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Market Scorecard
Now that the second quarter has come to an end, we are able to take stock. Looking at the US market, the tech-heavy Nasdaq was up 30%, and the S&P500 was up 20% - the best quarter since the late 90's. The strong quarter comes after the S&P 500 was down 20% for the first three months of the year, the worst Q1 on record. Note, there have been worse quarters, but not a worse Q1. For example, Q4 in 2008 the S&P 500 was down 22%.
With all this volatility in the market, you can understand some participants getting whiplash from the emotional rollercoaster of following their portfolio value too closely. If owning stocks was easy, everyone would do it. If you are putting long term capital into the market, then don't focus too much on short term market moves. The key is to keep your emotions under control. One of the most valuable services that Vestact provides to its clients is being an emotion buffer during times of uncertainty.
Yesterday the JSE All-share closed down 1.06%, the S&P 500 closed up 0.50%, and the Nasdaq closed up 0.95%.
Our 10c Worth
One thing, from Paul
Google announced on Tuesday that they are buying North, a Canadian company that makes smart glasses. Of course, Google has mountains of money and likes to buy talent and good ideas.
Google have been tinkering with a product called Glass since 2013. Those have an optical head-mounted display where the user communicates with the Internet via voice commands. They still sell an enterprise version that is used in special business applications, like engineers who need to access a diagram while servicing a jet engine.
According to news reports about this deal, augmented reality (AR) glasses are seen as the next big thing in mobile devices. They are still a couple of years from being ready for mainstream use due to high costs, poor battery life and bulk.
Microsoft has a rival product called the HoloLens. Apple is said to be developing an AR headset, based on executive comments and patent filings. Snapchat continues to sell its camera-equipped Spectacles.
As a person who wears glasses already, I like this trend. I'm even more pleased that we can invest in this field by simply owning Google shares. Here is some more detail about North and a picture of the special specs. Google buys AR glasses company North to help build an ambient computing future.
Byron's Beats
Although mobility, especially for travel, is not on top of everyone's agenda right now, this article caught my eye. Lonely Planet's expert recommendations are coming to Apple Maps.
Lonely Planet is an amazing product and brand. They had sold over 120 million books up until 2011. Since the world started digitising, their apps have been very useful for many a traveller. In 2013 myself and my wife (then girlfriend) travelled through Central and South America for 3 months. We carried a physical Lonely Planet book which now seems crazy because bag space was limited and the book was huge.
But back then the apps were average and access to internet while on the move was difficult. There was no Uber or Airbnb available and although we used Google Maps a lot, it was not nearly as useful as it is today. I don't know how we survived! (jokes of course).
Back to the article. This symbiotic relationship will be great for travellers and it certainly makes Apple Maps more appealing. Now there is no need to carry any books in your backpack, just make sure you have a powerbank to charge your phone!
Michael's Musings
I have really enjoyed seeing how the fitness industry transformed almost overnight. No one actually likes going to the gym, and if it is possible, would rather exercise at home. Personally, I don't go to the gym unless I am driving past it on the way to work or on the way home.
Part of the revolution is the surge in demand for peloton bikes, zoom sessions with a personal trainer or as Paul mentioned yesterday, Mirror the fitness device being bought by Lululemon. In the spirit of home workouts, how does competing in the Tour de France from your living room sound? (Get ready for a virtual Tour de France)
A virtual training company, Zwift, has their Tour de France competition starting this weekend. The company uses each rider's height, weight, and energy output to estimate their speed on different parts of the route. Even if you don't compete, being able to cycle through different parts of the world is a very clever way of making exercise more interesting.
Bright's Banter
My colleagues have written a bit about the "Stop Hate For Profit" campaign. It is a boycott organised by major civil rights groups such as the NAACP which seeks to push Facebook to remove posts that promote violence, hate speech, disinform the public, promote racism and discrimination from the platforms.
The campaign has managed to sign on over 400 brands including some big names like Verizon, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Starbucks, Ford etc. Since the announcement of the boycott, Facebook's market capitalisation has lost around $56 billion in value, and this boycott is meant to last the entire month of July.
The goal of this campaign is to ". . .send Facebook a powerful message: Your profits will never be worth promoting hate, bigotry, racism, antisemitism, and violence." as per the website.
I personally like what the campaign is doing because Twitter actually removes all hate speech and bans people who promote it, while Facebook does absolutely nothing. I think it's time for Mark Zuckerberg to join us in the 21st century and use the power of the platform to stand for something good, and help stop all the hate and negativity. That is my personal opinion of course. Doing nothing is standing with the perpetrators! The infographic below shows some of the largest advertisers who have joined the "Stop Hate For Profit" campaign so far.
You will find more infographics at Statista
Linkfest, Lap it Up
3D printed food has been on the cards for a while.. It makes sense that some of the first foods to be 3D printed are plant based, alt-steaks. The printing process will help manufacturers get the correct texture - Coming soon to a 3D printer near you: Plant-based steaks.
Would you have an injection that edits your genetics to lower your cholesterol levels? This is all very new technology and is something that will become mainstream in years to come - A Gene-Editing Shot Could Protect Against Heart Attacks.
Signing off
The US market is closed tomorrow for the 4th of July weekend. As a result, US unemployment figures which normally are released on a Friday, will be released today. Global stocks are higher this morning thanks to renewed optimism around the development of an effective vaccine. The JSE All-share is up this morning and the Rand seems set to have a '16' in front of it again.
Sent to you by Team Vestact