Weekly newsletter for women who want to be smart about money: financial news, personal finance and investing
Welcome to our #46 weekly newsletter in 2020.
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 2020 during Covid-19 and beyond.
If you’re short on time, listen to the editorial on audio for a brief overview.
“For women who are taking control of their financial future”
-Jana Hlistova
From The Purse…
Editorial from the Founder
On Monday, global markets hit a record high as Moderna announced that its vaccine was 94.5% effective.
In the US, the Treasury secretary said that several emergency lending facilities will be wound up in December. These tools helped restore market confidence this year, which triggered the recovery in the market. The Federal Reserve does not support this decision.
UK national debt is the highest since the 1960s, after record borrowing in October ie £22.3bn.
Bitcoin continues to rise (without the hype); its price is now over $18,000. And more importantly, bitcoin’s market cap hit at an all-time high.
What are the 4 sub sectors posed to be the ‘next best thing’ for investors?
And according to Morgan Stanley, Tesla’s share price is expected to go up 22% from current levels.
Divorce rates are on the rise and how should you protect your assets?
In the Have You Seen This? section, read about why many women are ill-prepared for the pandemic’s financial challenges.
It was Equal Pay Day on Friday for the UK: the day that women in effect stop being paid because of the gender pay gap. Although the gender pay gap has gone down recently, the Fawcett Society ‘said the reduction should be treated with caution, as a quarter of the usual sample of employer pay data was missing from the ONS calculations due to Covid.’
And we are tracking UK tech startup called Flown, founded by Alicia Navarro: it is an online platform that will match knowledge workers with inspiring properties. They have just closed a $1.5 million pre-seed investment round from several high-profile angels and entrepreneurs.
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 markets at a record high after Moderna vaccine boost
FTSE 100 hit the highest close since June, Europe’s 600 Stoxx hits highest close since February & the Dow Jones hits a record high.
On Monday, Moderna announced coronavirus vaccine was 94.5% effective
They join Pfizer as a front-runner in the global race to contain a raging pandemic that has killed 1.2 million people worldwide.
On Wednesday, Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech announced that its vaccine appears 95% effective at preventing mild to severe COVID-19 disease in a large, ongoing study.
US: several emergency lending facilities will be wound up in December
Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said wrapping up these emergency facilities would free up $455bn in funds that could be spent elsewhere by Congress.
These tools helped restore market confidence this year, which triggered the recovery in the market.
Analysts fear that the move will make it harder for Joe Biden’s administration to fight the economic damage of Covid-19.
UK national debt the highest since the 1960s after record borrowing in October (£22.3bn)
Britain has borrowed £215bn since April this year.
Meanwhile tax receipts has slumped by £70bn.
National debt is now 100.8% of GDP.
Bitcoin continues to rise, this time without the hype; (at writing it is priced at $18, 779)
Bitcoin is up 261% YTD (vs Tesla shares are up 585% YTD).
This is a 35 month high.
Crucially, bitcoin market cap has hit an ATH.
Future Focus
Keeping an eye on key predictions, innovations and what’s going to impact the future
Mark Haefele, chief investment officer of UBS Wealth Management has said, ‘..we think the next decade will reward investing in the disruptors in sectors undergoing technological transformation’.
Here are the 4 sub sectors:
The 5G wave
How consumers pay
Streamlining healthcare
Governments going green
Billionaire investor Mike Novogratz says bitcoin will hit $65,000
Bitcoin's market capitalisation recently hit a high of $337 billion, eclipsing a record of $328 billion set in December 2017, according to data from Coin Gecko.
Morgan Stanley says Tesla shares will surge 22% from current levels
Morgan Stanley said it sees an opportunity in Tesla's high-margin software-and-services business, which it expects to represent up to 20% of total profit by 2030.
‘To only value Tesla on car sales alone ignores the multiple businesses embedded within the company, and ignores the long term value creation arising from monetising Tesla's core strengths, driven by best in class software and ancillary services,’ the note said.
Companies: winners & losers
Companies to watch and share price movements
Tesla has hit a fresh ATH as it will be added to the S&P 500 in December.
Naked Wines reports a 80%+ increase in sales
The company revealed a rise in sales from £87.5m to £157.1m as more people ordered wine home.
