Are stocks overvalued?

On September 3, 2020; Wall Street had its worst day in months. The S&P 500 dropped 3.5% on this day, and tech stocks were the culprits. Despite continued high unemployment and a weak outlook for corporate profits, the stock market is continuing to be overvalued. With the US economy in a recession, one would think that stocks should not be so high. Investors have been optimistic about tech companies, including Amazon; Apple; Microsoft; Facebook; and Alphabet. Amazon was up more than 90 percent this year, Apple more than 80 percent, Microsoft and Facebook nearly 50 percent, and Alphabet nearly 30 percent. Furthermore, tech stocks have fueled the recovery of financial markets since late March 2020. Since March 2020, the S&P 500 is up more than 50%. At the same time, many analysts are warning that the stock market’s gains are detached from reality. The outlook for corporate profits and economic growth is far from positive. Lawmakers were not able to reach an agreement on a relief package. In addition, corporate profits for S&P 500 companies are expected to be down nearly 20 percent this year. Also, the pandemic-related shutdowns this year have created persistent problems for the labor market. The unemployment rate is 8.4%, as this news was reported on September 4, 2020. The S&P 500 is up nearly 7 percent for the year, which is some good news for investors. On the other hand, the election could produce a steep drop for the stock market depending on the result. Next, the Nasdaq reached an all-time high on September 2, 2020. Apple's market cap is above $2 trillion, and Amazon has the 2nd highest market cap at $1.65 trillion. Microsoft and Alphabet are the other two tech bellwethers, that have market caps above $1 trillion. If stocks continue on an upward trend, Facebook could be the next stock to reach $1 trillion. The Dow Jones industrial average is down close to 1.5% for YTD. In this penultimate paragraph, let's discuss the state of the economy during the global coronavirus pandemic. First, the pace of the economic recovery has decelerated. The U.S. is regaining jobs at a slower pace several months after the economy reopened. More people are spending money at fashion malls, and restaurants due to an uptick in some consumer spending numbers. Yet, the coronavirus has not gone away. Airports around the country are mostly empty, and hotel rooms are largely unoccupied. In closing, stocks are overvalued. Life is far from normal. Will the coronavirus pandemic lead the economy into a deeper recession in 2021, and beyond? Hopefully, an end to Trumpism may change the state of the economy in a positive way. Let's hope for a Biden victory on election day, to result in a better economic picture in the USA.

Pac-12 and Big 10 cancel fall football; and will delay it to Spring 2021 due to covid-19 scare

Almost two weeks ago, the Pac-12 and Big 10 conferences canceled their college football seasons for 2020. Let's fast forward to Spring 2021, and these two conferences might play football. Actually, both major conferences cancelled all of their Fall sports. It sounds like a major bummer for me, since college football and basketball are two of my favorite sports to watch on Saturday and Sunday. The conferences are doing this process, as they want the sports programs to be safe for everyone to play. Yet, the ACC and SEC decided that it is going to continue their Fall tradition of sports starting in two to three weeks. Furthermore, the University of Notre Dame will play college football in the ACC for this year. This news is a major surprise, as the renowned college football team plays as an Independent standing team (or in Independents conference) consistently. In campus related news, Notre Dame has shut down its university for the upcoming two to three weeks as some students were testing positive for covid-19. The students were sent home for about two weeks, but the campus may reopen in September. If fall sports at Notre Dame were canceled as covid-19 cases go up, the university would lose a lot of money. Next, UNC-Chapel Hill had a plan for in-person classes for Fall 2020. One hundred and thirty people tested positive for coronavirus, and the tar heels are sending students back home. The fall semester will be online at this time. There have been an influx of parties at Notre Dame; UNC-Chapel Hill; Purdue; and Pennsylvania State (aka Penn State) which result in a lack of social distancing for college students. The USA is going through a steady number of coronavirus cases on a daily basis. In addition, many healthcare professionals and scientists do not want to see a twindemic; of influenza and coronavirus for September 2020 through December 31, 2020. With Covid-19 cases reaching close to 5.9 million in the US, the virus may not be contained until second or third quarter of 2021. Globally, there needs to be a vaccine in place for people just like there is a flu shot. Brazil; India; Russia; and South Africa are the other four nations that have very high cases of coronavirus. These days, the NBA and MLB have players that wear masks to their stadiums and arenas. Many of the bench players and managers;coaches; etc. are wearing masks and social distancing is a major requirement. In this penultimate paragraph, fans are not allowed at NBA; MLB; and NHL games. If there is a vaccine and the coronavirus is contained in the next 6 to 12 months, fans might come back to sporting events. At this time, cardboard cutouts of fans are common in MLB and digitals fans are making their cameos at NBA games. So far, the MLB and NBA have started to get back on TV. The NBA has started their exciting playoffs, and the NHL is back on the ice in Canada. In closing, the NHL and NBA are playing in a bubble. Orlando and other nearby cities in the Magic Kingdom area are home to NBA games. The NHL is having their games in Edmonton and Toronto, Canada. See the image above the Nationals stadium, as there are no fans. Will these major sports bring back fans in 2021? Let's hope for the best.

