The StockDr & Team discuss Bitcoin, Auto Production Issues, and Recent Market Stats.
The S&P 500 has doubled since the Pandemic March low which is the fastest bull market double off a bottom since WWII.
Interesting Stats: Charles Schwab says their average portfolio has 12 holdings. Average balances for each generation; Baby boomer $532K, Gen X $306K, Millennials $103K Compared to the average account size at Robin Hood where the median customer has a $240 balance in their account, the average is about $5,000
Looking to purchase a new car? Well, you might to have to wait. A global chip shortage has had major impacts on automakers production. The shortage has been exacerbated by the move to EV’s. For example, a Ford Focus typically uses roughly 300 chips, whereas one of the electric vehicles can have up to 3,000 chips.
Now, with shortages in raw materials such as, lithium, plastics, and steel to contend with car prices and production time will only continue to increase. Porsche said car deliveries could take up to 6 months.
Ford and VW are struggling to deal with the global chip problem. VW, Europe’s largest carmaker has lost market share in China because of the chip shortage. Malaysia, where many of Volkswagen’s suppliers are based, has recently been hit hard by the coronavirus leading to several factory shutdowns.
The Millennial Moment presented by our Mega-llennial, Nikki Ward explained Bukele’s Bitcoin Bust. El Salvador became the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender allowing Salvadorans to use bitcoin to buy a cup of coffee, pay taxes, or even order off McDonalds dollar menu.
As part of the new law, businesses will be required to accept bitcoin for goods and services, though merchants who aren’t technologically able to accept bitcoin will be exempt.
In the run-up to the launch, the government installed bitcoin ATMs around El Salvador.
The launch got off to a bumpy start in the early hours of the rollout, as the government took its bitcoin e-wallet offline because of technical glitches. Chivo, is the government-run e-wallet that can be used for purchases in bitcoin or U.S. dollars. It's said to lower commission costs for money sent from abroad, but critics warn may fuel money laundering.
El Salvador bought 400 bitcoins, worth about $20 million and is preloading government-run bitcoin wallets with $30 worth of bitcoin for Salvadorans who register. BTC’s value fell as much as 17% on Tuesday, leading the El Salvador government to buy an additional 150 bitcoins.
The stakes are high for an indebted country of 6.5 million. Economists say that bitcoin’s sharp fluctuations risk denting the tax revenue and foreign currency reserves of a government that has neither the policy tools nor the financial firepower to contain a speculative attack. There are security risks because the funds held in the Chivo wallet are controlled by the government on behalf of its citizens. Such fund centralization risks attracting hackers.
This week’s meeting of the minds was brought to you by the Siler Wealth Management Team.
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