The listed company has raised full-year sales forecast and expects full-year sales increase to be between 55 and 65% – up from previous forecasts of 40%.
Naked Wines describes the step change: ‘Ultimately the most significant impact of COVID-19 on Naked Wines is not found in these interim results, but in the way it has accelerated the growth of the online wine category and increased consumer willingness to trial a new and better way to buy wine.’
Your Money
Insights, trends and what this means for you and your purse
Divorce rates rise by 18.4% as advice is issued on how to protect pensions, wills & assets
Divorce rates rose in 2019:
According to the ONS, there were 107,599 divorces of opposite-sex couples in 2019, increasing by 18.4% from 90,871 in 2018.
There were 822 divorces among same-sex couples in 2019, nearly twice the number in 2018 and of these, nearly three quarters (72%) were between female couples.
Here is some advice on how to protect your assets:
Have the right team behind you; including a financial planner (not just a family solicitor).
Understand your day to day budget and create a financial plan that fits with your goals
Think about the long-term: consider the pension as an asset & update your will.
Have You Seen This?
Female-focused news, reports, research, campaigns
US: Many women are ill-prepared for the pandemic’s financial challenges
According to research, on average, adult women correctly answered 49% of the Personal Finance (Personal Finance Index) questions versus men who correctly answered 56%.
‘The combination of precarious personal finances and low financial literacy results in poor financial resiliency,’ said TIAA Institute Senior Economist Paul Yakoboski.
Additional findings reveal that minority women spent, on average, 13 hours per week contemplating and addressing personal finance issues, whereas their white peers spent five hours a week.
‘The 2020 P-Fin Index findings on women, particularly underrepresented women, are alarming. They signal an urgent need for policymakers, private-sector leaders, and others to develop policies and programs that empower women..’
Know this: learning about money; becoming financially literate during a ‘crisis’-be this a divorce, redundancy or a pandemic is very difficult. (This does not ignore the fact that the financial services industry has to play catch-up on how to best engage female customers and female investors). Carve out at least 10mins every day to learn something new about money and investing. Use this newsletter to inspire you; read the relevant article and highlight what interests you and want to read up on. Search for podcasts or watch YouTube videos on topics you are drawn to. If you have a partner, commit to a weekly or fortnightly ‘money date night’ to discuss all of your financial matters, including investments, investing decisions and pensions (& and other assets). Stay engaged. And why not find a financial planner who can help?
UK: Women in the mid-30s may never know equal pay in their lives
It was Equal Pay Day on Friday: the day that women in effect stop being paid because of the gender pay gap.
Labour has said 8.5m women will go their entire careers without receiving equal pay.
It comes as research from the Fawcett Society reveals that 43% of working women, and 50% of black and minority ethnic working women (compared with 35% of white working men) are worried about their job and promotion prospects because of coronavirus.
Fawcett calculates Equal Pay Day by using the full-time mean average gender pay gap – which this year is 11.5%, down from 13.1% in 2019. But it said the reduction should be treated with caution, as a quarter of the usual sample of employer pay data was missing from the ONS calculations due to Covid.
The Equality Trust said the government could only make equal pay a reality by giving women the right to know what a male colleague doing the same work was paid.
Know this: women have had to bear the brunt of the pandemic, both at work and at home. Society continues to lean on women to ‘pick up the pieces’ around childcare and the home. It goes without saying that employers need to provide remote and flexible work. However, as women we also need to have important conversations with our partners about sharing the workload in the home.
What We’re Tracking
Female-focused products or services, start-ups and businesses led by women, investment, crowdfunding campaigns and research.
Flown: (UK)-founded by Alicia Navarro, an online platform that will match knowledge workers with inspiring properties (already set up for productive and ergonomic remote work), supported by an array of online tools and resources.
Flown has now closed a $1.5 million pre-seed investment round from several noted and prolific angels and entrepreneurs, including Taavet Hinrikus (TransferWise), Greg Marsh (OneFineStay), James Meekings (Funding Circle) and Pete Cashmore (Mashable) — with a third of the fundraise also coming from female investors.
Coffee Break? Read This
“Other countries have social safety nets. The US has women’.
Women have long been the leaders in Navajo culture. Now they’re steering the fight against Covid
We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with Jana via the The Purse website or tweet @jointhepurse and @janicka.
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