Market Snapshot: Week of Feb. 13 – 20

We believe that knowledge is power and we want you to have more of it. The best realtors can engage their customers in conversation on a wide-range of topics, from business trends and shifting political landscapes to the latest happenings in the world of sports, art, and pop-culture. We've summarized the biggest happenings from these sectors so that you don't have to.

Business

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Dow Jones: 25,219 (+4.24%)
S&P 500: 2,732 (+4.29%)
Nasdaq: 7,239 (+5.29%)

Market Winners:

• Netflix upped the quality of its upcoming "Netflix Originals" when they signed "Nip/Tuck" and "Glee" creator, Ryan Murphy, to a 5-year $300 million deal. Get ready your popcorn ready for some binge-worthy material.
• Kraft Heinz announced it┬ácut $1.7 billion in costs. That's thanks to 3G Capital, the ruthlessly efficient Brazilian investment firm that helped arrange the Kraft & Heinz merger back in 2015.
• Waymo┬áis an autonomous car development company and subsidiary of Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc. Alphabet's CFO, Ruth Porat, announced that Waymo will be releasing its own Waymo-branded ridesharing app later this year.
• Match.com rose 5% Valentine's Day after CEO Mandy Ginsberg revealed Tinder's new female-friendly feature. The new feature will allow women to choose who makes the first┬ámove on the mobile dating application.

Market Losers:

• Walmart's earnings missed analysts' expectations for the holiday period, as e-commerce growth slowed to 23 percent. The retailer calls for 40 percent e-commerce growth in fiscal 2019.

Other Market News:

• The Dow and S&P 500 edged higher Friday to extend their rebounds as stocks showed firm signs of regaining their footing after a tumble earlier in the month.
• Bitcoin climbed back to $11,000 for the first time since January. Fears over tighter regulation, which was one of the catalysts for the recent crash, appear to have subsided within the crypto market.

Real Estate

Local:

• Colombian consumers posted the most web searches among foreign countries for Miami homes in December, according to a new report by the MIAMI Association of REALTORS┬« (MIAMI). Colombia registered 10.5 percent of all international searches on MIAMI's portal in December 2017.
• Amongst other highlights of the report, include:
  • South Florida finished as the most-searched U.S. market by international consumers and is a top-five market for consumers in the world's six largest regions, according to December data.
  • Colombian home buyers tied with Canada in making the third-most international purchases in South Florida, according to the 2017 Profile of International Home Buyers of MIAMI Association of REALTORS┬« (MIAMI) Members.
  • Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach is the most searched U.S. market by international consumers, according to Realtor.com December 2017 data.
  • Top-10 countries Driving International Demand in South Florida: December 2017
    1. Canada
    2. Brazil
    3. United Kingdom
    4. Argentina
    5. Spain
    6. Colombia
    7. Germany
    8. France
    9. Mexico
    10. Italy

Politics

Local:

• Last week, a former student shot and killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School using a semiautomatic weapon.┬á This tragedy was one of the deadliest school shootings in US history. Since then, Parkland students, teachers and town officials have called for government officials to relook at gun control legislation.

National:

• The Senate rejected legislation based on┬áPresident Trump's framework for an immigration deal in a 39-60 vote last Thursday. This leaves an uncertain┬ápath forward for Congress with nearly a million immigrants sheltered by an Obama-era program facing the prospect of deportation.

Sports

North America:

• National Basketball Association (NBA): The 67^th NBA All-Star Game took place Sunday night and showcased the best of the NBA's talent. This year's NBA All-Star Game also changed its' format. The format change, with captains LeBron James and Stephen Curry choosing their rosters, proved to be a rousing success.┬áTeam LeBron's furious┬á28-12 comeback in the final six minutes made the game an actual, real-life competition. For a recap of all the highlight events click here.

Europe:

• UEFA Champions League:┬áMadrid started off slow against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night, but fought back to take a two-goal lead into the second leg of their UEFA Champions League tie. Adrien Rabiot got PSG on the board first, but Real Madrid came away 3-1 victors thanks to a brace from Cristiano Ronaldo and a late goal from

Winter Olympics:

• Chloe Kim, 17-year-old U.S Olympic snowboarder, wowed judges in the women's snowboard halfpipe competition on Tuesday morning,┬áscoring a gold medal, after her signature run. Jong Jin Kim, Chloe's father, who moved to the United States from South Korea in 1982, won over spectators around the world with his┬ácharming homemade signs. After his daughter's victory Jong Jin pointed to himself and shouted "American dream."

Entertainment

• "Black Panther" earned just under $242 million in its U.S. opening over the long Presidents Day weekend. This is the second highest four-day haul in domestic box office history, according to Disney's final count. Black Panther easily bested the likes of Iron Man, Superman, and Batman during the Friday-Sunday period.
• Ready for the ultimate food and wine experience in Miami? Treat your taste buds during 5 days of dinners, tastings, late-night parties, & at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival starting tomorrow, Feb. 21 until Feb. 25. For more info click here.

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All the opinions expressed by Juan Artiles in this newsletter are solely his opinions. You should not treat any opinion expressed by his as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy, but only as an expression of his opinions.