MGR Unplugged

Once again, the power of social media cannot be underestimated.  In this case, this is the story of a Reddit community call Wall Street Bets fighting well established Hedge Funds over GameStop, a video game retailer that financially, had its days numbered.

Fascinating to watch and even more interesting as the story develops and more details become available.  Hedge funds, have traditionally OWNED wall street and steer it in any direction they want.  Shorting a stock -essentially betting that it will go down significantly over a short period of time- has always been a way to rack up significant profits... UNLESS... the stock goes UP, and up and up, and you end up having to 'cover' your short resulting in a significant loss.

And that's exactly what happened this time.  David beat Goliath and the Wall Street Bets group got together and decided to buy GameStop shares massively, raising the stock price so much, that it caused sophisticated investors like Melvin Capital and Citron Research to cover their losing positions in what's known as a short squeeze.

But there's so much more to this story, and we don't know how it's going to end... Take a listen and let us know what you think!

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In just one week, Bitcoin went from $40K down to $30K and then back up to $40K.  That's a 25% correction followed by a 35% surge...  and yes, that's Bitcoin for you.  Not an investment to follow on a daily basis, but one that is better to leave alone for 5-10 years and let it grow.  And yes, we still like it...

As more social media platforms ban Trump's accounts, and even hosting providers like AWS remove Parler from their servers, the debate about the role of social media in our society is growing globally.  Should they be the "Arbiter of Truth" or should they be decentralized following Bitcoin's model and hosted on the Blockchain?  This is not about taking political sides.  It's about the right of all opinions and voices to exist.  We talk about the options. 

Finally, the NBA is struggling to keep the season going with COVID cases increasing and more games being cancelled or re-scheduled as a result of it.  Some players are not being very disciplined with their behavior off the court, resulting in more positive cases with contact tracing repercussions.  The continuity of the season is at risk.  However, the big news this week is the blockbuster multi-team trade of James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets.  KD, Kyrie and Harden could be an explosive combination.  Which way it explodes, only time will tell!

All that and much more in this episode of MGR Unplugged.

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Join Manuel and David in this first episode of 2021.  We cover:

The socio political environment.  The meltdown in Washington, Georgia run-off results and possible implications.

Wall Street continues to remain disconnected from reality, and investors love it.

Bitcoin reaches $40K, and this time it has a lot more support from financial institutions than 4 years ago.  How high will it go?

And surprisingly, we didn't talk AT ALL about COVID-19, which must be a first in a long time!

Happy New Year everybody!

All that and much more in this episode of MGR Unplugged.

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Let's just say that 2020 has not been the year that we all expected when we made plans 12 months ago...  We share our highs and our lows, what we've learned from the experience and how we may approach life and situations differently moving forward.  We hope you enjoy this, our last episode or the year and needless to say, Happy New Year to all of you!  

All that and much more in this episode of MGR Unplugged.

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This episode is brought to you by MGR Agency. Scaling marketing for leading digital brands.

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As of this recording, Bitcoin had just reached the $23K milestone.  Just five days ago, it was trading at $19K which in itself, was a record high too.  Some analysts predict Bitcoin to go as high as $500K in the coming years.  The reason?  Limited supply and an increased demand are pushing the new record highs this year.  What makes it different than the previous surge in 2017?  Remember, back then, Bitcoin went as high as $17K by December 2017 only to go down to $3,100 a year later.

The difference is that this time around, institutional demand for Bitcoin is there too.  Yesterday's detractors are today's buyers.  MassMutual, PayPal are samples of newest additions to the Bitcoin acceptance trend.  So, is it Buy, Sell or Hold time?  Join our chat to see what we think.

Meanwhile, the streaming video wars are starting to go over a consolidation state.  Livestreaming services include YouTube, Hulu, AT&T TV Now, Philo, Sling TV and others.  On the demand options are the well-known Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max, ESPN+ and the less popular Peacock and CBS All Access.  But if you're planning on cutting the cord from your Cable operator in 2021, you'd better look at your options and do some careful math.  Chances are, you may end up paying the same combined monthly fee, especially, if you're interested in watchin your local sports team in action. 

Finally, as sad as it is, California continues to lose its luster.  The "Golden State No More" exodus continues with Oracle being the latest company to announce that it will move its headquarter to Texas.  And it's not over yet... 

All that and much more in this episode of MGR Unplugged.

What do you think?  Take a listen and let us know your thoughts.

