Good day,
A report released by the National Association of Realtors states that there has been a 36 percent decline in the value of the residential real estate that foreigners have bought in the U.S. over the last financial year that ended this March. That said, the cascading purchases, whose value stood at $78 billion, was quite expected. The global economic slowdown, the trade spat between China and the U.S., and a strong dollar all came together to spoil the realtors’ party.
Foreign real estate purchases are now at their lowest since 2013 – a year that saw the emergence of Chinese and South American buyers into the U.S. market searching for stability and a place to invest. The vacuum has mainly been felt within the high-end real estate residences market, in places like New York, Miami and southern California. This was partially because a massive slowdown by Chinese buyers; spending declined 56 percent year-on-year.
Did you know?
In 2019, global consumers will spend an estimated $6.77 trillion on goods and services bought online, according to Euromonitor International. This is double the digital commerce spend from just five years ago.
Quotable
“You see all kinds of crazy things on the road, and it turns out they’re not all that infrequent, but you have to be able to handle all of them. With radar and high-resolution cameras and all the computing power we have, we can detect and identify the objects on a street. The hard part is anticipating what they’re going to do next.”
– Bryan Salesky, CEO of Argo AI, autonomous vehicle technology startup, commenting on the difficulty of developing a Level 5 fully autonomous vehicle
In other news
What Brexit could mean for the US economy
After three long years of negotiations, the possibility of a no-deal Brexit is rising every day. (CNBC)
Will the U.S. gas glut cap oil production?
A pipeline company is fighting the practice of flaring gas in Texas, threatening to slow the pace of oil production. (Oilprice)
Where bricks are beating clicks: implications for last-mile real estate
The digitization of the retail industry over the last 10 years has dramatically changed traditional commerce. (Seeking Alpha)
Global shipping industry most exposed” to low carbon energy shift
Rapid decarbonization of global energy supplies will make vessel selection critical, requiring divestment from sectors with the greatest exposure to fossil fuels. (Hellenic Shipping News)
Walmart says the retailer has been playing ‘catch up’ in e-commerce
Walmart CEO McMillon says customers want the convenience that Amazon and other e-commerce companies provide. (MarketWatch)
Final Thoughts
Global auto parts supplier Lear Corporation has joined Daimler in slashing its earnings forecasts as the global automotive industry slowdown is expected to dent the company’s earnings this quarter. Lear has stated that its net yearly sales could drop significantly from its earlier estimates of $21.7 billion to as low as $19.8 billion. The dreary forecast is due to lower industry expectations on production volumes in the second half of the year – an upsurge now seems increasingly improbable.
Hammer down everyone!