Assignment 6A Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

1. Economic Trend: Coal Bankruptcy Tests Wyoming Town

• Source: National Public Radio
• https://www.npr.org/2019/09/04/757245551/it-s-the-stone-age-of-fossil-fuels-coal-bankruptcy-tests-wyoming-town
• Information Suggesting Existence of Opportunity
• When the coal company Blackjewel declared its bankruptcy, it left hundreds of miners in Wyoming unemployed. Paychecks were unpaid, 600 workers were left unemployed, and the company owed the county millions of dollars. In which, the bankruptcy had left the workers struggling to find new jobs, as only 25% of them were able to find a new job.
• Prototypical Customer
• Workers left unemployed
• Level of Difficulty of Exploiting the Opportunity
• I think that the opportunity will be rather easy to exploit, seeing the high demand of workers seeking a new job. Also, because it will be focusing on one specific category as a whole, being those unemployed.
• Why Did You See the Opportunity?
• I saw this opportunity because I know how difficult it is to one day have a set job, but then the next day being left unemployed and having to find a new job right away. My uncle had experienced this with his job, where he was unexpectedly cut, and was not able to find a new job until months after.

2. Economic Trend: 'Unimpressive' Jobs Report Shows Slow But Steady Growth

• Source: US News 
• https://www.usnews.com/news/economy/articles/2019-09-06/unimpressive-jobs-report-shows-slow-but-steady-growth
• Information Suggesting Existence of Opportunity
• Statistics from recent job reports have economists feeling disappointed, as they expected a more constant increase in job growth. They found that the numbers from the report shows slight growth, but was not enough to ensure the complete removal of the fear that the economy was coming towards a recession once again. In which, with these numbers, the economy could be facing a risk in recession. And although the job growth is slightly growing, is it slowing down compared to previous years, as unemployment growth continues to remain firm at an increase. If job opportunity does not increase, then the amount of employment will not either. 
• Prototypical Customer
• The unemployed who are seeking jobs
• Level of Difficulty of Exploiting the Opportunity
• I think that the opportunity will be rather easy to exploit, since the need for employment high in the U.S. In which, when the job growth shows to become slower than previous years, it raises concerns for both the economy and those seeking employment. 
• Why Did You See the Opportunity?
• I saw this opportunity because the U.S. is reaching full employment, therefore slowing down the job growth rate. If the U.S. stops creating jobs, those seeking jobs will be in trouble.

3. Regulatory Change: Vaping Illness Increases to 530 Cases

• Source: New York Times
• https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/19/health/vaping-cdc.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FRegulation%20and%20Deregulation%20of%20Industry&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=collection
• Information Suggesting Existence of Opportunity
• The number of vape-related illnesses has increased to 530 probable cases, which could lead to an increase in deaths due to the severeness of these illnesses. Public officials are hoping to restrict flavors to discourage teens use of vaping. 
• Prototypical Customer
• Vape users
• Level of Difficulty of Exploiting the Opportunity
• This may be difficult to exploit the opportunity, as the amount of probable cases have increased, making it more difficult to pin point the cause of these illnesses. Therefore, it would raise difficulty in the prevention and cure for these illnesses, which is why they are hoping to turn to discourage the use and adoption of vaping as a result.
• Why Did You See the Opportunity?
• I saw this opportunity because I know the high demand of vaping. I've noticed how addictive it became and how unaware the users were of how actually dangerous it was, as they were drawn to the fact that it was an e-cigarrette with "less damage."

4. Regulatory Change: Wells Fargo Is Reviewing Its Account Closing Practices

• Source: New York Times
• https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/04/business/wells-fargo-closed-accounts.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FFinancial%20Legal%2FRegulatory&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=3&pgtype=collection
• Information Suggesting Existence of Opportunity
• Wells Fargo was left reviewing the way it closes customer's accounts and began an extensive review of the fees that were charged amongst customers after their account had been closed. Customers were charged hundred and thousands of dollars in overdraft fees after the bank had informed them of their closing accounts.
• Prototypical Customer
• Wells Fargo customers
• Level of Difficulty of Exploiting the Opportunity
• I think that this opportunity will be rather easy to exploit, being that the problem is evident and applies to a specific group of people. The need is evident for Wells Fargo customers who have faced the similar problem. 
• Why Did You See the Opportunity?
• I saw this opportunity because overdraft fees are a big concern and issue. Though, I found this one interesting seeing that this was a huge scandal for Wells Fargo, charging their customers an unnecessary overdraft fee for their closed accounts.