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We start our conversation with the news that the FTC along with 47 states are suing Facebook claiming the social media giant has harmed competition by buying up smaller companies like Instagram and WhatsApp to squash the threat they posed to its business. The lawsuit centers on Facebook’s acquisitions, particularly its $1 billion purchase of Instagram in 2011. In addition to its acquisition strategy, the attorneys general allege that Facebook used the power and reach of its platform to stifle user growth for competing services.

We expand into the current role of social media giants (Faceboo, Twitter, YouTube...) Have they become too big to control?  Do we want them to become arbiters of truth?  Should they add a paywall to limit trolling?  

In other news, the long awaited IPOs of DoorDash and Airbnb finally happened.  DoorDash raised $3.4 billion with an initial public offering that exceeded heightened expectations. The DoorDash IPO began trading Wednesday afternoon as shares soared by double digits.  DoorDash claims more than 18 million customers and 1 million delivery workers.  Yet, net profits do not justify the hype. DoorDash reported a net loss of $667 million in 2019 and lost $149 million in the first nine months of 2020. The company said it turned a profit of $23 million in the second quarter this year, but followed that with a $43 million loss in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, Airbnb is off to a great start too.  On Thursday, Airbnb Stock Closed at $144 After Pricing IPO at $68 a Share. For perspective, with an $87 billion valuation based on its first traded price of $144 per share, Airbnb is more than twice the size of hotelier Marriott International, larger than Expedia and a shade larger than Booking Holdings, owner of Priceline and Kayak.  Is it overvalued or undervalued?  

We end with a loose conversation about the NBA new season, the Formula 1 last race and some silly comments about the best teams and drivers.  

All that and much more in this episode of MGR Unplugged.

What do you think?  Take a listen and let us know your thoughts.

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This episode is brought to you by MGR Agency. Scaling marketing for leading digital brands.

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Thanksgiving – Cyber Monday eComm Numbers

Amazon Tops Sales: No surprise here.  And Amazon Resellers sold $5 billion between Black Friday and Cyber Monday on Amazon — a 60% increase from last year.

Top-selling items this year include Barack Obama's memoir "A Promised Land," the redesigned Echo Dot and the Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer and Volumizer Hot Air Brush.

Black Friday this year climbed 22% year over year to a record $9 billion, according to Adobe Analytics. Cyber Monday, the busiest online shopping day of the year, is also expected to notch record sales.

Meanwhile, Shopify (SHOP), a sales platform primarily used by small businesses, measured $5.1 billion in global sales over the four days between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, making it the largest weekend ever in its history.

That's a sharp contrast to foot traffic at brick-and-mortar stores, which fell 52% on Black Friday compared to last year, according to a report from Sensormatic Solutions. Shopping traffic on Thanksgiving dropped by 95%, as many stores closed

More Shopify 2020 Black Friday/Cyber Monday Global Highlights

• 44+ million consumers globally purchased from independent and direct-to-consumer brands powered by Shopify, a 50% jump from 2019.
• Black Friday/Cyber Monday Weekend sales peaked at 12:00 PM ET on Black Friday, with $102 million+ sales that hour.
• Consumers spent $89.20 USD on average per order throughout the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend. Consumers in Japan ($106.40 USD) and Australia ($105.50 USD) spent the most on average, ahead of shoppers in Canada ($103.00 USD), US ($92.80 USD), and others.
• The top-selling cities over the shopping weekend were New York, Los Angeles, and London while the US, UK and Canada were amongst the top-selling countries worldwide.
• Japan (347%), Italy (211%), Germany (189%), and UK (122%) saw triple-digit growth of sales on the platform since last year.
• Mobile sales stayed relatively flat this Black Friday/Cyber Monday compared to last year, with 67% of sales made on mobile devices versus 33% on desktop, compared to 68% of sales made on mobile devices versus 32% on desktop in 2019.
• Apparel and accessories held the top spot for sales across Shopify-powered stores this weekend, with health and beauty, and home and garden following.

We also discuss the Government's money policy and how it is creating a dead spiral that will lead to huge inflation numbers down the road.  The money printing machine continues and the dollar will continue to devaluate making inflation the highest hidden tax burden that all consumers will feel in their wallets. 

All of this while Bitcoin is hitting new records every week and gold seems to take a step back.  Time will tell if investors are putting their money in the right place.

All that and much more in this episode of MGR Unplugged.

What do you think?  Take a listen and let us know your thoughts.

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Sometimes it's good to take a break from the daily grind and chat about things we like that are not necessarily related to work.  In today's episode, David takes the lead and goes over the 2020 NBA Draft, who got it right and who got it wrong, players to watch and other surprises.

Then we go over some of the economics and politics of the NBA.  All trade rumors and already confirmed trades.  Why some players can call the shots while others are simply traded from team to team without much say.  The salary cap that is not really a cap allowing the wealthy teams to pay their way to the top.

