Weekly newsletter for women who want to be smart about money: financial news, personal finance and investing
Welcome to our #23 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: Marcus Aurelius
From The Purse…
Editorial from the Founder
The European Central Bank (ECB) expanded its stimulus package on Thursday: it will buy an additional €600bn of bonds to help revive the eurozone due to the pandemic crisis.
Meanwhile UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed that he would be delaying a further stimulus package of tax cuts and spending commitments until the autumn.
Boris Johnson warned of ‘many, many job losses’ and UK consumer confidence fell to its lowest point in May, since January 2009.
And the Trade Unions Congress has warned that women will be driven out of the workplace ‘if the government does not urgently bail out childcare providers’.
In the US, unemployment was expected to reach 20% in May but instead fell to 13.3% (in May) from 14.7% in April. The S&P 500 rose 2.6% higher; the index has risen more than 40% since the March lows-despite the devastating economic impact the coronavirus has had and even the George Floyd protests. #BlackLivesMatter.
According to a report by Bloomberg, the price of bitcoin could surge to $20,000 this year and we spotlight whether it is a good idea to invest in gold.
Some good news, for the first time the highest earning CEO in the S&P 500 index is a woman and we track a minority and female-led health-tech startup called Incredible Health which has raised $17m to date.
Read about GameAbove Capital which has just launched and will invest in minority and women-owned businesses with a focus on sustainability.
In the ‘Coffee Break? Read this’ section we have selected a few articles from the Harvard Business Review on how to refuel if you feel emotionally drained and how you need to change how you see if you want to change how you think.
Stay safe, take care of yourself and your loved ones.
I hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter. And until next week!
Jana
The Big Picture
Global markets and economy news, trends and indicators
The Coronavirus Effect:
The European Central Bank (ECB) expanded its stimulus package on Thursday.
It will buy an additional €600bn of bonds to help revive the eurozone whilst reducing its forecasts for inflation and growth.
The ECB’s pandemic emergency purchasing programme will take it to $1.35tn and extending the scheme to June 2021.
Its asset portfolio could increase to $4tn: approximately a third of its gross domestic product (GDP).
Inflation forecast has been reduced to 0.3% this year, to 0.8% next year and 1.3% in 2022 (well below its target of 2%).
UK consumer confidence fell to its lowest point in May since January 2009.
This is as a result of worries over a surge in unemployment and tumbling house prices during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Mr Sunak has already spent £133bn mitigating the economic impact of the coronavirus.
There has been a lack of spending growth since the lockdown restrictions began to be lifted 11 May.
According to the Institute for Government, UK unemployment is likely to rise to 30%.
In April there was a 70% rise in Universal Credit claims.
More job losses will follow after the government’s furlough scheme is lifted.
US unemployment was expected to be at 20%, however with the increase in jobs, unemployment fell to 13.3% in May, from 14.7% in April.
The S&P 500 has risen more than 40% since the March lows.
Elon Musk says that it is time to break-up Amazon escalating feud with CEO Jeff Bezos. Amazon’s market cap is $1.2tn.
Looking Ahead in 2020/2021
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) have released new projections (US):
The coronavirus may reduce economic output by 3% through to 2030, a loss of $7.9tn.
According to Bloomberg, Bitcoin could approach a record high of $20,000 this year (or above).
The report suggests that Covid-19 has accelerated Bitcoin’s maturation as an asset and points to an ever increasing appetite from institutional investors.
Coronavirus Impact: Your Money
Insights, trends and what this means for you and your money
UK consumers repay a record £7.4bn in debt during the Covid-19 lockdown
However outstanding credit card debt remains at £64bn.
In May, households probably continued to pay down debt and businesses continued to borrow to stay afloat.
Hundreds of thousands of married women could be missing out on £1000s extra state pension a year.
Married women who retired before April 2016 on small state pensions could be missing out on a state pension boost based on their husband’s pension records.
After their husband turned 65, these married women could have put a claim in for a higher pension.
Companies to Watch: winners & losers
Companies to watch and share price movements
FTSE 100: travel and leisure shares surge
FTSE 100 airlines International Consolidated Airlines and easyJet surged on the prospect of a ramping up in air travel, rising over 11% and 7% respectively.
