Bitcoin
Bitcoin continues its slide from highs and is putting pressure on holders of the cryptocurrency. Anytime the general public hears about Bitcoin, it is either due to the soaring price and double digit returns or the negative downward pressures due to regulations. China is the most recent culprit as they begin cracking down on exchanges and initials coin offering. We could see more negative pressures on the market but the main idea is the technology behind Bitcoin.
The blockchain is what people see as the separating factor between just a worthless coin and a legitimate way to transact. We could begin to see this type of technology integrated into established companies such as Visa, but only time will tell. The cryptocurrency thing is here to say as of now, but that doesn’t mean it will be what we know it as today.
Payday Loans
The government is about to put into effect rules that will make it difficult for payday lenders to lend. A payday loan is a short term note that typically is kept for 30 days with an unethically high interest rate. This tends to get people into trouble because they find they are unable to repay the loan and take out another loan to repay the initial note, turning it into a huge issue.
Many put blame on these lenders as a factor in the credit crisis back in 2008 as people could obtain loans with ease. The people currently in this industry fear they will lose their business as these new laws will make it difficult to do business. You can be sure there will be lawsuits and arguments to have the laws amended or abolished all together.
Fed Unwinding
Lastly, the Federal Reserve must begin unwinding their bond buying program soon that aided in the recovery efforts from 2007. One could compare this to a Band-Aid, because the market is going to have to absorb these bonds at some point, and it would seem it is going to be a slow drawn out process. The Fed is currently battling inflation as well, as the rate has not increased for quite some time. Typically we can see inflation near 2%, but it currently sits below that.
Either way, the Fed has a huge task ahead of them. You can also look at the EU and see that they are resistant to raising interest rates, which makes it difficult in a global economy to raise rates. The EU has lagged behind the US in recovery efforts from 2007 but they are on the right path and will continue to improve as time goes on.