Zuckerberg becomes centibillionaire. What is a centibillionaire?

Today, Mark Zuckerberg's net worth passed $100 billion. Since his market cap is above $100 billion, Mark is a centibillionaire. Personally, this term is a new one for me. A centibillionaire is a person that has a net worth of $100 billion or more. Jeff Bezos is considered to be the world's wealthiest man. He is in the centibillionaire club. In addition, today's blog post centers on Income and new terminology. While centibillionaire is part of the new terminology, some people may wonder what is the regular wage for middle class America. Middle Class America has a salary range of $45,000 to $136,000. This range is for a family of 4 people that includes two parents, and 2 kids. The real question is can you survive off of the salary of $65,000 to $70,000, or another higher income. This question fits into the problem of income inequality, in this country. Next, Kirsten Gillibrand and Bernie Sanders have introduced the Make Billionaires Pay Act. Ed Markey is a Democratic senator from Massachusetts, and he worked with Gillibrand and Sanders on this $731 billion tax plan. This plan is a 60% tax on the windfall wealth increases of billionaires during this pandemic. It is done to pay for all out-of-pocket medical expenses, for every person in America for a year. In 2019, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Sanders worked on another bill regarding the taxation of the wealthy .001% in the USA. Furthermore, the Forbes 400 list started in 1982. This list is published annually by Forbes magazine, and it compiles a good number of people that have the most wealth in the US. Some of these affluent individuals are doing more to accumulate wealth, like Bezos who has owned the Washington Post also. The list depicts the shift in finances, philanthropy, and leadership positions. Bill Gates may not be CEO of Microsoft, but he is big into philanthropy thanks to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In this penultimate paragraph, let's discuss the Forbes 400 wealthiest americans list. Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates were #1 and #2 respectively in the 2019 list. Bezos ex-wife, Mackenzie; joined the list with $36 billion. That number is #15 on the list. The gap between Bezos and Gates is $8 billion. Warren Buffett, Mark Zuckerberg, and Larry Ellison rounded out the top 5 list of wealthiest americans. In closing, the reader might be fascinated by the different names of wealth in this blog post. See the picture of Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, at the top of this post. Most of the billionaires have an entreprenurial mindset, creativity, and a relentless work ethic. One great idea can make a billionaire amass their wealth, but it may take some failures before their big success takes off. These characteristics set billionaires apart from the common folk.

Trump cancels Republican National Convention in Jacksonville, FL; and Biden's vetting process for his VP candidate

Recently, Donald Trump has canceled the RNC activities in Jacksonville, FL; and this part was day 2 through 4 in the Republican National Convention (RNC). As of today, Trump has the RNC first part in Charlotte, NC on August 24, 2020 only. Canceling the second part of the RNC is an odd action, by Trump. In most swing states, Joe Biden is leading in the polls. Most of the polls have Biden leading, and the election is close to 100 days away. November 3 is election day, and there could be a lot of Mail-In Voting which Trump despises. As for Biden's VP candidate, he has narrowed it down to four women. His presumptive choices are Keisha Lance Bottoms, Kamala Harris, Susan Rice, and Val Demmings. These four women are in the vetting process, and Elizabeth Warren is not of his top four choices. Susan Rice is former United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2009 to 2013, as she served in this role under President Obama. Also, she served as National security advisor from 2013 to 2017 under President Obama. For Susan's education, she received her BA from Stanford University and her PHD from Oxford University. From a political experience standpoint, Rice has a vast amount of diplomatic knowledge which helps her tremendously. A big plus for Rice is she has had a long relationship, with Joe Biden. In contrast, Keisha Lance Bottoms is the current mayor of Atlanta. She has a BA from Florida A&M, plus a JD from Georgia State University. Next, Val Demmings is a politician representing Florida. She was former police chief of Orlando. Furthermore, Kamala Harris is a Senator from California. She is a former district attorney, and her presidential run as the presumptive democratic nominee ended in December 2019. If Joe Biden wants to pick someone that he has a close relationship, then Susan Rice seems to be a pragmatic choice. Yet, Harris seems to be woman that Joe could pick as well. Don't forget Keisha Bottoms or Val Demmings, as Biden has three weeks left to announce his VP candidate. The DNC (democratic national convention) is in Milwaukee, WI; from August 17 to 20. But, this event could be a virtual one because of the covid-19 pandemic. Since the pandemic continues to drive covid-19 cases up in Florida, canceling the RNC is an about face for Trump. Donald is trying to figure out how to make his big presidential candidacy speech. Frankly, Trump should have the RNC as a virtual event. Trump is a horrible speaker, and his strategy needs to shift for the Republican party to extend its support for him. In closing, there are lot of changes that could take place in the DNC and RNC formats. There are only three to four weeks until these two big conventions take place. Enjoy the picture above of the RNC logo, and the beautiful elephant symbol. RSG is wishing for some political peace, before Election Day.

