MarketWatch #1

Disclaimer: MarketWatch is for entertainment purposes only. It is important that ALL investors conduct their own market research to determine the best investments for their portfolio. Please do not blindly follow me or any random person on the internet, there are professionals for that. MarketWatch is intended to give you insight into my investment portfolio and my analysis of each investment that is discussed. Please feel free to share any comments or questions below.

With the start of the new year now behind us, there is still a lot of uncertainty about what 2021 will bring. As new opportunities are presented, we are left with a choice to act or be acted on by our economy. Whether you are looking into commodity investing or stock investing, we all have a chance to move the needle in our favor. Here are three stocks that are presenting an opportunity to us this week:

Bitcoin (BTC): Last week we saw a more than 20% increase in the value of Bitcoin, placing it within $30k territory. As we continue to analyze and critique cryptocurrency, we must open our eyes to the potential that it brings to our global economy. People are becoming increasingly frustrated with our global banking system, and many believe that this will continue to lead to increasing demand for alternative banking methods. If you fall under this category, these types of innovative investments may be worth looking into.

Alibaba (BABA): Jack Ma is M.I.A. and there are several conspiracies about what may have happened to him. I’m not going to get into all of that, but this is worth paying attention to if you are currently invested in the Amazon-like Chinese enterprise. Alibaba owns the unofficial dropshipping hub, AliExpress, and a change in top-level management could cause a chain reaction in their current structure, more specifically, the large portion of their American dropshipping business. Currently, shares of $BABA are trading at $228.12, a more than 15% decrease than just a month ago. Whether you are bullish or bearish on this stock, this could prove to be an opportunity for those who are looking for an Amazon-like alternative.

(UPDATE: 1/5/2020)

According to Business Insider, Alibaba founder Jack Ma is reportedly laying low and not missing. Concerns about China’s crackdown on his business have reportedly caused him to remove himself from the public eye.

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(UPDATE: 1/15/2020)

Jack Ma is still missing and China has threatened Nationalization of his beloved company. This could heavily impact the dropshipping and bulk trading businesses out there. With China’s government in control, we could see the political climate impact the business and clients more than we have seen in the past. This could be good or bad for you, depending on how you invest.

Google (GOOGL): Flying under the radar, Google has had major shake-ups that could lead to a domino effect for many companies in the market. Most recently, we saw the unionization of the tech giant’s workers, which was caused by decisions made at top-level management. Decisions such as controversial government contracts (Project Maven), sexual harassment scandals, and pay disparities have all led to their employees taking charge. While unions are nothing new for large corporations, this is worth noting as Google has been a leader in employee relations since the birth of the organization. We could continue to see changes as we watch how this newly formed union affects Google and it’s divisions.

Staying ahead of the curb and making investment decisions based on logic will prove to be a better and more comfortable way to invest than following market trends. Do your research and trust what you put your hard-earned money into, this way you can sleep better at night knowing that you have placed your money in the right places.