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6A – Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

6A – Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

ENT3003

Chris Ward

1.     U.S. Manufacturers Ramp Up Production Despite Flagging Exports

a)     Wallstreet Journal

b)     There may be an opportunity for local businesses in towns with large manufacturing facilities.

c)     Customers to these local businesses would be manufacturing employees.  There may be an increase in employment at these facilities if the trend continues.

d)     It would be easy to exploit for businesses that already exist.  For a business to try to open during this trend it may be too difficult.

e)     My first job out of college was with a manufacturing facility in a small town.  During my employment I saw a dramatic decrease in the number of employees and watched as many businesses who relied on them close.  I believe if the trend were reversed as the article states then then growth in those communities is likely.

2.     Home Sales Drop in December; Price increases slowed

a)     Wallstreet Journal

b)    There may be an opportunity for real estate investors to start buying property at lower prices if the trend continues.

c)     Real Estate investors or people looking for a new home or second home could benefit from the slowed market.

d)    It would be very easy for those in the real estate market to take advantage of this opportunity.

e)    I recently purchased a home and payed a little more than I wanted to for it.  After reading this article, I may have benefited by waiting a few months.

3.     Fed says Student Debt is Hurting the Housing Market

a)     Wallstreet Journal

b)    There may be an opportunity for lenders to lighten up on their requirements for student loans in order to increase the amount of loans they provide.

c)     Large home loan lenders would benefit most from changing their policies or the government stepping in an helping the students with large loans.

d)    Getting lenders or the government to change policies to accommodate borrowers is likely very difficult to accomplish.

e)    As I state previously, I just purchased a home and my student debt factored into the amount I was able to borrow. 

4.     Hard Hit from the Shutdown, A Family Struggles to Stay Afloat.

a)     Wallstreet Journal

b)    There may be an opportunity for non-government employers to recruit qualified and dedicated employees whom are currently out of work as a result of the shutdown.

c)     Both employers and those looking for a non-government job could benefit from this shutdown by finding more stable work.

d)    If employers are currently looking for people, it would be quite simple to take advantage of this shutdown.


e)    Prior to working for Universal Orlando, I owned my own business and know how hard it can be to find good help.  If a shutdown flooded the job market with good candidates I certainly would have taken advantage of it.

Comments

  1. Caroline PierceJanuary 24, 2019 at 2:18 PM

    The housing market is always fluctuating, but when there is a steady decline in the price of real estate, it is often a time that investors begin to snap up properties. I wouldn’t blame yourself too much for not waiting, in another few months the prices could have increased significantly. I also wrote about how the student debt that millennials and Gen Z’ers have will be a blow to the housing market as they will not have a good enough credit score to borrow. These economic and regulatory trends will definitely be things to watch over the coming year.

    ReplyDelete
  2. VictoriaJanuary 25, 2019 at 12:06 PM

    I found it interesting you touched on the housing market. I have a background in real estate so I saw very similar opportunities here. I absolutely agree that investors benefit from a slow market. I live in Panama City Beach and many people are selling their homes for discounted rates due to the damage. The property owners can't afford to fix their home and the investors are looking to buy them at the discounted rate. I actually found an investor today looking on Facebook for to purchase damaged properties. So there is a need for investors to buy properties at a discounted rate.

    I didn't account for how student debt is impacted the real estate market. I touched on how with decreased unemployment that makes a change in the market. So I found it interesting how we took different perspectives on events that could cause a change in the real estate market.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sydney RomanofJanuary 28, 2019 at 5:47 PM

    The Government shutdown is an interesting regulation adjustment. Temporary, but seems to me it's an eye-opener for a lot of people, including non-government employees. I'd say some business are, like you said, looking to recruit workers from the pool of non-essential government employees. On the other hand, for employees that are affected, they may be thinking they should not sit on a stagnant skillset, but should look into ways to diversify their expertise and become more marketable. They may even think about being an entrepreneur and starting their own small-business. For anyone, I'd guess that forward-thinking people are seriously considering savings plans in preparation for unforeseen challenges.

    ReplyDelete

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