Thursday, September 2, 2021
ADP and ISM Hiring Miss Point to Weaker NFP Print
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Market Spotlight: USDCNH Downside Opportunities
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Could the “metaverse” be the next big investment theme?
- SEE MORE Virtual reality: advertising’s next horizon, and how Facebook aims to dominate it
- SEE MORE Too embarrassed to ask: what is the metaverse?
Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg has a vision. Soon, he says, he doesn’t want Facebook to be viewed as a social media company. Instead, he wants it to be described as a “metaverse” company.
What’s a metaverse? Well, it might just be the next big thing.
The future is happening right now all around us
I’m partial to a bit of classic sci-fi, so I recently put True Names by Vernor Vinge on my Kindle.
If you haven’t heard of it (I hadn’t) it was published in 1981 and was one of the first books to depict a virtual world that you could “plug into”. A vision of cyberspace well before William Gibson’s Neuromancer, in other words.
The story itself is fun (and short). It’s less po-faced than Gibson and less manic than Neal Stephenson. More than anything else it reminded me of Ready Player One.
But it wasn’t the story itself that really caught my attention. I’d picked up a 2001 edition which paid homage to Vinge’s foresight by packaging the book with a selection of non-fiction articles covering some of the issues predicted in the story.
These covered topics like privacy, cryptography, digital currency, anarcho-libertarianism versus all-powerful governments, artificial intelligence, robots coming for our jobs or creating new ones – all the stuff we’ve been talking about for decades now.
Thing is, most of these pieces were written in the mid-90s. At that time, I barely had an email address. The internet was a curiosity. I still got my music on CDs and rented my films from a video shop.
What struck me was just how prescient many of these pieces were. There were writers discussing how we’d all live in a version of the panopticon in the future as companies and governments fought to control our data. There was plenty of talk of digital currencies based on state-of-the-art cryptography (more than a decade before Satoshi Nakamoto invented bitcoin).
Then, in a very timely manner, on Twitter yesterday, someone posted a picture of an article about people getting bored of the internet. This was published in December 2000.
What’s my point? My point is that the internet was already deeply entrenched by then. To paraphrase Gibson, the future was already there – it was just unevenly distributed.
So what I’m wondering now is this: what other technologies or changes are at a similar point? What tech is already quite advanced and open to people who want to experiment or play with it, but not quite mainstream yet?
There are plenty of candidates out there. One that I think has a good chance of being the “next big thing” is augmented reality and virtual reality. Or to put it more succinctly – and to return us to the introduction of this email – the “metaverse”.
What is the metaverse and why would anyone bother with it?
Long story short, the metaverse is a 3D version of the internet. You already have a digital shadow (or several). The more time you spend online, and the less stringently you protect your data, the more detailed it’s likely to be. The metaverse really just takes that to the next level.
There are different levels to this but in the idealised metaverse, you’d stick on a virtual reality (VR) helmet and be represented in a digital world by a 3D avatar. You can go around doing all the stuff you can do in the real world but with better special effects.
Augmented reality (AR) is where the two realms cross over. You effectively have a digital overlay on the real world. There are already plenty of apps that use this –the Pokemon Go game might be the best known.
Or if you own a relatively up to date Android phone you can probably access the Google Art and Culture app. This allows you to – for example – pop a miniature art gallery out onto the table or the kitchen floor (that’s where I tried this last night), then walk around looking at the paintings.
It’s all daft fun for five minutes. But “normal” people can be entirely forgiven for asking: what’s it for?
The thing is, that’s what some of us were still asking about the internet 20 years ago. Now we almost literally can’t live without it.
I’m not saying that this is a sure thing by any means. But I think that any technology which makes communication between humans easier is likely to end up finding uses. And the pandemic has probably accelerated that.
Facebook’s comments on the metaverse came as the company launched a new app where you can meet 3D versions of your colleagues in a virtual meeting room.
I mean, yes. That sounds like no fun at all. And you might wonder what Facebook’s new virtual office app can offer that a Zoom call can’t.
But I suspect that there’s a tipping point involving a) the comfort of the hardware and b) the realism of the experience, that will eventually make people embrace VR because it will add useful depth to communication.
