Weekly newsletter for women who want to be smart about money: financial news, personal finance and investing
Welcome to our #20 weekly newsletter in 2020.
Every week we curate key articles and content so you can stay informed and inspired about money and investing. And we spend hours sifting through content every week so you don’t have to.
We apply a female-lens to news and content about money and investing so that it is more meaningful to you.
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.
“When we take control of our financial future we can live life on our terms”
-Jana Hlistova
Photo: Cowomen
From The Purse…
Editorial from the Founder
The global markets lost $1.5 trillion market cap last week as investors shift their focus to re-opening economies and how challenging this is likely to be. Tensions between the US and China continue and mixed economic data means that investors are feeling jittery.
The Bank of England (BoE) has not introduced additional economic stimulus and is holding the interest rate at 0.1% for now. However, it is prepared to do whatever it takes: it may introduce negative interest rates.
The UK economy declined at record pace in March; GDP fell by 5.8%. However it is still faring better than the Eurozone.
US industrial and retail activity plunged in April by 11.2% and 16.4% respectively, however according to an index of consumer sentiment, the market is starting to pick up again in early May. We shall see.
US unemployment is now at 36.5 million Americans and the Federal Reserve has warned a ‘prolonged recession’ is a threat if companies can not survive the downturn.
And early in the week, bitcoin halving took place at the price point of $8,572.
Based on research by CoinMarketCap, the number of female crypto users has increased by more than 40% from January to March this year.
Syndio, the US HR technology start-up has raised $7.5million to help bolster its efforts to maintain equal pay and eliminate disparities due to gender, ethnicity, race or age.
And I interviewed Veronica Mihai Das for The Purse Podcast. Veronica is the Founding Partner at Bloomwater Capital: a hedge fund for digital assets. We talked about blockchain, digital assets and bitcoin. And how women can start investing in digital assets even if it is with very little money initially. You can listen here and here.
Stay safe, look after yourself 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
The Coronavirus Effect:
Global markets have lost $1.5 trillion market cap as investors shift their focus to what a re-opened economy looks like; the tension between the US and China continues and mixed economic data didn’t support equity narrative.
The Bank of England (BoE) may be forced to increase economic stimulus via quantitative easing (QE)
On Thursday the Bank’s monetary policy committee voted to hold interest rates at 0.1%.
And rejected the Bank’s proposal to increase stimulus by £100 billion (from £645 billion to £745 billion).
The Bank warned that unemployment could more than double by spring and the economy is expected to fall by 14% this year.
There is increased speculation that this could lead to a further cut in interest rates: this would be the first time negative interest rates are implemented in the UK.
The UK economy declines at record pace in March.
According to the first estimates by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), GDP fell by 5.8% in March compared to February, and the largest drop since the monthly series began in 1997.
In the first quarter (Jan-March), GDP fell 2% compared to the previous quarter, its largest drop since the financial crisis.
The Eurozone fared worse with a 3.8% contraction in the first quarter vs a 1.2% contraction in the US.
The relative size of GDP contractions is linked to the stringency of lockdown measures and when they were introduced.
Output in the services sector, which accounts for 80% of the UK economy fell 1.9% in the first quarter, the largest drop since 1990.
The Bank of England (BoE) has forecast a 30% drop in output in the first half of 2020, the fastest and deepest recession in 300 years.
The UK economy may not return to pre-coronavirus before 2022.
US industrial and retail activity declined in April
Headline US retail sales dropped by 16.4% to $403.9 billion-the biggest decline since 1992.
Between February and April spending at clothing and accessories stores fell 90%. However non-store retailers, including online vendors, rose about 21%.
Industrial production fell by 11.2% and industrial production losses are unlikely to be recovered until late 2021.
However, an index of consumer sentiment tracked by the University of Michigan rose by about two points-defying expectations of a decline.
US: The House of Democrats pass a $3 trillion coronavirus relief package on Friday, however the Republicans oppose the bill:
It includes relief for state and local governments, more direct payments, hazard pay for essential workers, an extension of the federal unemployment benefit and money for testing, among other provisions.
US unemployment continues to rise
Total unemployment is now 36.5m Americans as a result of the coronavirus (up by nearly 3m last week).
On Friday, gold closed at its highest level since November 2012
Bitcoin third halving took place on Monday, 11 May
The bitcoin price was $8,572 at the third halving.
When the first halving took place, bitcoin’s price was $12, at the second halving it was $658.
Looking Ahead in 2020
‘The record shows that deeper and longer recessions can leave behind lasting damage to the productive capacity of the economy. Avoidable household and business insolvencies can weigh on growth for years to come.
The result could be an extended period of low productivity growth and stagnant incomes…’
$2 billion cryptocurrency hedge fund industry set to ‘grow significantly
According to a new report by PwC and Elwood Asset Management Services: 2020 Crypto Hedge Fund Report published May 11, cryptocurrency hedge funds’ assets under management (AUM) more than doubled (from $1 billion) in 2019.
The average AUM increased from $21.9m to $44m.
The report additionally finds that “the launch of actively managed crypto funds is highly correlated with the price of bitcoin (BTC)”
Coronavirus Impact: Your Money
Insights, trends and what this means for you and your money
The coronavirus turns the UK into a country of savers
According to financial advice firm, Citimark, the average UK household could have saved almost £900 by now.
Another report from Legal & General and the economics consultancy Cebr, suggests that the UK’s ‘isolation economy’ has driven a shift in consumer spending habits equivalent to an annual £12.9 billion: we are spending far more on groceries, alcohol, entertainment, hobbies and crafts.