Shares in cruise operator, Carnival, were up as much as 20% and were the FTSE 100’s top riser on Friday.
Ted Baker founder cuts stake by 55% in emergency funding bid
Ray Kelvin has reduced his stake by 55% to 15.8% as part of an emergency £105m fundraising to get the business through the pandemic crisis.
Investment firm, Toscafund founded by Martin Hughes, has nearly doubled its stake to 26.4%.
Ted Baker reported a loss before tax of £79.9m in the year to 25 January, before the pandemic started to affect sales, and a 1.4% fall in revenues. That compares to a £30.7m profit a year before.
Gap posts a $932m loss in the 3 months to May, shares fall 8%
The clothing retailer reported a 43% fall in sales during the period, as 90% of the group’s stores were closed amid the Coronavirus pandemic.
However, online sales is growing. For the month of May, online sales at the retailer had doubled compared to the same month last year.
Gap is said to owe the Simon Property Group, a shopping mall operator $65.9m for three months of rent.
In the Spotlight
Is there a topic you'd like us to Spotlight? Please tweet @jointhepurse
Is investing in gold a good idea right now?
Perceptions of gold has changed over the last 20 years.
Gold’s unique attributes as a scarce, highly liquid and uncorrelated asset highlight that it can act as a genuine diversifier over the long term.
Gold is regarded as a safe haven during uncertain times. However it can also generate a positive return during ‘the good times’.
Extensive analysis suggests that adding between 2%-10% of gold to a pound sterling-based portfolio will make a tangible improvement to performance and boost returns over the long-term.
Have You Seen This?
Female-focused news, reports, research, campaigns
For the first time, the highest earning CEO in the S&P 500 Index is a woman
For the first time, a woman executive took the top spot on the list of the highest paid CEOs based on the Associated Press' (AP) annual survey of CEO compensation
Lisa Su is the CEO and president of Advanced Micro Devices, an American multinational semiconductor company.
Su's 2019 pay package had a value of $58.5 million "following a strong performance for the company's stock during her five years as CEO," according to AP.
Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC, said:
“Our childcare sector is on the brink of collapse, and it’s putting women’s jobs on the line. If childcare places disappear, women will be pushed out of the workforce. Women workers are bearing the brunt of this crisis, both on the frontline and at home…”
Coronavirus: why the ‘motherhood penalty’ has been amplified by the lockdown
What We’re Tracking
Female-focused products or services, crowdfunding campaigns, start-ups and businesses led by female entrepreneurs & investment, research
Incredible Health (US)-cofounded by female entrepreneur Iman Abuzeid and Rome Portlock. It is a software business which makes it easier for hospital clients to find medical staff.
Iman Abuzeid has raised $17m in start-up funding, despite being a minority founder and often ‘underestimated’.
In health care, women represent 65 percent of the workforce and make 80 percent of the buying decisions -- but only represent 13 % of the CEOs.
Black women typically net less than 1% of the billions in venture funding.
However, the data proves that diversity drives performance.
GameAbove Capital (US): -has just launched and it aims at investing in minority and women-owned businesses with a focus on sustainability.
Started by CapStone Holdings, GameAbove is deploying $50 million amid the economic downturn that is hurting small and medium-sized companies.
The minimum transaction for each investment deal will be $3 million.
And the focus will be on companies which target environmental and social sectors, such as clean water ventures, transportation, education and worker development.
Money Habits of the Week
Do you have a money habit you would like to share with us? Tweet @jointhepurse
Commit to reading up about the blockchain, digital assets and bitcoin.
Understand the key concepts and why bitcoin is more relevant than ever before.
If you’re short on time, listen to the podcast interview with Veronica Mihai Das, the Partner at Bloomwater Capital, who explains the fundamentals of blockchain and digital assets.
What We’re Watching
Wendy De La Rosa is a co-founder of Common Cents Labs where she focuses on using behaviourial science to help people make better financial decisions.
In this Ted talk, Wendy explains what can help you save more and spend less.
Coffee Break? Read This
Michael Jordan donates $100m to racial-equality causes over the next 10 years.
Reflections on bias: Koia’s female founder -and only black employee has a recipe for change
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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