Hi Everybody,
When investing in the stock market most people prefer to choose companies that fit their personal moral viewpoint. For example, Tesla is one of Wall Street’s favorite stocks in part because they are trying to affect a positive change in the world.
On the eToro network, Starbucks has four times more investors than McDonalds. This is easy to understand since Coffee stimulates people but hamburgers just make them fat, and this despite McDees’ many attempts to revamp their image.
The Cigarette giant Philip Moris has less than 25 investors on the network but that may be about to change.
As technology finds its way to influence more aspects of our daily lives, one industry that is rising quickly is the invention of E-cigarettes. The number of ‘Vape’ devices out there is increasing steadily and is projected to be a $32 Billion industry in the next four years.
The big tobacco companies are going a long way to prove that this type of smoking is far less harmful than regular cigarettes. Philip Moris has engaged 400 scientists to prove it. I wouldn’t take them at their word though the tobacco industry, in particular, has a shady history of lying to the public when it comes to the dangers of smoking.
However, the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) in the United States is currently reviewing an MRTP (Modified Risk Tobacco Product) label for Vape products that are less bad for you. If it does get through the FDA, it could potentially send tobacco stocks through the roof.
So it seems that along with the risks of smoking, the moral dilemma for investing in tobacco has now been drastically reduced.
Thanks technology!
-Mati
Today’s Highlights
- Trump On
- Zuma Zuma
- Raiden for Ether
Please note: All data, figures & graphs below are valid as of March 31st. All trading carries risk. Only risk capital you can afford to lose.
Market Overview
Who needs healthcare reform anyway??
It seems that the markets have made peace with the fact that repealing Obamacare will take longer than expected. It seems that overall investors are still giving President Trump the benefit of the doubt. After all, today is only the 70th day of his presidency.
Certainly, there are more important things to think about, like tax reform, or nominating members of his new government…
Nay, investors are still placing full confidence in PDJT and his ability to return profits to Wall Street, this is evidenced by the fact that the Financial Sector is currently leading the gains.
After the losses in Asia yesterday stock indices in Europe and the US managed to break the mood and make modest gains of about 0.25%. Stocks are down again in Asia today and we’ll soon discover if they can turn yet another frown upside down.
The US Dollar has been rising steadily the entire week. You’ll recall that the Buck opened the week with a gap down (yellow circle). Well, that gap has certainly been covered by now and it seems that we may just have a change of direction.
At the moment, clients in eToro are shorting the US Dollar, mainly against the Euro and the New Zealand Dollar.
The Zuma Situation
Jacob Zuma again managed to shock the financial markets and the entire nation of South Africa last night by sacking his Finance minister, again.
This latest cabinet reshuffle is not only dangerous but it has the potential to create widespread panic in local markets. Check out the USDZAR today…
This pair was as high as 17.76 Rands to the Dollar in January 2016 so if the situation gets worse, there’s certainly more room for the pair to rise.
Raiden on Ether
No doubt the Ethereum network is getting stronger quickly. One of the largest blockchain companies called Storj has recently announced that they will be moving their cloud-based storage system from Bitcoin to Ethereum very soon.
This is directly in line with a global trend that we’ve been tracking as people are rapidly transferring out of BTC and into ETH.
From March 10th until today the total amount of money stored in Bitcoin went from $20 Billion to $16.8 Billion, a total loss of $3.2 Billion.
During the same time frame, the market cap of Ethereum went from $1.6 Billion on March 10th to $4.5 Billion today, a total gain of $2.9 Billion.
Trade with others. Join eToro community and use experience of other traders!
The speed at which these markets move is enough to make your head spin but the shift in value is matched by the shift in technology.
A new network called Raiden is set to go up on the Ethereum blockchain in the coming days, which promises to make Ether transactions even faster than they already are.
Wishing you and yours a very pleasant and healthy weekend. 🙂
Best regards,
Mati Greenspan
Senior Market Analyst
