Hustle Capital // Intel // Jan. 27
Inflation? Markets? The Fed? Who's driving this bus, anyways??
January 2021, we were all finding out about r/WallStreetBets for the first time and watching AMC and Gamestop go parabolic. Flash forward to 2022 and we’re finding out that the stock market doesn’t like inflation, doesn’t like the prospect of higher interest rates and doesn’t like YOU (assuming you hold risk assets).
Yesterday afternoon, the US Federal Reserve met and told everyone that they are worried about inflation, so we all should expect rates to go up at least a few times this year. If we look back at times of rising rates (tightening monetary policy), it’s generally a headwind for equity and bond markets. Buckle up!
How the Fed responds to inflation will be one of the biggest questions for investors in 2022, but here’s another one: “How will the US consumer react now that the stimulus tailwind is gone?” On one hand, it’d be great for things to cool off a little bit…get supply chains normalized, allow merchants to restock where there are shortages. But on the other hand, show me a business owner that wants less revenue next quarter.
Our Take on………the Used Car Market
This newsletter is focused on investment markets: stocks, bonds, real estate, crypto, commodities. Used cars are not investments so we don’t write about them, except in the past year they kinda…have been good investments. Check out this price chart from Jonathan Smoke, the Chief Economist for Cox Automotive.
So, if you were smart enough to have some of your assets allocated to used car(s) over the past year, congratulations. But before you go selling your car to fund your retirement, see this take from @CarDealershipGuy. Could this be the top??? We think yes. (Disclosure: this is not investment advice, don’t sell your car because we said so!)
Us at 25: Sharing Ideas
If you’re reading this and you are early in your career, we have a challenge for you. This is a real, honest question. Here it goes:
WITH WHOM HAVE YOU SHARED A MEANINGFUL IDEA LATELY?
Seriously, that’s it. You have ideas all the time…what would make an awesome YouTube channel, why collecting sneakers is here to stay, a vacant building that you think would make a great coworking space, why corporations are losing their talent to startups. You have ideas…go share them with people who have resources. Resources means money, yeah. But it also means connections, experience, power, talent, creativity. Find these people and talk to them…stuff will happen. And if you hear “no,” tweak your idea and keep sharing it. Check out the original AirBnB pitch deck for inspiration. These guys put together a very simple pitch, heard “no” a bunch, and look where they are now!
Feel free to ping us in the comments or at hustlecapital@outlook.com if you want to engage more here.
Next Week: HustleCap Miami Vice Edition
Get ready for hot takes from this week’s iConnections conference in Miami. Hedge Funds. Crypto. Web 3.