Study: 70% of investors saw drop in share price as a strong investment opportunity.
The survey by Graniteshares took the views of 1,025 people between 27th and 30th March, which was just days after the FTSE 100 dropped.
According to the survey only 22% of retail investors took action and by implication most investors ‘sat on their hands’.
This contradicts data from Charles Schwab and IG Trading: they experienced a surge in the number of new trading accounts and in trading activity.
Companies to Watch: winners & losers
Companies to watch and share price movements
Saudi Aramco reports 25% dip in profits after oil market collapse
The world’s most profitable company reported net profits of 62.48bn riyals ($16.64bn) for the first quarter of the year, down sharply from 83.29bn riyals a year earlier, after a two-thirds drop in the global price of oil.
The collapse in crude prices has also wiped billions of dollars from Aramco’s market value.
Morrisons posts lockdown sales boost but fuel suffers 70% hit
The supermarket saw group like-for-like sales excluding fuel up 5.7% in the 14 weeks to 10 May (Q1, 2020/21).
It said trading during individual weeks was ‘highly volatile’, with stocking up, lockdown, and weak Easter trading all having an impact on the sales data.
But like-for-like fuel sales were down 39% and 70% since lockdown as customers made fewer car journeys.
In the Spotlight
Is there a topic you'd like us to Spotlight? Please tweet @jointhepurse
How much debt does the UK government have and does it matter?
In the UK, the Institute of Fiscal Studies estimate the government will need to borrow an extra £200 billion in this financial year alone. (Although this may be closer to £300 billion in this financial year).
It is heading towards a debt-to-GDP ratio of 95%. Currently it is at approximately 83%.
The UK’s annual income is £2.2 trillion.
For the last 20 years in the UK and Europe, and for 40 years in the US, interest rates on government debt has fallen, making debt cheaper to finance.
There is always concern interest rates could rise, but economists this is unlikely to happen any time soon.
There are too many savings ‘looking for a safe haven’ for the demand for government bonds to fall.
In the developed world, there is always someone to borrow from (at least for the foreseeable future).
Have You Seen This?
Female-focused news, reports, research, campaigns
Women take a bigger interest in trading cryptocurrency more than ever
According to data collected by CoinMarketCap, the number of female crypto users has increased by more than 40% from January to March, 2020.
Women represents 21% of crypto users of CoinMarketCap’s database, up from 15.5% in the last 4 months in 2019.
Approximately 50% growth in female crypto users was in Europe and America.
About 96% of the female investors agreed that if more educational resources are provided, they would be more welcoming to bitcoin investing.
Women in lower-grade jobs hit by pension change ‘at risk of depression’
According to research by academics at King’s College, the changes to the state pension age (SPA) has resulted in a widening gap in health between women from different occupations.
“Our research is important because we know that worsening mental health will lead to higher healthcare costs, higher use of disability benefits and greater use of health services. Worsening mental health also leads to lower economic productivity and reduced ability to participate in life,” said Dr Ludovico Carrino,
Almost 4 million women born in the 1950s lost their pensions when the pension age was raised from 60 to 66 between 2010 and 2018.
Check out this free tool to calculate if you have been underpaid your state pension. If you are a married woman, and your husband has reached pension age, you may not know that you can claim a higher rate (UK)
Twitter adds a woman to its board of directors: Dr Fei-Fei Li:
Dr Fei-Fei Li is Professor of Computer Science at Stanford, Co-Director Stanford Human-Centred AI Institute, CoFounder/Chair at AI for All, Researcher #AI#computervision#ML AI+healthcare
What We’re Tracking
Female-focused products or services, crowdfunding campaigns, start-ups and businesses led by female entrepreneurs & investment, research
A global perspective: Covid’s impact on European and American female founders and VCs
According to a survey conducted by Jane VC:
European start-ups are more fearful of the pandemic than American start-ups (62% vs 43%). American start-ups generally tend to raise more capital.
European female founders felt more disadvantaged due to their gender but felt more supported within the start-up ecosystem.
Syndio (US): CEO Maria Colacurcio has raised $7.5m investment round to bolster its HR technology that helps companies maintain equal pay and eliminate disparities.
The company’s software analyses salaries and eliminates discriminatory differences in pay that are tied to gender, race, ethnicity or age. It is also provides strategies for fixing those disparities.
The51: (Canada): investment platform which matches female angel investors with female entrepreneurs, has partnered with the Atlantic Women’s Venture Fund.
Money Habits of the Week
Do you have a money habit you would like to share with us? Tweet @jointhepurse
Find an accountability partner who you can talk to about how your save, spend and invest. Agree to a regular ‘meet-up’ to ‘talk money’.
If you’re married or have a partner, agree to a regular ‘money date’ to discuss your finances: how you save, spend and invest.
Think about new money habits that you can continue to build on.
What We’re Watching
Didier Sornette: studies whether it is possible to anticipate big changes or predict crises in complex systems.
You may think the 2007-2008 financial crisis was an unpredictable one-time crash. In this TED talk from 2013: How we can predict the next financial crisis, Didier Sornette talks about how it is possible to track early warning signs for unstable, growing systems, ‘predict’ the moment when any bubble is about to pop. (And he's seeing it happen again, right now.)
Coffee Break? Read This
Only a government devoid of women could have drafted a plan so full of holes
Low paid workers more likely to die from Covid-19 than higher paid workers
We’d love to hear from you. Do you have feedback? Get in touch with Jana via the The Purse website or tweet @jointhepurse and @janicka.
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