6A - Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

6A - Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

Economic Trend: Fading Energy Drags

• Source: https://commercial.jpmorganchase.com/pages/commercial-banking/executive-connect/six-key-economic-trends
• Considering oil prices have stabilized, and drilling in the states becomes more profitable, this increase in exporting of fuel will lead to an increase in capital spending for companies in our country. This is an opportunity for American companies to expand and build their oil firms because of the resurgence of oil exporting.
• The prototypical customer of this event are the owners of industrial/oil firms in the United States that are currently drilling in the United States.
• The opportunity is not easy to exploit. The opportunity simply is a moment in the oil market where prices are stable and demand of foreign countries is high, so companies should be keeping the supply of U.S. oil to other countries flowing. 
• I believed there was an opportunity because the market is very good for oil in the United States and using basic macroeconomics principle I figured the owners should make usage of the moment to grow their company in the long run. 

Economic Trend: Climate Change Is Causing More Natural Disasters

• Source: https://www.thebalance.com/top-usa-future-economic-trends-3305666
• The increase in natural disasters has led to a higher demand for carpentry and construction work. After the widespread wildfires of California, and the multiple hurricanes of the east coast, many buildings need to be repaired or rebuilt. This is an opportunity for roofing companies, carpenters, plumbers, and other blue collar workers.
• The prototypical customer would be someone who works in carpentry, construction, roofing, etc. who can repair/rebuild a building after natural disaster. 
• One could exploit the opportunity but it would be rather hard. First you'd have to wait for the opportunity to arise (natural disaster occurs). Second, you'd have to be ready to help people as soon as possible, and beat out the competing carpenters. 
• I believed there was an opportunity because the recent amount of damage being caused by natural disasters gives these markets a chance to thrive and expand.
• Whenever I've dealt with a hurricane, one of the first civilians to show up after a storm is a carpenter/ construction worker ready to help people rebuild what they lost.

Regulatory Changes: Sales Tax

• Source: https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7671-regulatory-issues-changes.html
• The Supreme Court decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair ended the zero sales tax of E-commerce businesses. This provides an opportunity for traditional brick-and-mortar businesses to thrive again like before the introduction of the Internet.
• The prototypical customer of this regulatory change are owners of traditional businesses and customers who prefer in-person experiences when shopping.
• The opportunity is not easy to exploit. The opportunity simply levels the playing field between E-commerce businesses and brick-and-mortar businesses, making them both deal with a sales tax.
• I felt that this was an opportunity because it gives online businesses another barrier to entry, one that normal brick-and-mortar businesses have dealt with for eternity.
• I found that this opportunity existed because adding another cost to E-commerce businesses will decrease their revenue, taking away from the competition to brick-and-mortar stores. 

Regulatory Changes: Federal Tax Overhaul

• Source: https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7671-regulatory-issues-changes.html
• After the Federal tax policy reform, changes to the U.S. tax code are underway. With this, companies should look into how to save as much money as possible without wrongly covering their taxes. This is an opportunity for businesses of all sizes to save money from the tax cuts.
• The prototypical customer is anyone who owns, runs, or works in a business. The tax cuts means more money in the pockets of Americans. 
• The opportunity is not easy to exploit, it was set across the whole country and is being put into effect. Any chance of exploiting against a Federal tax is most likely illegal. 
• I believed this was a business opportunity because more money in the pockets of businesses means that capital can be used for investing, expanding, and much more. I found this opportunity to exist because of basic economic principle, more disposable income going to people means there is more opportunity to work with.