11/20/19 The Highlight

The Super Bowl is known as the holy grail of advertising platforms, but next year you might see a little more politics and a little less beer. 

President Trump’s re-election campaign says they have agreed with Fox on ‘broad terms’ to air an ad during the Super Bowl, according to the Sports Business Journal.

Fox is reportedly selling 30-second spots for as much as $5.6 million during the game, which is set to take place just one day before the Iowa caucuses. Trump recently aired a re-election campaign advertisement during Game 7 of the World Series in October.

Here’s your weekly highlight.

Economic News

• Housing Rebounds: U.S. homebuilding recovered in October, with permits for future home construction hitting a 12-year high. Housing starts increased by nearly 4 percent in October, with 1.314 million units. The Commerce Department also said the multifamily sector has rebounded solidly. 

• Trump Calling for Higher Tariffs: The never-ending trade-war continues with President Trump threatening higher tariffs on Chinese goods if the country does not complete a trade deal. Tariff talks have dominated headlines in recent months, but it appears that investors are starting to have tariff fatigue, as markets are largely unreactive to the latest statements made by the President.

• Telecom Shakeup: T-Mobile’s longtime CEO John Legere has announced he is stepping down after his contract runs out in 2020. The outspoken telecom executive will be replaced by Mike Sievert, T-Mobile’s president and COO. Last week, Legere was in the news after WeWork said he was their top pick to take over as CEO. Legere will likely step down after overseeing the completion of the T-Mobile-Sprint merger. 

Market News

• Disney+ is on Fire: Disney+ has far exceeded projections by reaching 10 million subscribers on the first day of the launch last week. Analysts were only expecting the company to hit 8 million subscribers by the end of the year. Netflix currently has 60 million subscribers in the U.S. and 158 million worldwide. 

• Macy’s Gets Hacked: The retailer is the latest company to be the victim of a data breach. The hack affected customers that shopped the company’s website in early October. Macy’s disclosed in a letter to affected customers last week that malware was inserted into its website on October 7th and was not removed until the 15th. 

• Kylie Jenner Cashes In: The social media superstar announced she is selling a majority stake in her beauty line, Kylie Cosmetics to industry giant Coty Inc. for $600 million. The sale means Jenner is giving up a 51 percent stake in her company, but will still stay on as the brand’s creative leader. 

Alternative Investing News

• Ripple Funds New Fintech: Apteo, a fintech company that leverages Artificial Intelligence and machine learning to help finance professionals make better decisions, announced it has raised $1 million seed round from Ripple Ventures on Monday. The company’s platform has over 2 million traditional and alternative datasets that are automatically categorized and updated to help finance pros make well-informed decisions. 

• Google Gaming Launch: Google’s new cloud gaming platform, Stadia, launched on Tuesday. The new platform allows gamers to play on their mobile devices instead of on the computer or gaming console. The service is $9.99 and launched with 22 games available immediately. 

Finance Education

• Let Me Upgrade You: At DiversyFund, we talk a lot about value-add strategies to upgrade properties and create additional value for investors. But what does that really mean? A value-add strategy can be executed through cosmetic repairs, community upgrades, upsells, and management efficiencies. Learn how individual investors can use the strategy, plus see how our REIT uses it to reposition and sell properties in the fund: Implementing a Value-Add Strategy in Multifamily Real Estate Investing.

• Big Savings Goals: When it comes to socking away a percentage of your paycheck for savings, the common rule of thumb is 20%. The 50/30/20 rule recommends 50% of your income go to the essentials, 30% for discretionary spending, and 20% should go straight to saving and investing. But what if you could save even more and grow your wealth exponentially? Difficult? Yes. Impossible? No! Check out the process here: Save 30 Percent (Or More) Of Your Income With This 3-Step Process.
• Tell Me More: If a company raises funds from investors and uses those funds to purchase a commercial property, you’re looking at an equity REIT. If a company makes a loan to someone else who purchases commercial property and collects interest on that loan, that company is a debt REIT. Learn all about the differences and similarities here: Equity REITs and Debt REITs: What’s the Difference?