MARKET MOVERS

  • Average size of Mortgage Loan hits record high. The average dollar amount of a mortgage purchase application hit a record of $418,500 as higher home prices force buyers to borrow more, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported this week. The continued rise in purchase loan application sizes is driven by high home price appreciation and the lack of housing inventory on the market—especially for entry-level homes.

  • Robinhood beta wallets are now live. 1,000 customers will be able to join the beta testing. The wallet would mean people could send and receive crypto through the Robinhood app instead of just trading it. Beta testers will have a daily limit of $2,999 and 10 transactions. They'll also need to activate two-factor authentication (2FA). The plan is to open wallet functionality to another 10,000 customers by March, before rolling it out to the whole waitlist.

  • Netflix is now saturated. It has achieved incredible market share by growing so quickly every year. At some point, the growth was gonna slow down. They've hit their natural audience. Netflix might be the best example of consumer surplus at scale. They have given so much value away for an incredibly small amount of subscriptions. The consumer is the real winner and any streaming company will soon get into a real tough spot with limited growth. Source(1:00:23)

  • Winnebago unveiled the electric e-RV camper van concept at the Florida RV SuperShow. The e-RV concept uses the existing Ford Transit base vehicle but swaps its gasoline powertrain for an electric motor and an 86.0-kWh battery pack. Not only does the battery provide up to 125 miles of range it also provides power to run the concept's interior appliances. Source(32:12)

  • Blockchain speeds up home-buying. Fintech Coadjute is the latest attempt to digitize the conveyancing process. It has now begun a national rollout, enabling all parties involved in a property transaction to securely share data and track the live progress of the deal from start to finish. The company uses private blockchain to enable data, documentation, and live updates to be shared in real-time. Read more here.

WHAT TO WATCH

  • White House to take center stage of U.S. crypto policy. The Biden administration is preparing to release an initial government-wide strategy for digital assets as soon as next month and task federal agencies with assessing the risks and opportunities that they pose. Senior administration officials have held multiple meetings on the plan, which is being drafted as an executive order. Read more here.

  • Kohl’s gets $9 billion bid From Starboard Value Group. A group led by Acacia Research Corp., which Starboard controls, offered to buy the department-store chain for $64 a share in cash Friday.  It told the company it has received assurances from bankers that it would be able to get financing for the bid. Kohl's received a letter from a bank asserting that it will be able to attain a debt-financing package for a portion of the bid. Read more here.

  • The Fed is in a delicate position right now where one wrong reaction can plunge the U.S. into recession. China just recently raised its rates and the Fed is being careful on how to react. The balance of risk is starting to make the recession possible. Source(46:24)

  • Micron is looking to expand U.S. chip manufacturing. Micron Technology, a leading manufacturer of memory chips, has two manufacturing plants in the United States, one in Boise, Idaho, and one in Manassas, Virginia. Right now, they have about $150 billion that they're going to spend globally to build new manufacturing plants. There are reports that they are eyeing maybe somewhere in Texas or Arizona.

  • Airbnb CEO says a post-pandemic future of decentralized living will be a boon to the company. CEO Brian Chesky said he expects sustained adoption of remote work will create a new segment of working travelers. The chief executive also said he anticipates that bookings will skyrocket once international travel restrictions loosen. Before the pandemic, half of their business was cross-border.  Read more here.
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