Assignment 6A- Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

Economic Trends

Opportunity 1: Tesla Stock Price drop

Where I found it: I found out about the price drop on my mobile investing app, Robinhood

What makes me believe that an opportunity may exist: The stock price of one of the leading car companies has dropped, leaving room for a lot of investors to buy stock in the company in hope for the stock to raise back to its previous amount or even higher. It is very likely with all the upcoming projects the company has planned, including a few game changing ones like the Tesla truck scheduled to be released later in the year

Pro typical customer: Stock investors and people looking to make money through stocks.

Is the opportunity relatively easy or relatively difficult to exploit? Why? It is relatively easy I would say, aside from the cost constraint. All it takes is signing up with an investment firm.

Why did I see this opportunity: I have been in stocks for a very long time and I have been accustomed to seeing opportunities like these. When an extremely successful company with many more revolutionary plans has a price drop, it is simply a correction, as it likely is in Tesla's case. Of course, this opportunity may not be seen by everyone due to its risk and uncertainty, but I myself definitely believes it exists.

Opportunity 2: The U.S. dollar price rises

Where I found it: I found out about it through a friend, as well as through the internet. https://www.dailyfx.com/forex/technical/article/cot/2020/02/03/US-Dollar-Longs-Rise-GBPUSD-Shorts-Jump-CAD-at-Risk-COT-Report.html

What makes me believe that an opportunity may exist: I believe that an opportunity exists because of this news since it will give people more incentive to travel to other countries to capitalize on our currency discrepancies. It can also give people an incentive to invest in Forex to make money off the fluctuation in the U.S. dollar's raise in price.

Pro typical customer: People who travel often, and those who are skilled enough to trade Forex are the pro typical customers.

Is the opportunity relatively easy or relatively difficult to exploit? Why? The opportunity is relatively easy to exploit since the U.S. dollar's raise in price will be felt throughout the nation and all it takes to exploit it is by spending or converting the U.S. dollar in foreign countries or by investing in foreign currency exchanges.

Why did I see this opportunity? I saw this opportunity while some people may not have since I have been trading with Forex for a while now and news like this always sparks action. From what I've seen in the past, it seems to be a good opportunity to make money trading or by taking advantage of this difference by spending money in other countries.

Regulatory Changes
Opportunity 3: E-Cigarette Flavor Ban

Where I found it: I found out through my friends who have been affected by this ban.

What makes me believe that an opportunity may exist: There is a loophole in the ban in which only flavored products for e-cigarettes that are reusable are banned. Thus, it opens up a lot of opportunities and incentives for companies to start selling flavored disposable vapes, since a lot of competition is now out of the way.

Pro typical customer: People who used to smoke reusable e-cigarettes, such as Juul, as well as companies who want to capitalize on the new ban or who have been affected by the ban.

Is the opportunity relatively easy or relatively difficult to exploit? Why? This opportunity is very easy to exploit since all it takes is switching from a reusable vape to a disposable one. Same goes for manufacturers: they simply have to start producing more flavored disposable vaporizers.

Why did I see this opportunity: I saw this opportunity since not many people are aware of the loophole. Once I found out, it seemed like an easy way for businesses to make use of the loophole in order to make money. It is my curiosity for loopholes that has led me to find out this opportunity.

Opportunity 4: Ban on plastic straws

Where I found it: I found out about this since it is all over my city and I have been forced to conform to using paper straws.

What makes me believe that an opportunity may exist: Paper straws are very inconvenient and a lot of people would agree. There is definitely room for improvement.

Pro typical customer: People who eat out at restaurants and normally use straws

Is the opportunity relatively easy or relatively difficult to exploit? Why? It's actually relatively easy to exploit this opportunity. All that would need to be done is to have a substitute for plastic that is equally as convenient while also similarly priced. There are many plant-based alternatives that are starting to make its way around.

Why did I see this opportunity: I saw this opportunity since many people have settled on using paper or metal straws, but not a lot of people have looked for alternatives, when in reality, there are a ton out there. My dislike for paper straws is what led me to see this opportunity.