Another week, another wild ride on the rollercoaster of stocks. You would think we may have some slow or uneventful weeks full of events, but apparently 2020 is not that year.
I love investing and forming the best portfolio for my life, and writing these weekly stock updates is a way to hold myself accountable and up to date on the news.
The War On Facebook Ads
Apple has come under attack this week from none other than Facebook. The new iPhone update will essentially block Facebook’s tracking to provide more targeted ads. They are claiming Apple is harming small businesses in the process and causing more harm than good. Facebook said they are “standing up to Apple for small businesses everywhere.”
Apple argues they are only giving their users a choice. They said, “Users should know when their data is being collected and shared across other apps and websites – and they should have the choice to allow that or not.”
This could possibly lead to some strenuous times for both companies. Facebook could lose out on ad revenue and Apple could have to make some changes to their new updates. Either one could open the flood gates for more conflict down the line, which results in a questionable future for their stocks.
Bitcoin Hits $20k
It’s no secret Bitcoin is a huge interest of mine. I love the coin and other alt coins to be added to my portfolio. Bitcoin reached a huge milestone this week, breaking past the $20k mark and hitting upwards of $23k.
The coin had been stuck hovering just under $20k for weeks, even falling as low as in the $16k range. Now that they reached a new high, since 2017, there is no more resistance to hold it back. They are soaring over 23% this week.
With that huge jump, other coins ran alongside it, such as Ethereum, hitting 15% increase this week.
There is still some speculation there could be another dip in the next few weeks for Bitcoin, but one thing is certain. No one is questioning the huge future this coin has. Guggenheim CIO joined the masses in predicting a huge future price point of $400k.
Johnson & Johnson’s Bright Future
Johnson & Johnson is seen as one of the most stable stocks in the market. They are a staple in many portfolios, raising their dividend for 58 consecutive years.
But that’s not the reason for its recent turn of interest. Johnson & Johnson are in the process of producing a vaccine for COVID-19. Yes, there already is one, rather one from 2 companies, but this will be different.
Though they are trailing behind other competitors, like Pfizer and Moderna, Johnson & Johnson have a few advantages over the rest. Their vaccine is stable in normal refrigeration and also relies on traditional biological mechanisms, rather than gene-based offerings. That was a lot of words. Basically these changes will make the vaccine more widely accepted and less suspicion around the vaccine.
Another big benefit Is that it requires only 1 dose. They are hoping to produce a billion doses in 2021. If they are successful, this could mean a lot of people gain access to more vaccines and also a nice jump in their stock price.
