2 New Mega Trends Coming up to Bat

Every holiday season I’m reminded of my first few years living as an immigrant in the United States.

You see, when I first came to this country, I’d never heard of Thanksgiving Day. In fact, I spent the first few years that I lived here believing that Thanksgiving was a national holiday dedicated to appreciating whatever you were most thankful for in your life.

And while I would eventually go on to learn all about American history and the story of the harvest festival, this time of year still makes me humble. It forces me to take a step back and think about what I’m most grateful for.

I would encourage you to do the same this holiday season. The markets are now closed in observance of Thanksgiving, so take some well-deserved time this weekend to enjoy the presence of your loved ones.

There will be plenty of time to worry about the markets next week, so I’m going to use this article as an opportunity to tell you about two brand-new mega trends I’ll be looking to add to my flagship newsletter, Profits Unlimited, in 2018.

Blockchain Is Creating A Truly Decentralized Economy

The first of these new themes is going to be blockchain as it relates to finance.

 You’ve probably heard of blockchain before, but in case you have only a loose understanding of the term, I’ll give you a brief explanation.

Blockchain is an online global ledger that anyone can use, but that also doesn’t exist in any master location. Think of it like an Excel spreadsheet that exists on multiple computers at the same time and that automatically updates itself every 10 minutes.

The decentralization aspect of this ledger makes it impossible for hackers to encrypt it and also makes it communal, because anyone who has an internet connection and who wants the database can do so.

This technology has turned the financial industry on its head, because for the first time in history, two different parties can come together to make a safe exchange without having to involve intermediaries, such as banks, rating agencies or bodies of government.

Add in the fact that our traditional banking system is overrun with fraud, additional fees and lots of paperwork, and you can immediately see why more and more people are turning to blockchain to make their transactions.

Given how completely disruptive this technology is, it’s no surprise that the global banking community is scrambling to implement blockchain technology into its existing infrastructure. But banks aren’t the only entities about to be disrupted by blockchain.

Imagine a truly decentralized economy where the middleman could be cut out of all transactions. It would affect every single industry in the world, from retail to transportation, to crowdfunding initiatives.

This is the kind of game-changing technology I want to be a part of, because the returns it could bring early investors are potentially limitless.

Ridiculous Amounts of Energy

Having said that, there is one major drawback to blockchain that also affects the Internet of Things mega trend. Both emerging industries require ridiculous amounts of energy output.

In fact, a 2014 study by researchers Karl J. O’Dwyer and David Malone showed that the bitcoin network alone was likely to take up as much electricity consumption as the entire country of Ireland. So, imagine how much energy we would need if all the banks in the world started to move toward digital currencies just to keep up with their competition.

That’s just not sustainable with our current energy grid, and it’s the reason why I’ll be looking to bring storable, renewable, natural energy-solution companies into my Profits Unlimited portfolio next year.

I don’t want to give anything away just yet, but between my current mega trends and the two new themes I’m beginning to track, I can promise you that next year will be a very exciting time to be a Profits Unlimited reader.

If you’d like to get in on the action and join me as I unearth companies taking advantage of these brand-new themes.

I’m going to end there for this week, but from my family to yours, I wish you the happiest holiday season.

Regards,

Paul Mampilly

Editor, Profits Unlimited

Right now, an untapped ocean of energy—found underneath all 50 states—is about to transform the world’s energy industry. In fact, there’s enough of this energy in the first six miles of the earth’s crust to power the United States for the next 30,000 years. Wanna know this untapped energy source? Learn NOW! And as companies rush to extract this energy from the ground, they’ll need the help of one Midwestern company’s technology to make use of it. This is your chance to take advantage of John D. Rockefeller-type fortunes. Early Bird Gets The Worm...

This Employment Picture Looks Grim

The unemployment rate is probably the most widely watched economic indicator. In part, that’s because the Federal Reserve ties its policies to the rate.

That makes the unemployment rate important to the bond market. Interest rates affect the fair value of stocks. In the stock market, traders buy or sell immediately after the monthly update to the number.

Economists also watch the numbers. Many of them try to forecast changes in unemployment. One of the tools they use is data on the amount of money employers pay in taxes.

As you know, employers withhold money from your paycheck. They deposit these payroll taxes a few days after they pay employees. The Daily Treasury Statement offers real-time data on the amounts of deposits. This indicator shows unemployment could be rising.

This chart shows that there is serious weakness in the employment market. There are several possible causes for the decline...

(Source: MathInvestDecisions.com)

The chart shows the change in deposits compared to a year ago. Data is seasonally adjusted to account for swings in hiring and firing. For example, the school year requires an adjustment. Otherwise, employment data falls off when classes end, and then jumps when students go back to school.

The trend in payroll taxes is down. This means employers are paying less to employees.

The chart shows that there is serious weakness in the employment market. There are several possible causes for the decline.

One possibility is that employers aren’t hiring as much as they were a year ago. Data shows the pace of hiring slowed over the past year.

It’s also likely employers are paying employees as little as possible. Federal Reserve datashows consumers are spending more on necessities and have less income for other items. This confirms wages are growing slowly, if at all.

This is something to watch for stock market investors. Bear markets begin after unemployment starts rising. We aren’t there yet, but we need to be watching for a change in the unemployment rate.

Regards,

Michael Carr, CMT

In this exciting NEW VIDEO, Wall Street legend and former multibillion hedge fund manager Paul Mampilly pulls back the curtain on the biggest investment opportunity in the market today. What insiders are calling “The Greatest Innovation in History,” this revolution will mint more millionaires and billions than any technology that came before it. Right now, the current market for this technology is just $235 billion, but given how fast this technology is moving experts predict it will soar to $19 trillion by 2020. But 8,000% growth is just the beginning—and now’s your chance to get in on the action. [CONTINUE TO VIDEO]

Source: Banyan Hill