This week, we are excited to announce the launch of the Inspired Money podcast. The idea of producing a podcast began when I attended FinCon Masters New York where I met business podcasters Philip “P.T.” Taylor, James Altucher, and Farnoosh Torabi. I hope to see them again next month at FinCon Dallas because my article What Financial Health Means to Me was named one of 10 winners of a national #FinHealthMatters Day essay contest granting me entry to the the world’s largest financial content expo.
Chinese spend more eating out than the GDP of Sweden
With over a 1.37 billion people, Chinese spent more than half a trillion dollars eating out in 2016. In a recent report, Dianping Meituan, which offers food-ordering and delivery services, estimates the country spent 3.5 trillion yuan ($507 billion) dining out in 2016. This number eclipses the GDP of Sweden ($496 billion), Belgium ($455 billion), Norway ($387 billion) and many other countries.
Another interesting fact from the report is that the country's favorite meal out is hot pot with roughly 22% market share. For those not familiar with hot pot, it consists of a simmering metal pot of stock at the center of a dining table. While the pot is kept simmering, it is basically a do it yourself meal as you cook your favorite meats, seafood, veggies, dumpling and noodles. The cooked food is usually eaten with a dipping sauce.
Happy Thanksgiving
The Runnymede team is full of gratitude and sends its thanks to all clients, friends, and colleagues this Thanksgiving day. Whether you are home or traveling far, please know that you are dear to our hearts.
Cable TV cord cutting has reached its tipping point
I'm calling it right now. 2015 is the year that cable TV cord cutting finally reached its tipping point. For so many years, consumers have been complaining about the rising costs of cable TV and the terrible customer service from cable providers. However the options for cutting the cord were few and far between. But just in the last few months, the options have leapt forward with HBO Now, Sling TV, Sony's PlayStation Vue, CBS All Access, Starz Play, Cinemax MAX Go and Encore Play offering viable alternatives to cable TV; and rumors are that Apple will launch their own streaming subscription service by mid-year. Combined with Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu, the options for cord cutters are getting better by the day.
Where have all the (S&P 500) earnings gone?
In the short term, many factors can influence the direction of stock prices. We discussed central planners impacting the markets just last week. However over the long term, it's earnings that drive stock prices higher or lower. This is a simple concept to understand. If a company loses money year after year, it will struggle to stay in business. Not many people will choose to invest in a losing operation so the stock price will go down. On the other hand, if a company delivers consistent high levels of growth, it will attract many investors driving the stock price higher. This concept can also be applied to the broad market indices like the S&P 500. Therefore it makes sense to look at S&P 500 earnings estimates.