Dec 17, 2019
Stash’s 2019 Year in Review
Reflect on your year with Stash, and 2019’s most important stories.
2019 is nearly over.
And as the year draws to a close, it’s important to take a moment to think about everything that’s happened.
This year saw an escalating trade war between China and the U.S., not to mention the IPOs of big tech companies including Uber, Lyft, and WeWork, with mixed results. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve Board cut interest rates for the first time since the financial crisis in 2008. HBO’s Game of Thrones ended while Disney sought the streaming throne with the debut of Disney+. And who knew that public utilities could go bankrupt? (PG&E we’re talking about you.)
Through it all, Stash has been here with you, helping you understand the important business news, and how current events can shape your financial future. In fact, we’ve published more than 300 stories in 2019, helping you identify the most important trends and guiding you through your financial journey.
Take a trip down memory lane with us as we remember the events that defined the year.
January
PG&E announces bankruptcy. Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the largest public utility in California, announces it will file for bankruptcy protection, according to reports. The electric company faces $30 billion in liability charges for its alleged role in the 2017 and 2018 fires in California.
Beginner investors joined us in 20191:
873,521
Are you starting out your investing journey and want to know where to start?
February
Amazon’s NY HQ is over before it starts. After months of pushback from local politicians and community leaders, e-Commerce king Amazon announces it is canceling plans for a second headquarters in New York City. Amazon previously conducted a year-long search among hundreds of U.S. cities for its new spaces.
March
Lyft goes public. The ride-share company has its first day as a public company, following its initial public offering, or IPO. Lyft, which lets consumers use an app to hail rides in numerous towns and cities around the world, sees its stock price jump 20% as it begins trading on Friday, March 29, 2019.
The average amount Stashers invested at a time2 in 2019:
$17.95
Check out all of the stocks and ETFs offered on Stash.
April
Game of Thrones ends. HBO’s blockbuster series has its finale, meaning everyone has one less show to talk about around the water cooler. We riff on how some of the most important characters from the show might advise you on how to invest your very own coin(s). Do you know where your dragons are?
The markets reach record highs. On Tuesday, April 23, the S&P 500 gains 25.71 points, closing at 2,933.68. Its previous record was 2,930.75, reached on September 20, 2018, according to the Associated Press. On the same day, the Nasdaq jumps 105.56 points to 8,120.82, beating its previous record of 8,109.69 on August 29, 2018.
May
The trade war intensifies. President Trump announces the U.S. will double tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports. China responds by saying it will add new tariffs of its own on $60 billion of U.S. exports.
The Fed stays the course. The Federal Reserve Board, the nation’s central bank, decides against increasing interest rates on Wednesday, May 1. By leaving interest rates where they are, the Fed reverses a policy of rate increases that it had followed throughout 2018.
Uber’s IPO troubles. After plenty of hype suggesting Uber’s IPO would be one of the largest in a decade, the company’s stock falls 7% from its offering price of $45 on its first day of trading. By the end of its first trading day, Uber’s valuation stands at $76 billion, far below its initial estimate that it could reach as high as $120 billion, according to reports.
Using Auto-Stash, Stashers set aside a total of3:
$445,516,115
Have you saved with Auto-Stash yet? If not, turn on Auto-Stash.
June
Defense companies merge. Two of the nation’s largest defense companies, Raytheon and United Technologies announce plans to merge. The combined business potentially could be an aerospace and defense industry giant, nearly rivaling Boeing for market cap.
July
Equifax settles. Credit reporting agency Equifax announces it will pay $700 million to settle dozens of lawsuits related to a massive cybersecurity breach in 2017.
The Fed cuts rates. In July 2019, The Federal Reserve cuts its federal funds interest rate to a range between 2% to 2.5%, the first interest rate cut in ten years. By cutting its benchmark rate, the Fed hopes to keep the economy growing, according to a statement.
August
Score better credit. Your credit score is a key part of your financial life. It determines how much credit you can get, the interest rates you pay on your loans, and how much it might ultimately cost you to buy a house or a car, among other things. We take a look at some tactics for boosting your credit score.
The trade war continues. Trade talks between China and the U.S. break down, as China backs out of an agreement to purchase more products from the U.S. The Trump administration threatens a new round of tariffs, in addition to the $250 billion it has already placed on Chinese imports.
Stock-Back® rewards earned by Stashers in 20194:
5,694,529
September
FDA says cool it, Juul. Juul announces Chief Executive Officer Kevin Burns is stepping down, reportedly in reaction to a proposed FDA ban on all flavored vaping products, and a spate of deaths and illnesses related to electronic cigarettes.
The Fed cuts rates again. The Fed cuts the federal funds rate again, this time to a range between 1.7% to 2%. It cites slower global growth and soft U.S. inflation as reasons.
October
WeWork falters. WeWork’s initial public offering (IPO) was supposed to be one of the most successful of 2019. But soon after it files its S-1 paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in August 2019, things began to unravel. The paperwork shows WeWork has hundreds of millions of dollars of debt.
The Fed makes a third cut. The central bank cuts interest rates to a range between 1.5% to 1.75%. Its benchmark rate is used to determine many consumer loans, from credit cards to mortgages.
#1 places Stashers earned Stock-Back®5 in 2019:
Walmart, Uber, and Netflix
Learn more about Stock-Back Bonuses.
November
Disney+ arrives. The Walt Disney Co., best known for animated classics and family-friendly entertainment, launches a new streaming service called Disney+. With its streaming service at half the price of Netflix, Disney enters streaming wars dominated by companies like Netflix and HBO.
December
Google’s leadership changes. On Tuesday, December 3, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, announce that they will step down from their executive roles at Alphabet, the parent company of Google, which they started as a research project while they were students at Stanford in 1998.
Aramco breaks a record. Saudi Arabian oil company Aramco achieves its goal of having the largest IPO in history when it lists 1.5% of its shares on the Saudi stock exchange. On December 12, 2019, Aramco reaches a $2 trillion market cap, hitting the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s initial hope.
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Written by
Team Stash
1“Beginner Investors” is defined as a new complete user (an individual who has successfully opened a Stash Invest Account (brokerage account)) on the platform in the calendar year of 2019 (from January 1st- December 16th 2019).
2On Average, Stashers invested $17.95 at a time” is defined as the sum of the value of all incoming complete transactions for “purchase” orders in a Stash Invest Account (brokerage account) and divided that by the number of distinct purchase orders as of December 16th, 2019.
3Set-Aside” is defined as as complete incoming transfers from external funding sources to Stash Invest across all account types including the debit account since 9/11/2015. This value does not factor in withdrawals.
4“Stashers” earned stock-back rewards is defined as the amount of stock-back rewards received by a Stash customer as of December 6th, 2019.
5“#1 place “Stashers earned stock-back” is defined as top three merchants whereby Stashers have earned the highest dollar value of stocks rewarded through stock-back as of December 16th, 2019.
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