Morning Download 

Personal finance + economics + markets

Together with Percent

Good morning investors! Cryptocurrencies, stocks, and even bonds are rallying.

Today we cover:

• The US labor market is softening.

• Nvidia changes how it does business in China.

• Investing in real estate.

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📊 Economy and News 

US job openings fall, reaching lowest level since March 2021

US job openings have fallen to a two year low, according to the latest numbers.

The numbers: There are about 1.3 jobs available for every unemployed person, according to BLS.

There were an estimated 8.7 million available jobs in October. Most industries saw a pullback with the financial activities and retail industries falling the most. Economists’ forecasts called for the October postings to hit 9.3 million, and the numbers are under expectations.

The number of new hires fell to 5.89 million from 5.9 million; quits dipped to 3.63 million from 3.65 million; and layoffs went up to 1.64 million from 1.61 million.

What does it mean? It indicates the labor market is cooling. The Fed might like this new report as it could help it attain its goal of bringing inflation down to 2%.

A decline in the number of individuals willingly leaving their jobs might suggest a diminished sense of economic security and could serve as an indicator of an imminent slowdown in wage growth.

Global hits:

• Wanxiang Trust: Another Chinese ‘shadow bank’ faces major financial trouble.

• Hackers access profiles of nearly 7 million 23andMe customers.

• Tesla’s clash with Swedish workers risks spilling over into a regional fight.

📈 Stocks

S&P 500 4,567.18 (-0.057%)
DJIA 36,124.56 (-0.22%)
NASDAQ 15,877.7 (+0.24%)
BRENT CRUDE 76.34 (-1.11%)
* Prices as of Dec 6th, 12:20 AM UTC

Nvidia has its eyes set on the Chinese market

Nvidia is developing new chips for China to meet new curbs set by the US government.

Nvidia presently enjoys a huge market in the country, which contributes about 20% to its total revenue; however, experts believe that these new curbs could impact its position. The country generates billions for the company as it controls about 90% of its $7 billion AI chip market.

Restrictions forced the company to delay the launch of a new China-focused AI chip until the first quarter of next year. Furthermore, it warned during the recent earnings call that it expects a drop in fourth-quarter sales in China due to the changing situation.

But, with the company now working on new chips that are likely to get approved, there’s hope that it will continue to rule the Chinese market. At the same time, Nvidia is expanding its reach in Southeast Asia. It’s in talks with Singapore about potential big investments and working with the city-state to help develop its own large language model, Sealion.

Sponsored by Percent

Higher interest rates and market volatility are making it harder for investors to find above-market returns.

However, private credit investments may outperform traditional markets over the next 5 years, according to research from KKR. In fact, they expect private credit returns to outpace the S&P 500 in the next 5 years.  

Private credit used to be reserved only for big-name institutional investors, but today, Percent is making these investments accessible to everyday accredited investors.

On Percent, it’s easy to find, compare, invest and track your private credit investments.

You’ll get access to:

• Attractive yields. As of November 30, Percent’s weighted average APY is 18.68%.

• Diversification. Returns are generally independent from public market performance.

• Liquidity. Deals can mature in less than a year, with some offering liquidity after a few months.

🔐 Crypto

Bitcoin $44,198 (-0.01%)
Ethereum $2,282 (0.52%)
Total market cap $1.59T (+4.04%)
* Prices as of Dec 6th, 12:20 AM UTC

A look at the crypto industry

Here’s what’s happening:

• New Jersey bill would make crypto sold to institutional investors a security.

• Dogecoin (DOGE) has gained more than 10% over the past day as the cryptocurrency celebrates its tenth anniversary.

• The crypto community expects the SEC to appeal the court ruling on the Programmatic Sales of XRP.

• SEC postpones decision on Grayscale’s application for spot Ethereum ETF.

• Futures and options market metrics suggest traditional finance players and sophisticated market participants may soon rotate money into Ether from Bitcoin.

💵 Personal Finance

Investing in real estate

About half of our subscribers are interested in investing in real estate, so we thought of coming up with a personal finance section that could help people make money through property.

So, let’s first talk about ways to invest in real estate.

Make a purchase

You can invest in real estate by buying a property such as a house or an office. However, this option might not be feasible for everyone due to the high interest rate and increasing property rates.

The average house in the US costs $495,100, which makes it hard for most people to invest in real estate. But, if you can afford to buy an entire property then consider this option as buying a house will give you several ways to make money, including rental income and capital appreciation.

Plus, there might be some relief in the form of discounted rates if you are a first time buyer or if you belong to a specific earning group. Check federal and local grants to make the process easier.

Try REITs

A real estate investment trust (REIT) is “a company that owns, operates, or finances income-generating real estate.” This can be a great option for people who wish to invest in real estate but do not have the funds to make a complete purchase.

REITs generate a steady income stream for investors but do not let investors benefit from capital appreciation. They, however, offer some benefits over buying real estate such as higher liquidity. Also, they offer a wide variety such as apartments, hotels, and offices.

Some top performing REITs include Prologis with a forward earning yield of 3.3%, Ventas with a forward earning yield of 4.2%, and Public Storage with a forward earning yield of 4.9%.

On the plus side, you can buy shares of a REIT in a taxable brokerage account, as well as a tax-advantaged retirement account such as an IRA or employer-sponsored 401(k).

Investing apps

Just like REITs, investing apps allow users to invest in real estate but with some differences:

• You enjoy rent and also profit from capital appreciation.

• Less liquid than REITs as you don’t typically get the option to sell when desired.

• Can be a little more risky. Hence, we suggest that you only invest in a registered app.

Some top names include Getstake, which works in the UAE market, and RealtyMogul.

Construction stocks

Investing in construction companies can be a clever way to benefit from rising real estate prices. However, construction companies, like many industrial stocks, are usually classified as slow and steady income stocks more likely to return money to shareholders than to double in value overnight.

Some of the top names include Caterpillar, United Rentals, Vulcan Materials, and Fluor. Some companies, such as McDonald’s, is also considered a real estate firm by many.

💰 Be a Better Investor

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