Solar Power Stock is a Strong Buy

Solar Power Stock is a Strong Buy

Adam Hilelly

Solar power has long been hailed as a sound alternative to fossil fuels and other non-renewable sources of energy. This alternative has witnessed exceptional growth in the United States and overseas and continues to play a role in our country’s energy mix. The Solar Energy Industries Association has announced that the U.S. installed 13.3 gigawatts (GW) in 2019 alone of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity to reach 77.7 GW of total capacity, enough to power 14.5 million households. The energy source accounted for 40% of all new electric generating capacity added to the U.S. grid, higher than any other source (SEIA). As of February 2020, the industry employs more than 242,000 people and added $84 billion to the U.S. economy in 2016 (Rhodes). Furthermore, the U.S. Energy Information Administration projects solar to be the fastest-growing energy source until 2050 (EIA). As if that is not enough, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the solar PV installer will be the country’s fastest growing job until 2028, with a median income of $42,000. In other words, solar power no longer represents a mere fringe energy source; it is quickly becoming critical to U.S. energy and security. However, challenges remain that the industry continues to address as it becomes part of daily American life, including energy storage and effective market-incentivizing legislation.

The Battle Over Hong Kong and Currency Supremacy

The Battle Over Hong Kong and Currency Supremacy

Steven Obadiah

Just as the world reached a ‘lull’ in the COVID-19 pandemic, China’s legislature introduced a new national security law to suppress “separatism,” “subversion,” and “terrorist activities” – bypassing Hong Kong’s Legislative Council (1). The details of this national security legislation are yet to be finalized, though it is reasonably foreseeable that the legislation will lead to Chinese security agencies operating in Hong Kong, the suppression of free speech, and a stricter legal system, as suggested by previous attempts at similar legislation (2). Such broadly defined legislation allows China to silence political resistance - signaling a great loss in Hong Kong’s autonomy and sovereignty. While this security measure is not expected to take effect until September 2020, the proposed legislation has already sparked international tension. This article examines Hong Kong’s importance to the global economy as well as the potential implications of US-China tensions on both nations’ currencies.

The Partisan Battle Over Covid-19

The Partisan Battle Over Covid-19

Kathleen Kelsh

With almost four and a half million cases worldwide, covid-19 has swept the globe. The virus has ravaged destruction in every corner of the Earth. Without a known cure, the virus is endangering the life and health of virtually every single global citizen (Covid19 Coronavirus Tracker, 1). At this moment, the only known way to effectively limit the spread of the virus has been individual actions, including social distancing measures. However, the United States poses a unique challenge to these measures. Throughout the country, a partisan battle has emerged over how to best deal with the virus. In a time when individuals actions can dramatically shift the spread of the virus, it is imperative to have a unified collective effort while fighting the virus (Roberts, 1). Collective action in fighting the virus within the United States has been hindered by political differences and has limited the effective response capability of our nation.

Reopening: Buy or Sell?

Reopening: Buy or Sell?

Jack Geiger

Instead of a historically grim economic outlook decimating the stock market, the S&P 500 yielded a 31% increase since its trough on March 23. With the 2020 S&P 500’s high tallying just less than 3400, the market is making considerable progress back towards January highs. Never-before-seen volatility scared many investors into keeping much of their capital in cash, unaware of the extent to which COVID-19 would affect the future. This unprecedented event forced nearly all investors to continually question the bottom’s location. As states begin to reopen, it is worth questioning if buying stocks is the right move. Could the market be overpriced before the country reopens? Certain statistics are worth examining to determine a proper investment thesis regarding future long or short positions.

Necessary Developments in the Green Bond Market

Necessary Developments in the Green Bond Market

Mashuk Rahman

The advancement of human technology, production, capital, and capability has grown significantly in recent history while driving the global economy to be what it is today. The countless benefits have raised contemporary issues, with the pending deterioration of the planet’s climate and overall environment at the forefront. Global growth has exponentially increased human footprint, as we see increases in carbon footprint and decreases in the health of the Earth and many of its species. Politics, businesses, and people have transitioned intentions to “be green”, collectively and individually; however, these sustainable actions are still outweighed by the environmental consequences of our increasing footprint. According to IBISWorld, a leading research platform in business intelligence, the oil and gas drilling sector - the most notorious plague to the Earth’s health - consumed $3.3 trillion USD in 2019. This is 3.8% of the $86 trillion USD global economy (IBISworld, 2020); and the list of industries that negatively affect the environment ensues beyond this sector. A relatively new financial tool, the green bond, is increasing in popularity that can benefit both economic and environmental well being.

