Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends 6A

Economic Opportunity 1:

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/19/severe-labor-shortage-has-houston-homeowners-begging-for-help.html

This opportunity is that there is currently a shortage of workers in Houston to fix up houses following Hurricane Harvey. I found the opportunity on CNBC and I was led to form a belief about this opportunity because anytime there is a shortage in a market there is usually a way for sellers to take advantage of this shortage and begin to sell their products or services until the market equalizes. In this case, there is a shortage of workers, so any company that can supply workers to Houston should be able to do so at a reasonable profit. The prototypical customer would be a homeowner in the Houston area who's home was damaged by the hurricane. I believe this opportunity would be relatively easy to exploit because services already exist to fix up homes, they simply need to move to the Houston area temporarily. I saw the opportunity because I've been paying more attention to the aftermath of hurricanes lately after being affected by hurricane Irma. 

Regulatory Changes Opportunity 1:

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/19/gun-stocks-rise-on-report-that-trump-is-preparing-to-ease-rules-for-overseas-sales-of-us-guns.html

This opportunity is that since Trump is expected to ease up on the sales of US guns to overseas, any company that manufactures and sells guns can look to expand their market internationally. I also found this opportunity on CNBC which is my main source for news related to the economy. I was led to form a belief about this opportunity because the demand for US guns overseas has been present in the past, but laws have prevented this demand from being met. If Trump gets rid of some of these laws, gun companies will be able to take advantage of the unmet need for guns internationally. The prototypical customer would be a person that lives in a country that is not the United States who has wanted to purchase a gun from the US for a long time but hasn't been able to because there are laws against it. I believe this opportunity would be very easy to exploit. The demand is already there, so once the laws are removed companies simply need to meet the demand. I saw this opportunity because I'm familiar with selling products overseas and the difficulties associated with it. Obviously, making the sale of guns overseas easier will increase profits for gun companies if they capitalize on the new opportunity.

Economic Opportunity 2:

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/12/workplace-crime-costs-us-businesses-50-billion-a-year.html

This opportunity is that because employee theft has become such a big deal for companies and it is beginning to cut into their profits, companies can work on implementing strategies that will prevent employee theft in the future, which will restore those lost profits. I found this opportunity, surprisingly, on CNBC and I was led to form a belief about this opportunity because when I realized how much employee theft was costing employers after reading the article, I also realized that if there was some way to combat this, it would be a good way for a company to increase their profits. The prototypical customer would be large companies in the United States that are losing significant profits due to employee theft. I believe this opportunity would take some work to exploit but it could definitely be done. I think I noticed this opportunity more than a typical person because I used to work at a grocery store chain that actually used effective strategies to combat employee theft.

Regulatory Changes Opportunity 2:

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/18/gore-says-us-will-meet-paris-goals-even-without-trump.html

This opportunity is that since the United States is still moving in the direction of preserving the planet and limiting activities that lead to climate change, if companies can make their products or processes more environmentally efficient now, they could gain more approval from the american public and it may be easier for these companies in the future when regulations relating to climate change tighten up. I also discovered this opportunity on CNBC and I was led to form a belief about this opportunity because I recognized that since the United States will be working towards strengthening regulations related to climate change, it would be in the best interest of companies to begin to make the transition to more environmentally friendly processes now so that they can prepare and do so efficiently rather than waiting for the last moment. I believe this opportunity would be easy to exploit because there is still a lot of time left for companies to make this transition as long as they use their time effectively. I noticed this opportunity because I've had to study climate change and its effects for the last several years in my marine biology classes.