Monthly Archives: November 2020

Passion Blog #6 – Stock Market under a Biden Administration

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Last blog I talked about Mutual Funds and ETFs, but for this blog I am going to take a different turn and talk about the effect of last month’s Presidential Election on the stock market’s future. I am going to try to make this analysis of the outcome as apolitical as possible. So, what exactly does a Biden administration mean for Wall Street? Let us break it down.

The first impact that has already started to happen is that stock prices in the short-term have gone up after the announcement of Biden’s victory. This is because declaring a winner takes away a lot of the election uncertainty that investors hate. Although not confirmed yet due to a run-off election in Georgia, it is also highly likely that the U.S. Senate will stay in the control of the Republicans.

This has large implications. Since the House of Representatives is controlled by Democrats, Congress will stay divided. From a policy perspective, a divided congress means that there will be no radical political changes from either extreme, so ambitious Democratic and Republican agenda will not be possible.

Taking a look at Biden’s administration again, it is likely that he will push for stronger regulation and antitrust action against tech giants such as Google and Facebook. It is unlikely however that these companies will be entirely split up like some of his more liberal democratic colleagues would like to see.

His administration would also aim to change the energy industry, with heavier regulation on oil and natural-gas companies. On the flip side, it is likely that the administration will aim to support and give stimulus to renewable energy businesses and electric car companies to help transition our economy to carbon-free.

Lastly, emerging international markets will be affected by this election. A Biden presidency most likely means more stable foreign and international trade policies, allowing markets in Europe and Asia to rise.

Next week I will be writing about the future of the stock market in a “Post-Covid Era” and future economic implications of this crisis. As always, referral and YouTube links down below.

Brokerage Accounts:

E*TRADE: https://refer.etrade.net/thomasfoltz42

Robinhood: https://join.robinhood.com/thomasf3202

YouTube Channels:

Graham Stephan –https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV6KDgJskWaEckne5aPA0aQ

Andrei Jikh – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGy7SkBjcIAgTiwkXEtPnYg

RCL Blog #9 – Group Memo History of a Public Controversy

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RCL Blog 9: Group Memo 

Part 1: Details from the TED Talk workdays. These details should include the roles/responsibilities for each group member, the topics you discussed over the meeting days, the research you found, and a plan for how the work will be divided as you move forward to complete the video. 

11/13: We all decided to research the public controversy of the electoral college. We then looked at some links online to learn and get a background about the electoral college. Next, we decided which topics each of us is going to cover. Thomas is going over the historical background of the electoral college, Kevin will discuss the benefits of the Electoral College system, and lastly Charley will discuss the issues with the Electoral College. Our framing questions will be “Why and when was the Electoral College established?”, “What does the Electoral College protect us against?”, and lastly “What can be improved?” 

11/19: Working on our RCL Blog 9 Assignment, as well as creating our storyboard/outline. Thomas will be looking into the video-editing software, so that we can use it to publish our video.  

 

Part 2: One to two paragraphs describing your multi-media project. In this description, you will explain what makes the issue you have chosen a public controversy and identify a set of framing questions (5-7) you will want to explore. 

You will also explain how you will historicize the controversy. Lastly, you will explain the media (image choices, audio, sourcing) you plan to use to present your topic and why you have made those choices. 

  • Our multi-media project is focusing on the growing controversy over the effectiveness of the electoral college in present-day America. We plan to examine its historical background and origins and whether its initial purpose still applies today. Our topic is relevant and worthy of our research because of the growing political polarization in America and the encroachment of political opinion into all aspects of society. Some framing questions to guide our research include: 
  • Who created the electoral college? 
  • When and why was the electoral college created? 
  • How does the electoral college work? 
  • What are some benefits to the electoral college? 
  • What are some issues with the electoral college? 
  • Mention how it isn’t a strictly partisan issue (Republicans and Democrats vary their feelings on it) 
  • How can the electoral college be improved? 
  • Concluding question: Is the electoral college still effective in modern day American society? 
  • We will merely ask the question and summarize the two main stances so that the audience can form their own opinion 
  • Media selections 
  • Pictures, interpretations, maps, and videos from different eras showcasing the electoral college, including: 
  • Paintings of the Founding Fathers when creating the Constitution to depict its origins 
  • Article 2, Section 1  
  • Videos or diagrams to explain how the electoral college works 
  • Maps, statistics, and graphs from election years with significant outcomes (ex. Trump winning in 2016 despite losing the popular vote) 
  • Pictures and signs of people protesting the electoral college 
  • Possibly surveys of how many people approve of the electoral college 
  • Videos from recent elections from debates 
  • Focus on questions asked about the electoral college 
  • Other clips of government officials speaking on the electoral college 

RCL Blog #8 – TED Talk Outline

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Intro

Intro: What if I told you that Slavery in the south, the American Manifest Destiny, and Nuclear Energy all have something in common? Call me crazy, but that connection is due to the invention of the steam engine. The steam engine had broad implications for future innovations and society that continue to impact us to this day.

