Did You Know? NASDAQ 10,000.....wow! A new record....although this was followed by a drop as COVID spikes in certain states. The Federal Reserve voted yesterday to keep benchmark short-term rates near zero through 2022. It would keep buying bonds, targeting $80 billion a month in Treasurys and $40 billion in mortgage-backed securities. The Fed sees GDP tumbling 6.5% in 2020 but bouncing back to a 5% gain in 2021. We are likely going to be experiencing this yoyo effect. (CNBC)
Did You Know? Are we experiencing the "100-Day Recession"? It's possible. The NASDAQ alone is up 9% for the year, the S&P 500 almost even, and the DOW down just 5% to date, all up for three straight weeks. Is this a V-shape equity market recovery, but not a V-shape economy recovery? Equity markets mostly look well into the future for valuation. Bank asset growth is around $2 Trillion for the year. (CNBC)
Did You Know? Widely used drugs to control high blood pressure may help protect against severe Covid-19, a new study found. Overall, patients with high blood pressure did have twice the risk of death and were more likely to need mechanical ventilation to help them breathe than those without hypertension. Those taking any type of medicine to control their blood pressure had a significantly lower risk of death from Covid-19 than those not treated for their hypertension. Multiple new drugs are being tested to make COVID-19 less deadly and therefore lessen the risk of a damaging resurgence in the fall. (CNBC)
Did You Know? Many Americans have spent weeks locked down at home more focused than ever on their living spaces, conscious of what they like and don't like. Designers are getting busy! Many people want to start projects now because they have the time, they've been thinking about getting these things done, and the only thing they can't do is travel. Key takeaways?
- Everything should be practically perfect, with a greater focus on more useful concepts, rather than just pretty pictures.
- Instead of a beautiful marble bathroom, it's more storage solutions and closets.
- An additional double pantry to store food fueled after going to the grocery store just every 2 weeks.
- Materials will change with an emphasis on antimicrobials: Porcelanosa's Krion is a man-made alternative to stone that's hard-wearing and stays clean. A pricier upgrade is copper, an all-natural germ-fighting surface.
- How to sanitize outside air as it's sucked into an AC system using infrared light?
- What about a "sanitizing sieve" intended for the entry to a large home or apartment complex, maybe like a stone circle, which mists water as you'd find on the street in Las Vegas and as you walk through, it sanitizes?
- Expect a heightened emphasis on the outdoors, especially outdoor spaces that act as additional living rooms year-round.
- Look for a rise in living walls or vertical gardens, that will bring the outdoors inside.
- The desire for a vegetable/herb garden is growing, a combination of needing to go to the grocery store less often, and how everyone found themselves cooking, even people who usually had a chef.
- The Utility room is a new luxury, including double laundry rooms.
- Double dishwashers in kitchens to streamline cleaning plates and flatware as people ate at home more.
- In condo's expect touch-free elevators or ones with antibacterial, anti-scratch surfaces and industrial-grade air filters like those from Kone.
- Onsite gyms may be supplemented with private spaces in each apartment that come with a pre-installed Mirror fitness system.
- The amount of space allocated to rentable offices in any apartment tower will increase. Rentable micro-offices you can lease within a condo could feel like you're leaving your apartment but still have an office within your building.
