⛰ DOW crosses 40,000!

Together with Elf Labs 

Good morning investors! Nvidia is set to announce earnings this week and some interesting economic data, including home sales and consumer sentiment reports, are also expected.

Today we cover:

• Soaring debt a threat to the US?

• Dow hits a new record.

• Where’s BTC going? – don’t forget our Investing in Crypto webinar on Thursday, May 23, 2024, 8:00 PM.

📊 Economy and News 

Soaring debt a threat?

Rising debt and deficits are raising concerns about potential threats to the economy and financial markets.

The federal debt has now reached $34.5 trillion, an increase of about $11 trillion since March 2020.

This issue has drawn the attention of key figures in government and finance. A prominent Wall Street firm is now questioning whether the costs associated with this debt could threaten the ongoing stock market rally.

The CBO estimates that debt held by the public compared to GDP will rise to “an amount greater than at any point in the nation’s history.”

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said recently that “this is something that elected people need to get their arms around sooner rather than later.”

Global hits:

• Roughly one in seven (15.3%) Gen Z credit card borrowers have maxed out their credit cards.

• Indonesia minister says Musk to consider offer to build EV battery plant in the country after Elon Musk debuts Starlink satellite internet in Indonesia.

• $9 billion travel tech firm Navan on track to hit profitability this year and ‘not far’ from IPO, CEO says

China everywhere 🇨🇳: China has pledged $42 billion in a slew of measures to support the struggling property sector, and Morgan Stanley thinks that the Chinese housing market stability could take at least 6-12 moths.

Also, the country has sanctioned Boeing, two U.S. defense contractors for Taiwan arms sales.

But, this is not it. It has hinted at possible tit-for-tat action against trade barriers imposed by the United States last week.

📈 Stocks

S&P 500 5,303.27 (+0.12%)
DJIA 40,003.59 (+0.34%)
NASDAQ 18,546.23 (-0.063%)
BRENT CRUDE 83.86 (-0.14%)
* Prices as of May 20th, 12:20 AM UTC

Dow closes above 40,000 for first time ever

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above the 40,000 mark on Friday for the first time in its 139-year history.

The blue-chip index initially surpassed this key milestone early Thursday but ended that day lower.

Recently, Wall Street has been buoyed by renewed hopes for interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, which would ease monetary conditions for consumers and businesses.

While reaching the 40,000 level may not hold significant practical value for investors, it captures public attention and, some argue, could extend the optimistic sentiment beyond Wall Street.

Something about Boeing: Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems lays off workers, citing lower plane delivery rates.

Also, shareholders have re-elected outgoing CEO Dave Calhoun to the company’s board, according to a preliminary vote tally.

Lastly, reports show that Boeing whistleblower John Barnett, who had been giving testimony in his whistleblower case against the embattled aerospace company, died by suicide.

This too: Dublin-based Ryanair said full-year profit after tax jumped 34% and announced a 700-million-euro share buyback program.

Sponsored by Elf Labs

The “Most Monetizable” Brands in History?

Branding legend Bernt Ullman says Elf Labs’ IP portfolio is loaded with “some of the most monetizable character brands in history.” 

You be the judge: Cinderella, Snow White, Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty…the list goes on. This would position Elf to dominate the $138B global character licensing market. But the best part is, investors now have an opportunity to participate in Elf’s first capital raise.

The future of storytelling hinges on cutting-edge tech like AI, augmented reality, and virtual reality. With400+ copyrights on these classic characters, Elf Labs is leveraging the latest media to bring them to life for a new generation.

🔐 Crypto

Bitcoin $66,940 (+1.02%)
Ethereum $3,106 (+1.17%)
Total market cap $2.42T (+0.66%)
* Prices as of May 20th, 12:20 AM UTC

What’s happening to BTC

The Bitcoin (BTC) price has been roaming below the crucial $67,000 after it briefly touched an intraday high of around $67,600.

Moreover, the BTC price plunge comes amid declining whale activity. According to data provided by Santiment, the number of whale transactions consisting of at least $100,000 worth of BTC dropped by 51% over the past five days — decreasing from 11,757 transactions on May 15 to 5,756 unique transactions per day at the reporting time.

Quite similarly, the BTC Relative Strength Index (RSI) has also been consistently declining along with the asset’s whale activity. Per the market intelligence platform, the Bitcoin RSI plunged from 70 to 57 over the past five days.

The indicator shows that Bitcoin has fallen from the overvalued zone and a potential price hike could be expected.

At this price point, the declining whale activity and RSI would also mean lower price volatility for the largest cryptocurrency by market cap.

But, what should your decision be based on? We’d say a mix of several things, including price action, tips from other investors, and the economic situation.

Improve your crypto knowledge and mark the date for our next webinar on Thursday, May 23, 2024, 8:00 PM titled Investing in Crypto.

Designed for both new and experienced investors, the event will cover tips for managing crypto risk and building a diversified crypto portfolio, ensuring the safety of you crypto assets, and more.

Remember, there are limited seats.

💵 Personal Finance

How much do I have to invest to receive $1,000 per month in dividends?

It is possible to make $1,000 per month in dividends. In fact, you can even make $10,000 or more. It depends on how much you have invested and in which company.

Nobody can tell you the amount of money you need to invest to receive a specific amount of money since these figures are not guaranteed and it all depends on the yield of your investments.

So, for example, let’s say you invest in XYZ company.

Per share: $200

Dividend paid: $10

You can use this formula to calculate the yield: $10 / $200

= 0.05

Since the yield is given in percentage, we’ll multiply this by 100:

= 5% yield.

This might not look great but it is higher than what a large number of companies offer. Now, we’ll use this figure to determine how much you need to invest to receive $1,000 per month or $12,000 per year in dividends.

We’ll now use the same formula to get the answer:

• $12,000 / X = 0.05

Solving for X, we get $240,000.

You will need to invest $240,000 to get $12,000 per year in dividends.

We agree, it is. But, here’s something to remember:

When you invest $240,000 in stocks, you will not only receive $12,000 per year but you may also make a profit.

S&P 500 1 Year Return is at 13.97% right now. This means, you could make an additional $33,528 pushing your total to ($240,000+$33,528+$12,000)= $285,528.

Let’s say it again:

Yes, it is.

• It’s more than what the best savings account in countries like the US, UK, and Australia pays.

• It’s also more than what the average property pays with the average appreciation rate standing at only 4.85%.

There are few investments as rewarding as the stock market but only if you play it right and take the long-term view.

✋ These returns aren’t guaranteed. The S&P 500 Index had a return of -18.11% for the calendar year 2022. This means you can lose a huge chunk of your investment.

💰 Be a Better Investor

👩🏽‍⚖️ Legal Stuff
Nothing in this newsletter is financial advice. Always do your own research and think for yourself.

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Disclosure: This is a paid advertisement for Elf Lab’s Regulation CF offering. Please read the offering circular at elflabs.comc