Market Snapshot: Week of Mar. 13 – 27

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

Market Snapshot (March 20th - 27th)

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• Dow Jones:┬á23,533 (-5.84%)
• S&P 500:┬á2,588 (-6.29%)
• Nasdaq:┬á6,993┬á(-6.94%)

Stocks suffered their worst week in two years as a trade war kicked off and Facebook stock was hazed and de-friended, says MarketSnacks. Here are the other highlights from the world of business and finance.

Market Winners:

• Fitbit sales rebounded after it introduced its new simple smart watch, the $199 Versa, for people who don't need all the complexities of an Apple Watch.
• Dropbox┬ásurged 44% in its opening day of trading at last Friday's IPO. The cloud-storage company ultimately priced its shares at $21 Thursday night, raising nearly $800 million for itself -- then the stock opened Friday at $30 per share, giving it a $12 billion valuation, as per Market Snacks.
• After rumors that Walmart is preparing to enter the food kit and meal delivery industry, Blue Apron decided to also switch up its business strategy and now┬áis taking its food kit┬átalents to supermarket shelves.

• Last week Alphabet's autonomous car division, Waymo. showed off its self-driving taxi in action with a new short video. To take a glimpse at the near possible future click here.
• FedEx is set to launch mini-stores in 500 Walmarts nationwide to grow its retail presence. This is an attempt to keep up with Amazon who recently announced they are set to enter shipping and logistics.

Market Losers:

• Facebook stock has dropped 7% after news broke that┬áCambridge Analytica, a political data firm that worked on President Trump's 2016 campaign, was able to gain access to private data through a quiz posted on the social network. Facebook has had breaches in the past and many Facebook Users have said this is the "last straw" that led them to quit. A few days ago, Zuckerberg took out a one page ad in major US and UK papers apologizing to users for recent troubles.
• Greek yogurt has become the Achilles heel for General Mills' Yoplait as quarterly sales fall 8% and fewer Americans are buying cereal.
• The drama continues at Qualcomm as┬á Paul Jacobs, the son of Qualcomm's co-founder and former CEO, was┬áremoved┬áfrom its board by fellow directors for wanting to take the company private. This follows news that Broadcomm's bid to acquire Qualcomm was busted

Other Market News:

• Overnight the┬áMSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.3 percent while Japan's Topix index closed 0.4 percent higher as the yen fell against the dollar following Mnuchin's comments on China trade. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index was 0.3 percent higher by 5:45 a.m. as trade tensions eased a little and stocks were lifted by┬áM&A┬áactivity┬áin the region. S&P 500 futures┬ágained 1.1 percent, the 10-year Treasury yield was at 2.848 percent and gold was broadly unchanged as per Bloomberg Markets.

Real Estate

Local:

• Miami existing condominium and total luxury home sales increased in February, according to a new report by Miami Association of REALTORS. Here are the highlights:
  • Miami existing condo sales increased for the fourth consecutive month, rising 3 percent to 983 from 954.
  • Total Miami luxury $1-million-and-up sales jumped 31 percent, from 116 in February 2017 to 152 in February 2018.
  • Miami-Dade County single-family home prices increased 3.6 percent in February 2018, increasing from $321,000 to $332,500.
  • Total Miami distressed sales declined 43.9 percent year-over-year, from 244 to 137 last month.
  • The median percent of original list price received for single-family homes was 95.4 percent.
  • Seller's Market for Single-Family Homes, Buyer's Market for Condos
  • To read the full report, click here.

Industry Trends & Marketing Strategies [Inman.com Picks for the Week]:

• 4 ways to keep up with Facebook's algorithm change:┬áFacebook is one of the best avenues for reaching a market of real estate clients, but with the platform's recent algorithm shift, many real estate agents are feeling lost as to how they can best utilize Facebook to reach their clients.┬áRead more.
• Gen Z expected to outspend millennials on rent:┬áa new generation of renters, Generation Z, are forecasted to spend a staggering $102,100 on rent by the time they turn 30, according to Florentina Sarac.┬áRead more.
• The 7 dos and don'ts of a show-stealing listing presentation:┬áSometimes the most important determining factor in whether or not you earn a new listing is the quality of your listing presentation. When you meet with clients about their home, you are essentially auditioning for the role of their new real estate agent. The following list of dos and don'ts will help you create a listing presentation that will steal the show.┬áRead more.

Politics

North America:

• Yesterday President Trump expelled 60 Russian diplomats out of the US, all of them spies according to the White House. This is the largest expulsion of Russian spies in American history and is a direct response to the Salisbury Attack which took place earlier this month.

• Thursday afternoon Trump announced a 25% tariffs┬áon $60 billion worth of annual imports from China, in an attempt to level out imports and exports and hinder China from swindling intellectual property from the US. It is rumored that China China's plans to retaliate against US farmers and Boeing with targeted counter-tariffs.
• Last Wednesday, thousands of students across the country left their classrooms at 10 a.m., sometimes in defiance of school authorities, to protest gun violence in the U.S. These protests are in response to the tragedy that happened last month at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL.

Asia & Russia:

• President Xi of China declared in his nationalistic speech, marking the beginning of his second term, that any diplomatic advancements acknowledging Taiwan as a sovereign nation would be "punished by history." The remarks came just days after U.S. President Donald Trump signed a law allowing high-level official visits to Taiwan. Read more here.
• Sunday's Russian presidential election left no one surprised as Vladimir Putin secured an expected victory solidifying him as Russia's leader for the next 6 years. Official results show that Putin received more than 76% of the vote, although it should be noted that his main opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, was barred from the race.

Sports

Major League Baseball (MLB):

• The┬áNew York Yankees┬áare on track to open the season this week with baseball's seventh-highest payroll, their lowest ranking since 1992, according to projections by The Associated Press. The Yankees will have both ex Miami Marlin, Giancarlo Stanton and Homerun Derby Champ, Aaron judge in their lineup for next year.

NCAA March Madness:

This year's NCAA men's tournament has been a surprising one to say the least. The most lopsided win of the Elite Eight belonged to Loyola of Chicago, an 11 seed that advanced to its first Final Four appearance in 55 years. At the same time, the three other national semifinalists, Kansas, Villanova and Michigan are among the most successful programs in college basketball history.

Entertainment

• Steven Spielberg reveled Sunday night that he will begin production of "Indiana Jones 5" next spring. Previously dated for July 19, 2019, the film was pushed to open on July 10, 2020 and will feature Harrison Ford. The "Star Wars" actor will be 76 when the movie starts shooting, and 77 when it opens.
• The Weinstein Company, co-founded by disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has filed for bankruptcy. According to CNN the studio company officially filed for bankruptcy Monday night and has also decided to tear up all legal contracts that kept sexual harassment victims from speaking out. To read more click here.

Quote of the Week

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.