[ad_1] Each week, Cut the Crap Investing founder Dale Roberts shares financial headlines and offers context for Canadian investors. The rich get richer as rates go lower We know that lower rates set by central banks help to stimulate economic growth by providing cheap money. On the flipside, banks also have the option to raise rates and quell too much economic euphoria that might also create undesirable inflation. The COVID-19 pandemic has unfairly picked on the economically disadvantaged—and it appears that the monetary response of lower rates could further exacerbate wealth disparity. If you want to do more of a deep dive (it’s very interesting, to say the least) into global demographic trends and interest rates and how they’ve shaped our past, and will likely shape our next few decades, check out “Inequality, Interest Rates, Aging, and the Role of Central Banks.” From that link, Matthew C. Klein looks at the topic of savings rates of the rich and how they do not spur real economic growth, but rather drives down rates… “The key insight is that the ultra-rich are different from you and me: they have much higher saving rates regardless of their age. No matter how expensive your tastes, there’s a limit to how much you can consume, which means any income above that threshold has to get saved. The ultra-rich therefore spend relatively small shares of their income on goods and services that directly provide jobs and incomes to others, instead accumulating stocks, bonds, art, trophy real estate, and other assets.” Lower rates (borrowing costs) and those excess funds in the hands of the more wealthy can also lead to asset bubbles—see North American real estate and perhaps stock markets as well. On the demographic trends for the rich nations, Klein notes… “In the 1960s, total population growth in the major global economies (the ‘high-income countries’ plus China) averaged almost 2% a year. That slowed to just 1.2% a year by the 1980s, 0.9% a year by the 1990s, 0.6% a year by the 2000s, and just 0.4% by the eve of the pandemic. The combined population of these economies is projected to shrink starting in the 2030s, eventually falling nearly 20% from the projected 2030 peak by the end of the century.” Klein offers that aging populations (demographics is destiny), continual wealth inequality and low interest rates are all part of the same phenomenon. It’s a negative feedback loop. He argues that the trends will continue without massive government policy initiatives to redistribute wealth. Of course, free-market economists will fight him on that one, but it appears clear now that trickle-down economics is pure fantasy. From the Klein post… “The Great Depression didn’t really end until wartime mobilization caused a surge in incomes and production that wiped out old debts, levelled the wealth distribution, and gave people confidence in the future. The end of the war also kicked off a baby boom after a long drought of births. Not coincidentally, interest rates marched up for decades until the early 1980s.” Speaking of voters, Canada is currently in the midst of a federal election. I recently wondered if more Canadians would vote with their wallets, and whether government spending, debts and even monetary policy will be on the table. Perhaps being a champion for the working poor and middle class might mean a change of heart on that policy of perpetually low rates. Investors with ample savings rates might take some comfort in their ability to participate in the wealth machine. You own the machines, you own the technology. But if Klein is right, in the future you might have to do even more sharing. Less vroom in Zoom? We are moving toward the new normal (we hope) post-COVID. We know the pandemic has changed the way we live and work—although we don’t know how permanent some of these changes in behaviour might be. We’ve discussed how the future of work is likely a hybrid scenario where those who are able will continue to work from home part-time, as well as return to the office part-time. While the ratio of work-to-home is yet to be determined, we’re getting a glimpse of the hybrid future by way of earnings from Zoom. Zoom’s stock price plunged recently, as growth slowed. As you likely know, Zoom offers online meeting technology and benefitted greatly from the pandemic’s work-from-home shift. Microsoft with their Microsoft Teams virtual meeting platform also got in on the meet-from-home act in a big way. And as that CNN post notes, Zoom is getting competition from more than just Microsoft. From that CNN post… “Shares of Zoom (ZM) plunged more than 15% Tuesday morning and are now in the red for the year after the company reported results for its fiscal second quarter after the close on Monday. “The numbers were good. Earnings easily beat forecasts. So did revenue, as sales topped $1 billion in a quarter for the first time. What’s the problem then? Sales growth is cooling. And investors have high expectations for Zoom after the stock soared an astonishing 400% in 2020. “Zoom reported that revenue was up 54% from a year ago in the quarter. But that’s down sharply from the 355% growth in sales Zoom reported this time last year during the height of COVID-19 fears. Sales were up 191% in Zoom’s previous quarter, too.” The numbers offer that we are still in a growth phase for work-from-home, but that growth is on the decline. And at times the market does not like when the best of growth prospects are in the rearview mirror. Zoom did not get a free pass on that. The stock is down by some 23% over the last month to August 1. As we discussed in July, peak growth may be a reality for many stocks and the U.S. stock market as a whole. All said, the broader market is getting a pass on the peak earnings growth syndrome. On Seeking Alpha, Zoom’s chief financial officer Kelly