Welcome to our #51 weekly newsletter.
Every week we curate key content and apply a female-lens so you can stay informed and inspired about money and investing.
Stay in the know.
Keep on top of global economic, financial and investing news and trends. And read about what this means for you and your money in 2021 during Covid-19 and beyond.
If you’re short on time, listen to the audio for a brief overview.
“For women who are taking control of their financial future”
-Jana Hlistova
From The Purse
Editorial from the Founder
Global stock market cap is now $106tn, which has now topped 120% of global GDP which is the same level before the 2008 crash.
The Dow and tech-heavy Nasdaq reached all-time highs and the FTSE 100 index posted its best start to the year (to date on record).
On Thursday, the global cryptocurrency market hit $1tn in market cap. And Bitcoin reached $41,000 for the first time.
We’re beginning to see investors shift their money out of gold into Bitcoin.
Meanwhile JP Morgan says Bitcoin could surge to $146,000 in the long term.
In the Future Focus section, read about the ESG ETFs boom in 2020 as assets under management triples.
Tesla is now is up 950%+ since 2019 and Bitcoin is up 470%.
In the Your Money section, read about why divorce hits women’s income twice as hard as men.
And whilst hundreds of startups go public every year in the US, only 20 were founded and led by women.
We are tracking US startup called Allobee, founded by Brooke Markevicius, which has raised $500,000. It is a solution for women and small businesses impacted by the economy and circumstances of the pandemic.
If you have time, read about why women make better leaders during a crisis.
Stay safe, look after yourselves and your loved ones.
I hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter. Until next week,
Jana
The Big Picture
Global markets and economy news, trends and indicators
Global stock market cap has hit an ATH at $106tn:
The robust growth of equities is largely due to:
the extraordinary monetary policies unleashed by central banks,
optimism that the combinations of Covid-19 vaccines
and the continued government stimulus.
The benchmark FTSE 100 Index posted its best start to a year on record.
It has rallied 6.4% so far in 2021, helped by a long-awaited Brexit deal and global growth optimism.
Investors are also piling into the country’s exchange-traded funds.
Miners, energy shares and banks boosted the FTSE 100 in the year’s first week of trading.
‘U.K. equities are seen as strong value investments based on fundamentals’.
Bitcoin & cryptocurrencies
Global news, trends and insights
On Thursday, the global cryptocurrency market hit of $1trillion (for the first time)
January 2018 was the last time total market cap came close to $1 trillion when it reached nearly $800 billion.
Bitcoin was up 300% in 2020.
Bitcoin hits an ATH $41,000 (Thursday)
However Bitcoin fell $3,500 half an hour later, as volatility continues.
Investors seem to be shifting their money out of gold and into Bitcoin.
JP Morgan says Bitcoin could surge to $146,000 in the long term
According to a note, this theoretical price is to ‘match the total private sector investment in gold via exchange-traded funds or bars and coins’.
Future Focus
Keeping an eye on key predictions, innovations and what’s going to impact the future
ESG ETFs boom in 2020 as AUM triples
The urgency around climate change front and centre, investor appetite for ESG ETFs has largely been directed at those with exposure to green energy. (These were some of the best performing ETFs of 2020).
Analysis by ETF research platform TrackInsight found ESG ETFs enjoyed a 223% increase in assets under management in 2020 to $189bn.
The growth in ESG ETFs helped overall ETF assets under management grow to $7.6 trillion at the beginning of 2021.
‘It’s also clear that 2020 was a long-awaited turning point for ESG ETFs with huge growth in this sector’.
Companies: winners & losers
Companies to watch and share price movements
Shares in Signal Advance surged Thursday
Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, urged his Twitter followers to to ‘use Signal’-the encryped messaging app, which is a non-profit.
As a result, traders mistakenly invested in an obscure and unrelated company called Signal Advance, which trades over the counter, surged 527% on Thursday and another 91% on Friday, climbing from 60 cents to $7.19.
Tesla is now is up 950%+ since 2019 and Bitcoin is up 470%.
Your Money
Insights, trends and what this means for you and your purse
Divorce hits women's income twice as hard as men's
According to research by Legal & General pensions group:
wives experience a drop of a third in their income after a marriage ends but for men the fall is less than a fifth of the money they have to live on.
this is because women are likely to earn less than men, and many do not insist on taking a share of their husband's pension.
Also: 'men who divorce are far more likely to have been the primary breadwinner in the relationship – 74% of men against 18% of women,' said the report from Legal & General.
The findings, based on a poll carried out by Opinium Research among more than 2,000 divorced men and women aged over 50, showed that following divorce a woman's income typically falls by 33%, against 18% for a man.
UK: The best (and worst thing) that could happen to your money this year
Current accounts: benefits vs charges
Savings accounts: rise in interest rates, government initiatives vs low interest rates.
Pensions: stock market goes up vs reduction of pension relief, stock market goes down.
Mortgages: extension of stamp duty holiday, more lenders offer 90% loan-to-value mortgages vs price falls and therefore lending constrained.
Have You Seen This?
Female-focused news, reports, research, campaigns
US: hundreds of startups go public every year. Only 20 were founded and led by women
Since the New York Stock Exchange was founded in 1817, hundreds of companies have gone public.
Thousands are publicly currently traded, but only 20 were founded and led by women.
Know this: there are many reasons why women fall behind. Women continue to receive less early-stage investment and under 3% VC funding for their startups. And when they do receive funding, they tend to raise less and is more expensive (in terms of the equity they have to give away). We need more to women raise funds and invest in women-led businesses.
What We’re Tracking
Female-focused products or services, start-ups and businesses led by women, investment, crowdfunding campaigns and research.
Allobee: (US)-founded by CEO Brooke Markevicius, is a managed marketplace for small businesses and startups. It is a solution for women and small businesses impacted by the economy and circumstances of the pandemic.
Since launching in May 2020, the increased demand for access to flexible skilled workers to support entrepreneurs and small businesses all over the country has accelerated Allobee hiring a fully vetted and highly skilled workforce: women that have left the traditional 9-5.
Allobee's algorithm eliminates decision fatigue and supports an agile approach to outsource and manage workflow.
Allobee has just closed a round of funding for $500,000 led by Stargazer Ventures and a network of angel investors to further support the company's rapid growth.
Coffee Break? Read This
We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with Jana via the The Purse website or tweet @jointhepurse and @janicka.
The Purse Ltd. Copyright 2021 & All Rights Reserved.
Global crypto market cap at $1tn+, investors shift their money out of gold to bitcoin, why does divorce hit women’s income twice as hard as men and we're tracking female-led, US startup Allobee