Dear Reader,
It’s remarkable to see the incoming U.S. economic data…
It is so different from the news headlines and what economists have been forecasting. Yesterday, the surprise was the Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) released by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).
The PMI is an index designed to track the broad economic trends in the manufacturing sector.
We might think that U.S. manufacturing is a disaster right now. After all, the country was on lockdown for most of the second quarter, and things are far from normal right now.
But the numbers show something different. We can see a sharp rebound in the PMI to 54.2% in July.
For reference, anything above 50 is considered to be an economic expansion. And this is the highest level of expansion in 15 months. The U.S. hasn’t seen this level in the PMI since early 2019 when the economy was booming.
This is very positive news.
The health of the manufacturing sector isn’t evenly distributed. Some sectors are experiencing incredible growth. Others are still below pre-pandemic levels. But overall, the sector is clearly strong and recovering quickly.
While things may not feel the same, it is clear that we are making adjustments during this awkward period when the pandemic needs to be managed before it burns out or a vaccine is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
It appears that the U.S. economy doesn’t want to be slowed down… It has work to do.
And as I predicted back in the first week of July, daily new cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. have begun to roll over, as we can see clearly on the chart below.
And this is happening while the daily tests have remained elevated at more than 700k a day. Clearly, this is fantastic news. The timing is great as well with many schools doing their best to open up in the fall.
I expect that these new cases will plummet to levels below the June lows over the next several weeks.
Now let’s turn to our insights…
We don’t see this every day…
What we’re looking at below is the first-ever picture of a Sun-like star with two planets orbiting it. The two planets are gas giants similar to Jupiter and Saturn but are much larger.
The planets are indicated by the arrows. The brighter planet has 14 times the mass of Jupiter and the second planet has about six times the mass.
The other bright spots in the image are other stars in the background, further away.
Two Planets Circling a Sun-Like Star
Source: ESO/Bohn et al.
The picture was taken in the Chilean Atacama Desert, where the European Southern Observatory (ESO) has its Very Large Telescope (VLT) array.
The instrument uses something called a coronagraph to block the bright light from the solar system’s sun so that the orbiting planets are visible. There have been photos of single exoplanets as far back as 2004, but this is the first time that an image has been captured of a multiplanet system.
This solar system is located about 300 light-years away in the southern constellation of Musca. The solar system and its sun represent very young versions of our own, as scientists estimate they are about 17 million years old.
Readers may wonder: Why highlight this story?
After all, this isn’t an investable trend. So why bother sharing?
Remember, the mission of The Bleeding Edge is to share the insights in the world of technology readers won’t find anywhere else.
As I mentioned, this image is a first for astronomers. That alone makes it of interest. And this discovery will also lead to some profound research.
But this news also points to something else…
We are starting to dream again.
We are recognizing that the future of the human race isn’t limited to just one planet.
We’ve been writing about the new space race that is unfolding in front of us. And we’ve covered disruptive companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Axiom Space. These companies are innovating, reviving, and ultimately creating entirely new space-bound industries.
These will present some incredible investment opportunities in the years ahead.
Recently, we’ve been writing a lot about early stage companies developing robotic delivery services. Back in April, we profiled Starship’s food delivery robots.
Starship’s Delivery Vehicles
Source: Starship Technologies
Well, there’s no way that Amazon was going to let other companies have all the fun with last-mile delivery robots.
The commerce giant had been pretty quiet about this mode of transportation for the last year or so. But it looks like it is ready for some more experimentation.
Behold… the Amazon Prime Scout.
The Amazon Prime Scout
Source: Erin Lee Allender
It’s practically a billboard for Amazon as much as it is a delivery tool. And Scout does precisely what we’d expect. It delivers Amazon orders the “last mile” to customers.
Up until now, Amazon had only launched Scout in Irvine, CA, and Snohomish County, WA, not far from Amazon’s headquarters.
Last week, Amazon expanded its operations with Scout to Atlanta, GA, and Franklin, TN. Atlanta was an interesting choice. This kind of delivery vehicle is more suitable for smaller towns, not busy cities. I’m curious to see whether or not Amazon expands to other large cities.