And more to the point, there are lots of other uses well beyond all this. Imagine if you could effectively digitise all of your computer hardware. You put on a pair of glasses, your screen appears, a keyboard appears – you take them off, it’s all tidied away.
That’s not even scratching the surface.
How would you invest in the metaverse?
How would you invest in that sector? This is me mostly just kicking about ideas out of curiosity, but I’ll be researching the area more.
Lots of big companies are experimenting; Facebook is the obvious one, of course. Bluntly, I find it hard to get excited about that, but a lot of that is purely a chippy dislike of the company and its constant boundary pushing, so please do ignore me – do your own research and see what you think.
Another interesting one is Snap, which doesn’t just do vanishing photos, but also makes AR glasses (you may or may not remember Google Glass, which people hated). It recently bought UK-based WaveOptics for over $500m.
Lex in the FT is unconvinced: “AR glasses in their current form are unlikely to take off, despite Facebook, Apple and Microsoft investing in the idea. Hostility to tech incursions into personal privacy is growing, not receding.”
It’s quite possibly correct and I wouldn’t be keen to invest in Snap (still loss-making). But privacy concerns are a red herring – consumers will swap privacy for convenience any day of the week, as we’ve all learned. The real issue is usability and given the pot of gold that all these companies believe is there, that’s a matter of when rather than if.
On the infrastructure side, I’m guessing a full-on metaverse would require even greater rollouts of physical equipment to support all this. Similar to the way that Netflix couldn’t take off until the internet pipes were big enough (that’s the highly technical level on which I think, don’t all applaud at once) to make streaming viable, it’ll probably take better broadband connections, more cloud storage, and the rest.
Anyway – we’ll discuss all this in future Money Mornings and in MoneyWeek magazine (get six free issues here if you’re not already a subscriber).
But I’m pretty confident that this is an area to keep a close eye on. VR is one of those techs that has been “around the corner” for many moons, but the underlying tech has caught up with the dream to a great extent, and with Facebook keen to harvest ever more of our data, I imagine it’ll be pushing this hard.
However – it is of course not the only exciting investment area “bubbling under” right now. I have a few other subjects I want to cover but I’d also love to hear your views – what do you think is the “next big thing” and why?
By the way, if you’re going to say “crypto” then I’d appreciate a bit more detail than just that...! Which apps or coins and why?
Ping me an email at editor@moneyweek.com and put “next big thing” in the subject line so I can filter them out. I might well publish the best ones, so please do let me know if you’d rather not be named.
Look forward to hearing your ideas.
from Moneyweek RSS Feed https://moneyweek.com/investments/investment-strategy/603788/how-to-invest-in-the-metaverse
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USD Insights Ahead of The NFP
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The Crude Chronicles - Episode 104
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Will the Rand’s strength continue in September?
USDZAR, H8
South Africa’s economic growth in the decades following the end of apartheid has been at a pace consistent with other developing countries. However, since 2007, GDP growth has tended to be lower and never recovered above 5.0%, the Covid crisis has simply added more pressure to an already vulnerable situation. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Q1 2021 even contracted -3.20% compared to the same quarter the previous year.
Annabel Bishop, Chief Economist at Investec, said in a routine research note that “volatility in currencies could intensify unless governments promote significant private sector investment. The South African Rand is very sensitive to changes in commodity prices, as South Africa is a major exporter of commodities, particularly metals and minerals/food commodities, and higher prices benefited the trade balance, economic growth and income of the SARS. Due to near-term support in industrial metals, the Rand could see further strength, as the emerging market’s third strongest currency this year.
From the price records of the last 5 years, in September the USDZAR pair decreased 4 times and strengthened 1 time. How about this September? Will USDZAR weaken again like before? This year significantly, we have seen the commodity market strengthen broadly which has implications for the exchange of the Rand against the US Dollar. Apart from South African fundamentals, this September we saw some commodity assets bounce back from the point of rebound after the correction in the first weeks of August.
The Rand extended its recent gains against the US Dollar, breaking the ascending trendline adjacent to the 14.6025 support and posting a daily low of 14.3639 (50.0% FR) following USD weakness after the disappointing ADP report. Further moves would target the 14.2209 support which is slightly above the 61.8% FR (14.1491) level. Meanwhile on the upside, as long as the support for 14.1491 holds, there is a probability of the price going to 14.6025. However, the continuation of the price will be influenced to some extent by the NFP report on Friday.