Kanye West is headed in the wrong direction, as a 2020 presidential candidate

Hope everyone had a good 4th of July weekend, except for the news that Kanye West announced his 2020 presidential candidacy. The fellow Chicago native is a billionaire; rapper; and fashion designer. Now, he wants to battle Donald Trump and Joe Biden in the 2020 election. I know many of you thought that Kanye would support Donald Trump, since they are such wacky buddies. On the contrary, West announced his candidacy over this past weekend. I can't picture Kim K. as the first lady of this country. However, Kanye has no campaign organization set up for his election run. He has not filed any election paperwork, and he missed the ballot deadline in several key states. To be frank, his announcement for his presidential run seems quite impractical. Or, is it typical Kanye?! Elon Musk and Mark Cuban are supporting Kanye for his presidential run. This news is eccentric for sure! In the past, Kanye West had fought with Jay-Z. Recently, Kanye and Jay-Z patched up their friendship when they met at P.Diddy's 50th birthday party in December 2019. Will Kanye's presidential run ruin his friendship with Donald Trump? I hope the answer is 'Yes.' Hope Joe Biden can defeat Donald Trump and Kanye West in November 2020. In this penultimate paragraph, Kanye West should stick to designing Adidas Yeezy sneakers. Adidas Yeezy is a collaboration between Adidas and Kanye West. The Yeezy shoes have produced ten different types of successful shoe brands that utilize Adidas Boost material. West's rap music is not making the most money for him, as the Yeezy brand is the more successful product in the past 4 years. Some of the Yeezy shoes have sold out quickly, which made Kanye a billionaire on the Forbes list in 2020. In closing, Kanye West might go in the same direction as Justin Amash did. Amash had to abandon his 3rd party presidential bid in May 2020. Justin Amash is a libertarian American lawyer, that represents the state of Michigan. Enjoy the picture above of Kanye and the White House. Peace!!

Rare solar eclipse happens in parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia

The most recent solar eclipse happened on June 21, 2020. It was not visible in North America, but it was seen in three other continents. It was a full annular eclipse. Northern India saw almost 100% of the eclipse. An annular solar eclipse takes place when the moon is too far away from the Earth to completely hide the sun, which leaves a ring of sunlight around the moon. In addition, this astronomical event coincided with the summer solstice of 2020. Annularity happened around not long after midday local time in Sirsa, India. In Taiwan, the eclipse was quite visible in Taipei. There is another solar eclipse set in December 2020, for viewing in South America mostly. A solar eclipse occurs when a portion of the Earth is engulfed in a shadow cast by the Moon, which fully or partially blocks sunlight. In closing, the solar eclipse landed on Father's Day 2020. Hope you enjoy the image above of the annular solar eclipse. It is great to see images of this 'ring of fire' on the web. Adios Amigos until the next solar eclipse in six months!

The return of the NBA 2019-20 season will be magical

It is official that the NBA basketball season will start on July 31, in the magical city of Orlando. There will be 8 more regular season games, which will happen at the ESPN Wide world of sports complex. The end of the season will be eight games, between 22 teams. Then, the NBA playoffs would happen for 16 teams as scheduled. But, there will be no fans in the stadium per covid-19 rules. It is great that the NBA season will be from July 31 to October 10 most likely, as NBA stopped play on March 11, 2020. There will be 13 teams from the western conference, and 9 teams from the eastern conference as the end of regular season concludes. The playoff seeding will be good for each team, yet there is no real home court advantage. Also, there is no real travel for the teams in the NBA bubble. Some NBA analysts think the champion of this season, will have an asterisk next to it. In the end, there should be no asterisk. Furthermore, the NBA is the first team sport to go full circle with finding an end to their regular season. The NHL may not finish their 2019-20 season. MLB has not started in 2020, and it may not start as players are arguing over money. The NFL is trying to start in September 2020, with a 17 game regular season. Also, there could be 14 playoff teams. Both of these rule changes are good ones, for the NFL fans. In addition, Adam Silver and the board of governors voted today that the NBA season would continue with 22 teams in an almost unanimous decision. The NBA has to get past the 70 regular season games threshold, for the teams to get the TV money for each market. For example, the Milwaukee Bucks played 65 games already this year. An additional 8 games would mean that they have played 73 games, which is only nine less than the 82 game regular season. The LA Lakers are the #1 seed in the West, and they have played 63 games already. An additional 8 games played would mean they played 71 total games in the regular season. As for the LA Clippers, many NBA bettors want them to play the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. The Clippers have a great shot this year, of making it to the NBA finals. Personally, it would be great to see the Milwaukee Bucks vs. the LA Lakers in the finals. Lebron James is having an MVP season but he wants to play for the championship, instead of winning the NBA regular season MVP. In closing, enjoy the picture above of Lebron James and this year's Lakers. The end of the NBA season is less than 60 days away. It will be great to see the season continue in a somewhat orderly fashion. Peace!!