Changing Trends in the Professional Workplace

Changing Trends in the Professional Workplace

Steven Patterson

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly every sector has been affected in some way, mostly negative. What is very interesting though is how it affects the professional world, and many changes are likely to come, if they haven’t already. As a college business student, I am most intrigued and personally invested in how white-collar business is going to react in the next few years. Many businesses have been affected negatively, however, some are surprisingly changing for the positive.

How Accurate are COVID-19 Death Counts?

How Accurate are COVID-19 Death Counts?

Thomas DellaCroce

According to Johns Hopkins University, the worldwide count for COVID-19 deaths is now over 366,000, including 98,000 in the United States. Testing capacity has ramped up in the United States, with around 400,000 tests being conducted each day. With states beginning to partially reopen, the question remains, how many people actually have died from COVID-19 and furthermore, how can deaths be counted more accurately in the future to benefit the response.

Need for Speed Part 2: The Case for Additional Fiscal Stimulus

Need for Speed Part 2: The Case for Additional Fiscal Stimulus

Henry SooHoo

There are several concerns associated with the additional fiscal spending I advocated in my last article. One is the additional debt. Many people, including my colleague, Jack Geiger, have expressed concern about the size of the federal stimulus already enacted. I share his concerns on potential defaults by companies loaded up on debt from pre-COVID-19. However, I am less inclined to agree with his concerns regarding the federal debt, including the devaluation of the dollar and potential future tax increases, at this stage.

A Parallel between Settler Mortality and COVID-19

A Parallel between Settler Mortality and COVID-19

Jon Wang

Over the course of history, the economic development levels of core nations, which are the industrialized and capitalist nations of the world system, have come by virtue of globalization processes and state interdependencies. However, amidst the current pandemic, one of the main factors that is helping to curb the spread of COVID-19 is anti-globalization. In peripheral and developing regions that embody large rural geographies, where social distancing is already a way of life, citizens of these regions are noted to be at a lower risk of infection (Baragona, 2020). Currently demands for self-isolation have already eliminated years of economic growth. COVID-19 has, essentially, inflicted significfant economic strains for most core, or developed, nations. On the contrary, peripheral states, or poor, underdeveloped nations whereby most households engage in subsistence lifestyles, are actually experiencing an advantage with regards to their responses to the disease. According to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinaon, exogeneity tends to incur a higher risk of disease and infectivity due to geographical and climate differences in certain regions, and that some regions and parts of the world have higher risk of disease in comparison with other geographical locales (Acemoglu et al., 2000). However, this notion is completely unrelated to the factors that have direct influences on GDP. In actuality, the spread of COVID-19 is more related to labor mobility and interstate dependency (Acemoglu et al., 2000). One of the causes for this has been the cross-border labor and resource mobility that determines the reach of the pandemic (Baragona, 2020). As such, it has come to light how imperative domestic institutional capabilities and import substitution are for coping with the prevailing supply and drug shortages currently being experienced and for effectively slowing the spread of COVID-19.

Boom or Bust: The Uncertainties of the Housing Market Following a Global Pandemic

Boom or Bust: The Uncertainties of the Housing Market Following a Global Pandemic

Chris Thomsen

Similar to the wavering bullish and bearish tendencies of the stock market, the housing market also has its ups and downs. These ups and downs, dubbed ‘Booms’ and ‘Busts’, are known to correlate conveniently with personal consumption, which makes sense intuitively. Those actively spending and consuming more frequently when the economy is doing well are much more likely to be in the market for a new home. Sadly, it is not quite this simple as mortgage debt and personal disposable income, to name a few, are just some of the factors that may be considered when attempting to predict the movement of the housing market. This is explained in depth by a 2018 publication from the Federal Reserve of San Francisco. There is one thing, however, that these findings, for the most part, do not consider: a completely unpredictable flu-like virus acting on a global scale. Which, if it wasn’t obvious from our new everyday lives, has had a substantial impact on our economy.

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