Click here to access our Economic Calendar
Ady Phangestu
Market Analyst
Disclaimer: This material is provided as a general marketing communication for information purposes only and does not constitute an independent investment research. Nothing in this communication contains, or should be considered as containing, an investment advice or an investment recommendation or a solicitation for the purpose of buying or selling of any financial instrument. All information provided is gathered from reputable sources and any information containing an indication of past performance is not a guarantee or reliable indicator of future performance. Users acknowledge that any investment in Leveraged Products is characterized by a certain degree of uncertainty and that any investment of this nature involves a high level of risk for which the users are solely responsible and liable. We assume no liability for any loss arising from any investment made based on the information provided in this communication. This communication must not be reproduced or further distributed without our prior written permission.
from HF Analysis /267608/
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Investment Bank Outlook 02-08-2021
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Dollar Remains Near Lows; Euro Rises on Inflationary Pressures
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Market Update – September 2
Market News Today
Trading should remain quiet and confined in the lead up to the employment report. The markets were mixed to open September with the USA100 extending gains to another record high. Longer dated Treasuries also rallied while the front end of the curve cheapened fractionally. The data were mixed and didn’t provide any strong direction. Additionally, limiting action were concerns over the spike in the Delta virus, increased mitigation measures, slowing in growth, high valuations on Wall Street, rich Treasury yields, and angst over monetary policy amid increasing hawkish talk from various Fed officials and now from some ECB members.
- China tech stocks gain 4-day straight – “Buying the dip” sentiment from months of sell off despite China fires fresh regulatory Salvo.
- Biggest tech stock rally in record. – Tech stocks power USA100 top record highs.
- Tesla’s china output halted for days last month on chip shortage – lack if key chips , electric control devices fir vehicles
- Treasury futures are also fractionally higher, while in cash markets the US 10-year rate has lifted 0.2 basis points. GER30 and UK100 futures are down -0.2% and -0.1% respectively, USA100 at new record highs, Topix and JPN225 are up 0.03% and 0.19% respectively.
- Australia’s trade data was a positive surprise with the trade surplus reaching a record high in July, but there are concerns that activity will correct in Q3 thanks to Covid measures, after better than expected Q2 data yesterday. If the RBA doesn’t postpone planned tapering it could further hit the economy.
- USD (USDIndex 92.45) extending 12-day decline.
- USOil declined at $68.00 after OPEC+ alliance agrees to return more barrels.
- Gold steadied to 1,810-1,817.
Today – Data releases today includes data for Switzerland and Eurozone PPI inflation and weekly jobless claims,July trade report and factory orders from US.
Biggest Mover @ (06:30 GMT) JPN225 (+0.19%) Crossed 20-DMA , reversing more than 40% of 2021’s decline this week. Faster MAs flattened suggesting consolidation in the short term. The MACD signal line & histogram are falling lower since yesterday’s peak and RSI steadied at 56. H1 ATR 77.68, Daily ATR 398.75.
Click here to access our Economic Calendar
Andria Pichidi
Market Analyst
Disclaimer: This material is provided as a general marketing communication for information purposes only and does not constitute an independent investment research. Nothing in this communication contains, or should be considered as containing, an investment advice or an investment recommendation or a solicitation for the purpose of buying or selling of any financial instrument. All information provided is gathered from reputable sources and any information containing an indication of past performance is not a guarantee or reliable indicator of future performance. Users acknowledge that any investment in Leveraged Products is characterized by a certain degree of uncertainty and that any investment of this nature involves a high level of risk for which the users are solely responsible and liable. We assume no liability for any loss arising from any investment made based on the information provided in this communication. This communication must not be reproduced or further distributed without our prior written permission.
from HF Analysis /267595/
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USD/RUB Forecast: Potential Jump Ahead?
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Daily Market Outlook, September 2nd, 2021
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Explainer-What leverage do U.S., allies have over Taliban in Afghanistan?
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Dollar Up, but “Big Miss” in U.S. Employment Data Caps Gains
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U.S. jobs miss dents dollar as traders wait on payrolls
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Don’t count resources out
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Asian Equities Sink on Covid FearsIt’s been a mixed start to the week for global equities benchmarks with US and European asset markets rema...
