- Morning Download
- Posts
- š Nvidia gets picked
š Nvidia gets picked
and lowering credit card rates
Morning Download
June 18, 2024
Good morning investors! The market showed strength yesterday and continued to break records.
Fun fact: About 80% of Americans say grocery costs have notably increased since the pandemic started.
Today we cover:
Immigrants are helping the US economy.
Nvidia over Apple.
How to get a lower rate.
š Economy and News
America loves immigrants
Immigration has helped the U.S. job market sustain a fiery run in recent months without reigniting inflation, economists and analysts say.
The U.S. economy added a whopping 272,000 jobs in May, but the consumer price index was unchanged.
This dynamic ā a hot job market and cooling inflation ā is in part the result of increased inflows of immigrants.
Recent spikes in immigration at the southern border and elsewhere in the U.S. have helped keep the labor pool full even as job gains kept apace.
Global hits:
EU countries approve landmark nature law after delays.
U.S. crude oil rallies more than 2% to top $80 per barrel.
Taylor Swiftās London Eras Tour could delay Bank of England rate cut, analysts say
Saudi not in love with the US? Last week, reports widely circulated on social media platforms, including X, claimed that a 50-year-old agreement between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, mandating the latter to price its crude oil exports in U.S. dollars, had expired on Sunday.
According to various commentators on X, the collapse of this agreement would inevitably deal a fatal blow to the U.S. dollar's status as the global reserve currency, potentially leading to significant financial upheaval.
In response to these claims, Google searches for the term "petrodollar" surged to the highest level recorded since 2004, according to Google Trends data.
However, as speculation about the end of the U.S. dollar's global dominance grew, several Wall Street and foreign policy experts pointed out a crucial flaw: the purported agreement never existed.
Also check: Indiaās biggest IPO could come from South Korean car manufacturer, Hyundai.
š Stocks
S&P 500 5,473.23 (+0.77%)
DJIA 38,778.10 (+0.49%)
NASDAQ 17,857.02 (+0.95%)
BRENT CRUDE 84.95 (+1.93%)
* Prices as of Jun 18th, 12:20 AM UTC
Major tech fund demotes Apple, and picks Nvidia
The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK), which tracks a specific index, is set to purchase over $10 billion worth of Nvidia shares while significantly reducing its holdings in Apple.
The updated calculations position Microsoft as the top stock in the index, followed by Nvidia, with Apple falling to third place.
All three stocks would each have a weight above 20% in the index if no caps were applied. However, diversification rules limit the cumulative weight of stocks that each hold at least a 5% share of the fund.
Consequently, Microsoft and Nvidia are expected to each have a weight of around 21%, while Apple's weight will significantly drop to approximately 4.5%.
This marks a shift from the previous weightings, where Nvidia's weight was kept artificially low due to index rules. As of June 14, Microsoft and Apple each held about 22% of the fund, while Nvidia's share was only 6%.
But, this is not the only reason why Apple is in the news. The company has decided to stop offering Buy Now, Pay Later loans in the U.S..
Meme stock falls: GameStop closed lower by about -12%, as GameStopās rescheduled shareholder event wrapped up with no detailed remarks about the companyās strategies.
No shareholders got to ask their questions during the meeting, which lasted about 30 minutes.
In brief introductory remarks, CEO Ryan Cohen reiterated the companyās plans to focus on cutting costs and boosting profits and intimated that more store closures could be on the horizon.
Interesting update: Warren Buffettās Berkshire Hathaway trims its stake in Chinese EV maker BYD to 6.9%.
Shocking: U.S. sues Adobe over subscription plan disclosures.
šµ Personal Finance
How to lower your credit cardās annual percentage rate
Since most credit cards have a variable rate, thereās a direct connection to the Fedās benchmark. In the wake of the recent rate hike cycle, the average credit card rate rose from 16.34% in March 2022 to almost 21% today ā near an all-time high.
Annual percentage rates will start to come down once the Fed cuts rates, but even then they will only ease off extremely high levels. Since the central bank now projects it will cut interest rates just once in 2024, APRs arenāt likely to fall much.
Rather than wait for a modest adjustment in the months ahead, borrowers could call their card issuer and ask for a lower rate, switch to a zero-interest balance transfer credit card or consolidate and pay off high-interest credit cards with a personal loan.
Cards offering 15, 18 and even 21 months with no interest on transferred balances are still out there.
Balance transfer cards are still your best weapon in the battle against credit card debt.
A balance transfer credit card moves your outstanding debt from one or more credit cards onto a new card, typically with a lower interest rate.
Alternatively, consumers should consider exploring lower interest products to help consolidate their higher interest debt and lower their monthly payments.
Currently, the interest rate on a personal loan is just above 12%, on average.
If you donāt have good enough credit to get a zero-percent balance transfer card, a personal loan can be a good alternative.
And consolidating comes with the added benefit of letting you simplify outstanding debts while lowering your monthly payment.
š° Be a Better Investor
"Courage taught me no matter how bad a crisis gets ... any sound investment will eventually pay off."
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