Background:

-First let us look at what a steam engine is and the three men that created it

-Thomas Savery, 1698, Devonshire

-The Miners Friend Company

-Water flooding lower parts of coal mines

-Needed a more efficient way than hand-pumps

-Explain basic steam engine concept

-Boiling water to produce steam

-Steam goes through pipes, down into water

-Steam is sprayed with cold water to create a vacuum

-Thomas Newcomen, 1712, Devonshire

-Used sealed boiler instead of an open fire

-Piston system

-James Watt, 1769, Scotland

-Condensation process was separate from piston

-Machine parts could now stay at intended temperature

Slavery:

-Changes in Textiles Industry

-Powered mechanized spindles

-Easy to spin cotton

-Better clothes material than wool

-Demand for cotton grows

-Cotton supplied due by slave labor in American South

-Revitalizes the slave labor industry

-Growth of slavery in 1800-1850s

Transition: Talk about how cotton was able to easily cross the ocean

Manifest Destiny:

-Steamboats

-First successful steamboat: The North River Steamboat

                        -American Engineer Robert Fulton in 1807

-New York City to Albany upstream on the Hudson River at 5mph

-Allowed for growth of towns/cities upstream on rivers

-Ohio & Mississippi Valleys

-First Transoceanic Steamboat Voyage: Savannah

-1819, from Savannah to Liverpool in 27 days

-Half time on sailboat

-Enabled greater North Atlantic sea travel named “The Atlantic Ferry”

-Steam trains

-First commercial steam train: The Rocket

-British Engineer Richard Trevithick in 1803

-Carried passengers from Liverpool to Manchester at 36mph

-Impact of railroads in America, rise of industrial power

-Goods could be easily transported, opening up new markets out West

-New settlements around train routes

-Factories centralize around railroad hubs, creating places like Chicago

Nuclear Energy:

-Electrical Engines and Combustion Engines have taken over steam power

-The core idea of steam engines used in Nuclear Power Plants

-Describe how power plants work

-Nuclear Energy might be temporary solution to meet our power needs while we transition over to sustainable energy.

Conclusion: What to take away from all of this: The invention of the steam engine shows us to not underestimate the impact of new technologies, because they could have a great impact on the future. Thank you.

 

Passion Blog #5 – Mutual Funds/ETFs

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Last blog I talked about investing in bonds and the low-risk that they provide. Another popular investment strategy to decrease risk is through Mutual Funds and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). Both are great ways for investors to diversify by spreading their money out through many assets. There are some some key differences between Mutual Funds and ETFs that are important to look at in order to decide which is better for your needs.

Mutual Funds

  • Purchasable at end of each trading day based of off a calculated price
  • Actively managed by a fund manager who makes decisions on how to allocate assets
  • Assets are bought and sold accordingly to help the investor make profit and attempt to “beat the market”
  • Have set fees/expenses due to the fact that these funds are actively managed
  • Two types of mutual funds: Open-ended or Close-ended
    • Open-ended: the purchase and sale of fund shares take place directly between investors and the fund company
    • Close-ended: issue only a specific number of shares and do not issue new shares as investor demand grows

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)

  • Can be purchased just like any regular stock during trading hours
  • Passively managed, typically tracking a current area of the market, such as tech, pharma, banks, etc……
  • Have small fees or no fees due to less active fund management
  • Three types of mutual funds: Exchange-Traded Open-End Index Mutual Funds, Exchange-Traded Unit Investment Trusts (UIT), Exchange-Traded Grantor Trust
    • Exchange-Traded Open-End Index Mutual Fund: The stock’s dividends are reinvested on the day of receipt and paid to shareholders in cash every quarter
    • Exchange-Traded Unit Investment Trusts (UIT): These attempt to fully replicate their specific indexes, limit investments in a single issue to 25% or less, and set additional weighting limits for diversified and non-diversified funds.
    • Exchange-Traded Grantor Trust: These are similar to close-ended mutual funds, but the investors own the actual shares in the companies in which the ETF is invested, and get the dividends back in cash

Next blog I will be writing about the elected President’s influence on the stock market. As always, referral and YouTube links down below.

Brokerage Accounts:

E*TRADE: https://refer.etrade.net/thomasfoltz42

Robinhood: https://join.robinhood.com/thomasf3202

YouTube Channels:

Graham Stephan –https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV6KDgJskWaEckne5aPA0aQ

Andrei Jikh – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGy7SkBjcIAgTiwkXEtPnYg