COVID-19 has accelerated developments in last-mile autonomous delivery. Not only has there been an overwhelming increase in demand for delivery services to consumers’ homes, but there is also clearly a desire to make deliveries as contactless as possible. We are going to see more of these delivery systems by the end of the year.
This all points to the “new world order” we’re witnessing in technology thanks to the pandemic. Products and services that were years away from adoption are now right on our doorstep. Delivery robots are just one example.
There will be more. And we’ll highlight them here in The Bleeding Edge.
The new CEO of Lockheed Martin, James Taiclet, gave a hint as to his new plan for Lockheed Martin. He referred to it as “5G.mil.”
He spoke of a future where half to three-fourths of military vehicles are autonomous and connected by a 5G wireless network.
Taiclet’s focus on 5G wireless technology isn’t a surprise. He is the former CEO of American Tower, which is a real estate investment company that builds and leases out towers for wireless and broadcast networks.
American Tower has been a critical player in the U.S.’s 5G network build-out. Taiclet clearly understands the power and importance of 5G technology.
And his timing isn’t a coincidence.
Last week, we talked about the 3GPP standards body and its Release 16 for 5G wireless technology. The new standards included the use of 5G over unlicensed spectrum as well as ultra-reliable low latency communications. Those are the frequency bands that would most likely be used by military vehicles.
And we can easily imagine the benefits…
The military is deployed in parts of the world that have poor infrastructure. Being able to use a private, highly secure 5G wireless network makes a lot of sense.
And with the new standards for 99.999% reliability and less than 1 millisecond of latency (delay), it opens up the ability to empower fleets of autonomous military vehicles in real time.
There are two important takeaways for investors…
For starters, Taiclet’s vision makes perfect sense. And this shows us that 5G is more than just faster download speeds on our mobile phones. 5G will unlock a suite of technologies and applications that few are predicting. It will transform entire industries.
But before we buy shares in Lockheed as a play on 5G, we need to understand that this is not a 5G company.
These are interesting applications. And they’re highly suitable to 5G wireless technology. But Lockheed will have to buy the key components from existing 5G technology vendors. That 5G technology will end up in vehicles, drones, and infrastructure products.
In other words, the best investment targets here are the companies supplying 5G technology to companies like Lockheed. And readers should rest assured that those are precisely the companies we will target in the months and years ahead.
Regards,
Jeff Brown
Editor, The Bleeding Edge
P.S. Don’t forget about my first-ever biotechnology master class, which we are hosting tomorrow evening at 8 p.m. ET.
COVID-19 has shined the light on the biotechnology industry. The big money pouring into this space isn’t limited to companies developing COVID-19 vaccines. It is industry-wide.
In fact, we have seen an incredible $42.7 billion flow into biotech companies in the last six months alone. That’s compared to $38.2 billion for the entire year last year.
This massive investment in biotechnology will lead to all kinds of developments, innovations, and therapeutic solutions that will change the medical industry forever. That’s why I am on record as saying that the 2020s will go down in history as the decade of biotech.
And, of course, massive trends like this always bring with them massive investment opportunities. We’ll see normal investors make big-time gains in this space in the coming months and years.
And that’s why I have decided to host my biotech master class. I want to pull the curtain back on this space and show you what’s coming for the industry. I will also reveal the details of my No. 1 biotech stock to own today.
Simply put, this one company needs to be in every tech investor’s portfolio. I believe this stock could generate gains of 1,000% or more in the coming weeks. The news it is sitting on represents a breakthrough in the industry.
So please join me tomorrow evening. The master class is completely free, and I’ll be broadcasting from the biotechnology capital of the planet. Just go right here to secure your spot.
See you there.
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The Bleeding Edge is the only free newsletter that delivers daily insights and information from the high-tech world as well as topics and trends relevant to investments.
The Bleeding Edge is the only free newsletter that delivers daily insights and information from the high-tech world as well as topics and trends relevant to investments.
