Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

-Economic Trend: US housing starts soar 16.9% in December to a 13-year high

-Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/17/us-housing-starts-december-2019.html

-I believe that an opportunity exists in this situation because it was mentioned in the article that currently the mortgage rates are low and this will encourage many more individuals to build houses. 

-The prototypical customer would be someone who is looking to build a new home.

- The opportunity is relatively easy to exploit in my opinion. This is because, looking at the statistics of the number of houses being built, many more individuals will be motivated to build houses, leading to a domino effect.

-Why did I see this opportunity? In our society having an own house is looked upon as the epitome of success. Meaning, having a house makes one look successful. So, I saw this economic trend as an opportunity.

-Economic Trend: Manufacturers to spend $26.2 billion on ‘upskilling’ in 2020 to attract and keep workers

-Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/17/manufacturers-to-spend-26point2-billion-on-upskilling-workers-in-2020.html

-I believe that an opportunity exists in this case as manufacturing is an occupation that requires being up to date with the technology. Also, investing in the skills of workers will benefit the manufacturer's revenue. Therefore, many manufacturers are likely to invest in upskilling workers.

-The prototypical customer would be all the manufacturers who are looking to upskill their workforce.

-The opportunity is easy to exploit as manufacturing is a competitive industry and if one manufacturer starts to upskill his/her workforce, it will motivate other manufacturers to upskill his/her workforce as well. 

-Why did I see this opportunity? I considered it as an opportunity because of the high number of prototypical customers(manufacturers).

-Regulatory Changes: Worker classification

-Source: https://www.paychex.com/articles/compliance/top-regulatory-issues

- I believe that an opportunity exists in this case as the law has made it mandatory for the employer to demonstrate the efficiency of the worker in a test to classify him/her as an independent contractor in the state.

-The prototypical customer would be a worker who is trying to prove his/her efficiency in the test.

-The opportunity is relatively hard to exploit because not many workers would want to spend their time taking a test and would instead try to find an easy way out of the situation.

-Why did I see this opportunity? I saw this as an opportunity because of the fact that many states across the United States are considering similar changes.

-Regulatory Changes: China approves tax waiver for cleaner ship fuel exports, but may limit shipments

-Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-oil-imo-tax/china-approves-tax-waiver-for-cleaner-ship-fuel-exports-but-may-limit-shipments-sources-idUSKBN1Z90OE

-Importing and exporting of goods plays a crucial role in a country’s economy. So I feel that this regulatory change will have a huge impact on the global economy and thus I believe that an opportunity exists.

-The prototypical customer would be companies that want to invest in a cleaner fuel for their ships.

-It is a hard opportunity to exploit. Mainly because of the fact that shipment industry is very vast and will require a lot of time to make a profit.

-Why did I see this opportunity? Reducing taxes on clean fuel will motivate many companies to take advantage of change even though it would require them to limit some shipments. This is because a clean source of fuel will make the ships much more efficient and decrease the overall cost of shipment.