Opportunities Resulting from Economic Trends
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1 1.) Dramatic swings recently in the price of oil:
o
This leads me to believe that an opportunity to
exist because it illustrates that the price of crude oil is subject to change
drastically in relatively short amounts of time. Whenever you can a product whose market value
is susceptible to rapid change, you have an opportunity to reap high rewards in
short amounts of time by trading in that product. You should keep in mind that this also
carries higher amounts of risk, however.
o
According to this article, moms and millennials
are currently hopping on the train of this opportunity. However, the prototypical person that will
benefit from the rise and fall of oil will be those who keep themselves updated
with market conditions and have the resources to invest and risk their
money. This will most likely be people
who are employed and have low amounts of debt.
o
This opportunity is relatively easy to exploit,
because you can now invest and trade exchange traded funds from apps on your
phone such as Robinhood, and many of these apps have low minimum balances and
do not even charge fees or commissions.
This opens up the field to people with much lower net worth’s than what
was previously imagined to be necessary to participate in investing.
o
I saw this opportunity because I enjoy reading
and learning about the market. I enjoy
this for its own sake because I think finance is interesting, and also to look
for investment opportunities I could exploit myself.
· 2.) There is an unmet demand for entry-level housing:
o
This article leads me to believe that an opportunity
exists because we learned that an opportunity “constitutes the formation of a
belief that a group of customers have an unmet need.” There is a growing demand for entry-level
housing, yet builders are focusing on the safer bet of developing higher end
real estate for people with larger credit.
This has left a lot of people who are willing to pay money for a home
without any options.
o
The customer for this opportunity would largely
consist of young, first-time homebuyers with less income and credit than older
or more affluent people.
o
It is a relatively easy opportunity to exploit
if you have the resources to develop houses. That is, it is not uncharted
territory, and there are many organizations that have the capability to do
it. It is a difficult opportunity to
exploit if you do not have the resources and money to develop real estate.
o
I saw the opportunity because I like to stay
updated on the housing market because I plan on either entering the real estate
industry myself or at least buy real estate at some point in my life as an
investment.
Opportunities Resulting from Regulatory Changes
· 3.) Uncertainty over interest rates has put the
dollar in a vulnerable position, with the possibility of a rapid rise or fall
in the near future:
o
There is opportunity here because the dollar is
in a fragile place, highly sensitive to regulatory forces on the interest
rate. If the Federal Reserve raises the
interest rate or if investors think they will raise it, then the dollar rises
as it “becomes more attractive to yield-seeking investors. The dollar has been falling recently because
of some mixed economic data. There is
opportunity here because if an expert in the field of foreign exchange or
someone willing to do thorough research put their mind to it, there could be a
lot of money to be made in trading of the dollar.
o
Investors with experience and comfort in foreign
currency exchange are the most likely customers of this opportunity. Also likely customers are people from foreign
countries who have easy access and comfort in trading for their home currencies.
o
This opportunity is easy to exploit because it
is not difficult to trade in foreign currencies, but it could be risky because
it could be difficult to ascertain what will happen next with interest rates.
o
I saw this opportunity and would take advantage
of it because I enjoy taking a good risk, and doing everything I can to beat
that risk, in order to achieve high rewards.
Someone who is more risk-averse may not see this as an opportunity or
may see it to be too risky to be a viable opportunity.
· 4.) The regulatory body FDA has approved a new arm
implant called Probuphine to treat opioid dependence:
o
This is an opportunity to heal many people in
America and is a step towards reversing the growing opioid endemic in our
country. It is an opportunity to help
our friends and loved ones and the families we know that have suffered as a
result of the opiate addiction of a loved one.
o
This opportunity is one that will indirectly
benefit everyone because many people are hurt by opiate addiction even if they
are not addicts themselves. The primary
prototypical customer will be those people who have opiate addictions such as prescription
drugs and heroine and can use this implant to lessen withdrawal symptoms and
ease cravings for opioids.
o
The opportunity is limited in easiness by its
cost, which is expected to be less than $6,000 dollars for six months. This is either a cost that someone could or
could not afford. For some people it
will be an easy choice, for others it will be something that will be difficult
to attain. It is a small price to pay,
however, when you think about it in terms of someone getting their life back.
o
I saw this opportunity because I see myself as
sympathetic to anyone going through such a tough time in their lives and
sympathetic to their families and friends who are affected by it, even though I
have never witnessed an opiate addiction.
I believe everyone deserves hope for a better life, and this is an
opportunity which will give many people that hope.
