Featured Article
Canadian home sales continue to cool, logging another month of declining volumes. Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) data shows home sales fell in July 2021. It was the first annual decline seen in over a year. Despite the negative factors, it was still the second biggest July for home sales ever.
Canadian Home Sales Fell 15%
Canadian existing-home sales continue to pull back from record levels. There were 53,870 homes sold through the MLS in July, down 14.9% from a month before. Compared to a year ago this represents a 15.2% decline. It was the first time in over a year that home sales have seen negative annual growth.
Home Sales Are Down 28% From This Year’s Peak
This is a huge drop for home sales, continuing the trend of a market slowdown. July managed to be the fourth consecutive month to see home sales decline, after peaking in March. Sales have fallen about 28% from that peak. Even though it was the second biggest July ever, that’s a substantial decline in activity.
Will Activity Pick Up In The Fall, Like Last Year?
The pandemic didn’t just disrupt your sleep schedule, but it also screwed up real estate sales. Looking at the above sales overlay, you can see the seasonal norms are disrupted. Volume for 2020 peaks much later in the year than typical. This was due to the initial lockdown delaying the Spring market.
Looking at 2021, we can see home sales peaking in March — much earlier than usual. The mix of reads has made the end of the year a bit of a mystery.
Many observers think the end of the year will see a surge in activity, not unlike…read more.
Gartner predicts that the majority of individuals in developed economies will consume more false than true information by 2022. While trust in mass media and established institutions is declining, the use of online social media to connect is rising sharply and it has become an important source for the distribution of digital deception. Researchers claim that although fake news detection could be a complicated process, the traceability of the data, the communications architecture, and the transactions, can be controlled.
That being said, blockchain and other Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs) are the rising technologies that can help to combat digital deception. These technologies enable privacy, security, and trust in a decentralized Peer-to-Peer (P2P) network without any central managing authority. In fact, as blockchain gains credibility, it is being piloted for uses never before considered. Groups, as varied as newsrooms, nonprofits, major corporations, and start-ups, are all eagerly pursuing the technology to create distributed, transparent networks for reliable media and digital information.
How does blockchain help?
The main issue about fake news is the rapid speed with which it…read more.
Two-thirds of Americans are interested in electric cars. Sales of EVs hit a record of more than 300,000 in the first half of the year. Everything seems to be going well for EVs and their makers. And yet, gas station owners are having trouble justifying the costs of installing EV chargers because the economics don’t make sense.
The Wall Street Journal’s Jennifer Hiller wrote in a recent article that some gas station owners are adding EV chargers to ensure their future market share in a more EV-dominated future. Many others, however, find it hard to justify spending more than $100,000 to buy and install a charging unit.
This seems to be one more example of the vicious circle the EV industry has found itself in, despite the Biden administration’s pledge to fund the installation of 500,000 charging stations across the United States. To compare, there are some 150,000 fuel stations in the country, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores. So, the plans are great. But they will also be challenging for gas stations. And yet, owners are still reluctant to cough up the money needed to add charging points. The reason may be that EVs still make up a tiny portion of total car sales, so any investment made in the installation of a charging point would take a while before returns start coming in. Carmakers have ambitious goals, and so does…read more.
Companies Going Public in 2021: Visualizing Valuations
The beginning of the year has been a productive one for global markets, and companies going public in 2021 have benefited.
From much-hyped tech initial public offerings (IPOs) to food and healthcare services, many companies with already large followings have gone public this year. Some were supposed to go public in 2020 but got delayed due to the pandemic, and others saw the opportunity to take advantage of a strong current market.
This graphic measures 47 companies that have gone public just past the first half of 2021 (from January to July)— including IPOs, SPACs, and Direct Listings—as well as their subsequent valuations after listing.
Who’s Gone Public in 2021 So Far?
Historically, companies that wanted to go public employed one main method above others: the initial public offering (IPO).
But companies going public today readily choose from one of three different options, depending on market situations, associated costs, and shareholder preference:…click to read more and to see full infographic.
China has shut down a key terminal at its Ningbo-Zhoushan port, the third busiest port in the world, after one worker was found to be infected by Covid — a move that will likely put further pressure on already stretched supply networks.
It was the second time this year that the country suspended operations at one of its key ports.
Analysts say China’s “zero tolerance” approach toward Covid will exacerbate already stressed supply chains this year. Some warn that this may not be the last closure at a port as long as Beijing continues to take this stance…read more.
-
I know Mike is a very solid investor and respect his opinions very much. So if he says pay attention to this or that - I will.
~ Dale G.
-
I've started managing my own investments so view Michael's site as a one-stop shop from which to get information and perspectives.
~ Dave E.
-
Michael offers easy reading, honest, common sense information that anyone can use in a practical manner.
~ der_al.
-
A sane voice in a scrambled investment world.
~ Ed R.
Inside Edge Pro Contributors
Greg Weldon
Josef Schachter
Tyler Bollhorn
Ryan Irvine
Paul Beattie
Martin Straith
Patrick Ceresna
Mark Leibovit
James Thorne
Victor Adair