Joe Biden is all smiles these days and Bernie Sanders is not. After picking up last second endorsements from Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg and Beto O’Rourke that clearly helped push him to victory in several of the Super Tuesday races, Joe picked up Mike Bloomberg’s endorsement. The Billionaire former Mayor of New York dropped out of the race Wednesday and threw his support behind Biden. With that support, likely comes donations from one of the richest men in the United States. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts was also weighing her future in the shrinking field of Dem candidates. It’s been clear for a while that the Democratic platform for 2020 is beat Donald Trump. Bloomberg said the key to beating him was uniting behind the candidate that has the best chance. He used to think it was him, now he thinks it’s his “friend and a great American, Joe Biden”. He spent $700 million of his own money to try and eat Trump himself, lets see how much he spends on Joe. 

Joe now leads

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In yesterday’s note, we wrote “it’s safe to buy the health care sector again.” It was more than safe, it was a huge money-maker. UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE: UNH) rose more than 12%, its biggest one-day jump in almost 12 years. The health care sector led all sectors higher, up 5.81% with the nearest to its performance being the utility sector at 5.69%. Those were the only two sectors that rose more than 5%. This is actually a perfect example of markets overreacting. Healthcare was selling off because Bernie Sanders was leading, and his plan, Medicare for all, hurts the health care industry’s profitability, this leaves out the part however of getting it through Congress and even all the Democrats aren’t in agreement. Joe Biden is one of them, as he wants to expand existing care under the old Obamacare blueprint.  This is an investor letter so we’re happy about the Biden developments, even though the best situation for stocks would be that big government Democrats stay out of the White House entirely. 

Folding Phones May Be the Future

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Samsung’s $1380  Galaxy Z flip phone would actually be the first foldable phone worth buying if it didn’t cost $1380. Samsung’s Galaxy Z flip is a huge improvement over their previous generation foldable phone, which really was a big phone that unfolded into a small tablet, with the crease centered vertically. This phone’s 6.7 inch screen folds in half horizontally to turn it into a less than 4-inch square which can fit in purses and pockets better than the previous generation. It also has a more durable glass like screen then the Motorola razor does (the razor’s screen comes across like cheap plastic). Durability is still in question, as these things have not been around that long , but word is Samsung is ramping up production of this phone.  A quick search on Google shows 4.3 stars out of 5 in the initial customer satisfaction ratings. With a price tag that high, you would expect to see at least 4.9 stars, but some people may think that “click” sound when you fold the phone and hang up on somebody might be worth the extra money. 

Secondary Condition; Coronavirus Anxiety 

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If you can suspend all the sneezing and hacking and coughing and death that goes with the coronavirus for one second, there is something funny going on. People have become afraid of doorknobs and touchscreens. It’s being called Coronavirus Anxiety in the media and it’s making people aware of how much we actually touch out in the dirty, stinking, real world. Elevator buttons, exercise machines in the gym, money, backs of chairs in a restaurant, shopping cart handles and door latches on a rideshare car…essentially it’s impossible to exist and not touch something that a lot of people have touched very recently. There seems to be more cases of coronavirus anxiety out there than there are actual cases of coronavirus. So much so that the US surgeon general actually tweeted “seriously people—-STOP BUYING MASKS”. At a meeting of OPEC oil ministers this week, instructions were passed around forbidding handshakes, hugs and kisses. Energy ministers of major nations are doing a 2-foot shoe-tap to say hello to each other rather than shake hands. You can recover from coronavirus; most people do. But we’re not sure if there will ever be a cure for coronavirus anxiety.    

Hyundai Makes a Porsche / Model 3 Baby

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Hyundai let the public see a glimpse of its new electric car concept called the Prophecy, that has a joystick instead of a steering wheel and quite frankly, looks like a Porsche 911 and a Tesla Model 3 had a baby. The back end and the headlights are pure Porsche 911 while the front end and the overall shape look like a stretched model 3. That’s not unusual for Hyundai, who has several models that look very similar to popular premium models but are sold to people on a budget. The inside is anything but cheap, however.  The Prophecy has 2 joysticks, one in the center council and one in the driver side door that drivers can push left and right to control the vehicle. Like most electric cars, the inside is high tech with several touch screens and the rear doors are suicide doors with hidden door handles for a smooth finish. Again, the prophecy is a concept car but if automakers keep making electric cars this exciting and different, it won’t be long before the roads are filled with them. People don’t buy electric cars because they’re electric, they don’t care about the planet. People buy electric cars so they can drive something cool that makes them LOOK like they care about the planet. You get to be an obnoxious jerk while hiding in the skin of an activist. Can’t blame Hyundai for wanting to cater to that.