Our predictions for the upcoming 2020 season that is set to start on December 22.  How many fans will be able to attend the arenas and when?  Will it be a smooth season or will it be interrupted by COVID again? 

Finally, David talks about his beloved Phoenix Suns.  He even thinks that this season, they will make it to the second round of the playoffs!  And no, he wasn't having a day dream!  He really believes the Chris Paul trade will make a huge difference.

All that and much more in this episode of MGR Unplugged.

What do you think?  Take a listen and let us know your thoughts.

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This year's Holiday Season is full of uncertainties.  From travel plans, to shopping plans, possible lockdowns, confinements and a transition to a new President in the works.

Meanwhile, Biden’s Covid advisor, Dr. Michael Osterholm seems to think that a lockdown is the solution: He said “We could pay for a package right now to cover all of the wages, lost wages for individual workers, for losses to small companies, to medium-sized companies or city, state, county governments. We could do all of that,” he said. “If we did that, then we could lock down for four to six weeks.”  Needless to say, we don't agree with any type of government paid time off.

On the positive side, Pfizer announced earlier this week that their vaccine will be 90% effective.  Despite the suspicious timing of the announcement (right after the elections) it seems like we're starting to see light at the end of the tunnel.   How soon it will be ready for the masses is everyone's guess, but estimates seem to agree that it should be available early in 2021.

It's also the final push for retailers to try and stay alive after a savage year.  COVID is still stealing the headlines and very few are optimistic.  Retail shopping will be full of restrictions, yet, eCommerce can break all previous records this year.  Social commerce is going to be particularly strong with major platforms like Shopify partnering with Facebook/Instagram, Walmart, TikTok and others to make the online shopping experience as seamless as possible.  And of course, Amazon is still the King of eCommerce.

All that and much more in this episode of MGR Unplugged.

What do you think?  Take a listen and let us know your thoughts.

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Two days after the election and we're still waiting for the official confirmation on who will be the next POTUS.  One thing we do know is that, whatever the result, life goes on and it's not the end of the world as we know it.  And while we wait, why not go over some of the well know "winners and losers" of this election?

LOSERS:
All Pollsters: Can we ever trust the polls?  Can they be more wrong?  We wouldn't be counting ballots 3 days after the election if if had been the landslide or blue wave that they were al predicting.

Media Outlets: See above.  It doesn't matter whether it is the right-wing media or the more liberal media.  The fact is that nobody was able to predict a very tight and highly contested election.  For people that make a living reporting and commenting on news, they should be embarrassed of their disastrous predictions.

Trump and Biden: Yes, one of them will be the next President of the United States.  But what it seems clear is that neither can think himself as a clear winner.  Some people voted for Biden, not because they liked him, but because they really disliked Trump.  Yet, based on the results, the same people that voted for Biden, seem to also have voted for a Republican Congress.  Trump for his part, has never been a good loser and he's already suing a number of states and stirring up more controversy without merit. 

WINNERS: 

Clearly, all of us.  We need a break from election news and campaign messaging.  The amount of unauthorized text messages, phone calls, junk mail, etc. that this year's election has generated should be something to fix before the next election comes around.  Just the printing of worthless flyers and junk mail that end up in the trash has done more wrong for the environment than more people care to know.  That's the irony of situation.

Sports Betting Sites: Finally, something that was happening all the time is now considered "legal."  Let people do whatever they want with their money.

Cannabis: Of the five states that voted on cannabis, four states approved legal recreational marijuana for adults age 21 and older. Mississippi approved medical use, while South Dakota approved both recreational and medical use at one time.

Gig Economy:  More specifically, Uber and Lyft will continue to operate in California allowing their drivers to classify themselves as independent contractors.  The people have spoken.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it California.  Get it? Got it? Done!

The Stock Market: Despite COVID daily cases growing to a reported record of 100,000/day, that seems to be less relevant now.  For whatever reason, the market enjoys the result (or lack thereof) of this election and has added billions of dollars to all investment accounts and 401Ks around the US.

Gold and Bitcoin: As well as most precious metal commodities and cryptocurrencies.   As of this writing, gold is nearing $2,000/oz again and Bitcoin is touching the $16,000 mark last reached more than 3 years ago.  Why?  You decide.

We end the podcast with some predictions about who might run for president in 2024... Yes, I know, that's torture at this point, but we like that!

All that and much more in this episode of MGR Unplugged.

What do you think?  Take a listen and let us know your thoughts.

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This episode is brought to you by MGR Agency. Scaling marketing for leading digital brands.

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