy industry don’t have the necessary resources to shift their businesses online overnight. This is where big businesses like Amazon and Big Box have an advantage over small toy stores. They can benefit from a situation like these by capitalizing on the customers lost by small toy stores. Experts suggest that this holiday season can further widen the gap between large chains and small toy stores. Do you think that the small toy store industry will be able to survive? 

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/14/business/toy-stores-small-business-amazon/index.html 

Here are the things that scare Jerome Powell the most about the economy right now

In the article they talk about the many concerns that the chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, has about the long term effects of the coronavirus. He says that he is worried about the long term affects on the children who are not getting the proper education due to the pandemic and the many business owners who have struggled as a result of the pandemic.

He also asserts that although we are recovering, our economy will not go back to what it was before the pandemic. Instead he believes that the new economy we are transitioning into will have an emphasis on technology. We have seen this through the adaptation of Zoom into the work environment. Powell believe that this new shift towards technology will make it even more difficult for some workers to get back on their feet.

I agree that this new focus and use of technology in the work environment will definitely affect lower skilled workers who are also often people who struggle financially. 

Fed leaders differ on how to boost virus-ravaged US economy

According to the article, the leaders of the US Federal Reserve banks differ in their views on what it will take to get the country’s economy back on track in a troubling surge in coronavirus infections. The St Louis Fed President James Bullard says that the economy can recover if households are just shoved in the right direction, where he means to push them to wear masks and take other steps that health officials have urged. For the New York Fed President John Williams, he believes a full economic recovery will have to wait for a vaccine, with the health crisis putting a question mark on the economy. Whereas, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari has called for a four to six-week national lockdown to try to stop the pandemic.

Likewise, Pfizer Inc announced that there experimental COVID-19 vaccine is more than 90 percent effective, according to initial trials. However, the very large rise in COVID-19 cases recently clearly puts a question on the ability of the economy to getting back on track.

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/11/13/us-federal-reserve-leaders-debate-economic-risk-as-covid-surges

COVID-19 Vaccine Eclipses US Elections as Economy Game-Changer

The COVID-19 Vaccine, announced by Pfizer, who developed the vaccine with Germany's BioNTech, has been proven to be 90% effective. The enthusiasm of having a vaccine brought hopes on Wall Street as a gamechanger. Even though there is a slow economic recovery on the main street, Wall Street has already started positioning portfolios for investors by looking at how the economy will be performing a few months from now. Many investors believe that with the announcement of the Pfizer vaccine, everything has become more normalized. People have started going out to restaurants, booking flights, hotels, and planning holidays. 

Joe Biden, the newly elected president, made sure to make it known that even though there is a vaccine, even if it does work well, it won't be made available until a couple of months, so we should stay safe. With the rise of Covid cases this week, everyone needs to take care of themselves and quarantine. Joe Biden has spoken about how there will be another wave of Coronavirus in a few months by looking at the number of cases. There have been records set this week of the number of people who have gotten Coronavirus. Because of the vaccine's announcement and the reckless booking of flights and holidays, advertisements are being sent out by different companies to stay home and enjoy. To watch movies at home instead of going to the theatre. 

With the vaccine being 90% effective, do you think that its effectiveness is good as a vaccine?

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/11/15/covid-19-vaccine-eclipses-us-elections-as-economy-gamechanger

Walmart resumes counting customers in stores and grocers reinstate limits on toilet paper as coronavirus cases surge

 Since yesterday Walmart has restarted counting the number of people/customers in their stores to track occupancy limits as COVID’19 cases have now started surging once again. Back in April, rules were strict as Walmart did not allow 20% occupancy exceeded in their stores across the U.S. Soon after COVID’19 cases had dropped in numbers, they stopped counting the number of people entering. Now, they are going back to taking precautions because U.S coronavirus cases, as mentioned, are rising rapidly by the day. Some of the major grocery brands had started putting purchasing limits on toilet paper and sanitizer, which goes back to when COVID’19 had started peaking months ago. Back then, panic buying had started, so stores are now taking precautions beforehand. Major names like Kroger, Wegmans, and Giant Foods have put purchase limits on certain items, just like those mentioned above. Walmart is also set to divide its Black Friday in-store sales into three separate events to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

Do you think people will again go into “panic-buying,” or was that just a one-time thing. Have the various brand names mentioned taken the right decision to put purchase limits on certain products? Lastly, what effects will this latest surge of COVID-19 cases have on the economy?

Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/14/coronavirus-walmart-resumes-metering-customers-in-its-stores.html

Coronavirus in Spain

Spain is a very important country in the world, however it needs to undergo serious systematic market reforms. The coronavirus crisis has destroyed Spain’s economy leading to its worst recession since the civil war, and the low tourism and shutdowns make a recovery seem very far away. Spain had one of Europe’s largest outbreaks and strictest lockdowns so their economy came to a stop in March and stayed that way up until the end of June. It shrank 18.5 percent in the second quarter, a drop so harsh that it wiped out all of the recovery achieved since the 2008 global financial crisis. The government relied on tourists from northern Europe and further to contribute to a third quarter recovery, but quarantines and travel advisories have ruined this as Spain has new localised outbreaks of Covid-19. Their tourism numbers decreased even more when Britain required all travelers to Spain to quarantine when they arrived home and Germany put three Spanish regions, including Catalonia and Barcelona, on its list of high-risk areas. Spain normally received about 80 million tourists annually and has depended on tourism for about 12 percent of economic output. Spain needs to start reforming to make a recovery from its sufferings this year.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-spain-economy-gdp/spain-dives-into-deep-recession-tourism-woes-bode-ill-for-rebound-idUSKCN24W0WF

Covid cases rising across the U.S.

Over the past two weeks, the U.S. has experienced a third surge of positive COVID tests. Since September cases have risen from under 50k a day to a little over 150k currently. On Friday, California became the second state to hit one million Covid cases, after Texas. And while deaths have lowered, around 1,000 people succumb to complications associated with the virus each day.

In response, many governors are starting to implement more restrictions on bars, gyms, and restaurants. They have even considered the idea of going into a second lockdown. The Oregon governor started a two week mini-shutdown to help slow the spread, saying "I'm not asking you, I am telling you, to stop your social gatherings ... and your house parties and to limit your social interactions to six and under, not more than one household."

Do any of you believe a second lockdown is imminent? And, if so, what will the long-term implications on our economy look like?

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54935700

Housing Prices Continue To Rise

Before Covid, the housing market was experiencing high prices and growth. In fact, most homes increased in value at all time records. Once Covid hit, one would expect this market to take a hit like many others did. However, we were wrong.

Covid has actually increased housing prices as the pandemic boosted housing market activity in a way not seen in recent history. Moreover, during the third quarter of the year 181 metro areas tracked by the National Association for Realtors was "higher in the third quarter from a year earlier." 

Houses have appreciated at record highs for a long period of time now surpassing the predicted decline in the market. Do you foresee any signs of slowing down in the future, or will this market just continue to increase because if a pandemic cannot stop it, what can?

https://www.wsj.com/articles/home-prices-are-rising-everywhere-in-the-u-s-11605220823