How Sean Seshadri Sees Wall Street Turmoil Impacting Brooklyn

During the past decade, the financial markets in the United States have experienced a plethora of changes. First, one of the most devastating downturns in the economy took place in 2008. Then, the constant changes in the political world brought about additional upsets within the markets. Not to mention the birth of new technology and investing tools like cryptocurrencies. So, how exactly do all of these developments affect the average New Yorker?

Changes in the Boroughs

Although the investors on Wall Street made it their career to worry about the aforementioned changes, they are not the only ones affected. On the contrary, the latest developments in the financial markets are affecting non-investors just as much. Consider, for example, how far-reaching the consequences of the recent modifications to the tax law are. Not only will they affect the way that the investors conduct their transactions, they will impact the rest of the nation as well, meaning an average citizen from Brooklyn will also be a subject to the new tax brackets and rates. The fact that they may not be involved with the financial markets is irrelevant.

Political Changes

It is no secret that Wall Street and the financial markets are directly impacted by politics. For example, during the night of the presidential election in 2016, the Dow market went down by 750 points. Similar ups and downs have been recorded frequently during the current administration. Even though it seems difficult to find a connection between these events and somebody in Brooklyn, it is there.

First, any major changes in the market will impact the way that individual businesses operate. Since the shareholders are the true owners of corporations, they often dictate the course of action. Expectedly, their priority is to increase profits so that their dividends will be greater. For average buyers, however, this does not exactly spell "good news". Sometimes, changes for businesses affect job security, increase prices, and even lead to potential relocations. Thus, the seemingly unaffected Brooklyn resident could find themselves jobless due to the latest crash in the investment market even if they themselves have never invested.

Long-Term Buying

Consider a resident of Brooklyn looking to buy a new home here in the Borough of Churches. In order to do so, they make a down payment amounting to 20 percent of the property price. The rest gets covered by a 30-year mortgage. This is a typical scenario that millions of people go through when buying a house. Well, one of the most relevant factors to mortgage lending is interest. Unfortunately, interest is also directly related to the various markets. If there is a downturn in the economy or even a minor obstacle, the interest rates may go up.

Considering how mortgages are almost always large, six-figure loans, even a minor increase in the interest rate is impactful. For instance, a $100,000, 30-year loan with an interest rate of 3 percent will cost $151,000 in total. That same loan with 4-percent interest, however, will cost over $171,000. So, a difference of one percent will accumulate an extra $20,000 over the course of three decades. It is also important to note that this relationship works both ways. Meaning, as experienced traders like Sean Seshadri point out, the interest rates also affect the stock prices.

A Booming Economy

Finding job opportunities in New York is not too difficult given the sub-five-percent unemployment rate. So, living in Brooklyn is a great way to uncover great career openings. Regardless, however, this frequently changes with the state of the economy. Further considering how the financial markets fluctuate as an overall barometer of the health of the economy, they also affect jobs and prosperity.

For instance, when the financial markets are operating on an upward-trending curve, the economy will boom. This will further help companies expand and hire more workers to facilitate growth. For Brooklyn job seekers, this means more opportunities. It could also indicate better compensation as profitable companies are no strangers to year-end bonuses.

Innovation

Ultimately, the financial markets are responsible for some major innovation as consumers fund major R&D projects and companies look to achieve a competitive edge. Think about cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Over the last few years, Bitcoin, Ripple, Dash, and many more networks came under the spotlight. Now, thousands of investors from Wall Street are closely monitoring them. As a consequence of their growing popularity, a person from Brooklyn could soon find themselves paying for groceries with digital coins.