Friday, January 25, 2019

Assignment 6A – Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends



Economic Opportunities

1.     The US economy will remain above trend
b.   I believe an opportunity exists because there is statistical data that experts interpret to predict economic growth. There are hard facts to prove there was economic growth in 2018 and that it was not slowing down at the end of the year, resulting in continuous growth in 2019.
c.     This would benefit all American’s that work in the US and make investments, purchases, etc.
d.    This could be relatively easy to exploit because of the state our Government is currently in, no one can agree on anything. The government shut down effects the economy, which could result in a decline.

Why: I see this as an opportunity because it is a good time for entrepreneurs to get in the market. Some would not see it that way because they would just see it as an increase in the cost of living with the economy booming.

2.     Interest Rates
b.     I believe this opportunity exists because there is statistical data supporting an increase in interest rates by .5% but then they will plateau. This is due to a raise in the federal fund rates. The increase in interest rates also can correlate with an improving global economy. The rise in interest rates needs to be stopped or reduced.
c.   The prototypical customer would be anyone the pays interest to mortgage companies, small lenders, credit card companies, etc.
d.     I do not think that this is an opportunity that is easily exploitable as interest rates are set by the government (for the most part) and lenders cannot increase them on most loans unless the fed’s do.

Why: I see this as an opportunity to reduce the increase of interest rates or at least hault it. The last time rates rapidly increased, the economy took a tank.

Regulatory Opportunities

1.     Minimum Wage Increase in Florida
b.     Florida minimum wage will increase by $0.21 in 2019 as a Florida Law has passed to put this into place
c.     The prototypical customer will be anyone that is working a minimum wage job in Florida.
d.   One could say that minimum wage is exploited and over used by many companies, the increase will only allow for more companies to reduce positions to minimum wage to keep cost down.

Why: I see this as an opportunity because minimum wage workers will get a pay increase. However, some see this as an issue where it will drive up the cost of living.

2.     Hospitals will be required to post prices online in Florida
b.     Hospitals currently have a list of their standard prices but are not required to post online for public view. This will require hospitals to post online for easy accessibility.
c.     The prototypical would be anyone that need to go to the hospital or have a surgery.  
d.   I am sure this will be exploited by hospitals as customers will rely on the fees posted online but the hospitals will have “hidden fees” or manage to up charge the customer from what is published online.

Why: This opportunity appeared to me because I have a family member who was recently hospitalized, and we were trying to estimate what their bill was going to be but couldn’t.  

2 comments:

  1. Danielle,

    You picked very interesting trends and made good insights out of the information presented, especially the ones about the economy. Good job! To make your post clearer I would use full section titles instead of letters, so readers can know what the points are about without having to refer to the original assignment. For the same reason, I would also add a brief introduction to explain what the post is about.

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  2. The article about the hospital prices is amazing. I've been on the hospitals sites plenty of times and never had they listed their prices. I often would want to compare the prices to walk in clinics but always just had to go in. This will be more convenient and I hope they don't put in hidden fees like you said. Only time will tell, if the cost of living will rise do to minimum wage increase. Many times those 21 extra cents aren't even noticeable in the checks but the cost of living still skyrockets.

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