07/10/20
None of us expected this right? This year does not seem real in the slightest. Economies are shuddering, people are impatient, politics are as divisive as ever, and the hot debate now is whether or not to wear a mask. Undoubtedly, the small businesses in America have been hit the hardest in the economy however, huge corporations have been hit too. Nike, an American footwear and sports apparel company founded in Beaverton, Oregon, has been hit with a $790 million loss of profit (1). As a result, price per share in the stock market fell 51 cents (1). The sharp decline in sales and soar in online services was a result of retail stores closing once COVID-19 reached the US and hit the country hard in March and April. More recently, Nike has slowly begun reopening their stores and creating safety protocols so the rate of infection could decrease among its customers.
Nike losing 51 cents per share is a big deal for everyone, especially for those that invest in the stock market. The stock market is not exactly a good way to measure the economy but it does measure the interest of the population in certain brands and companies. So, if a company loses money per share in the market, investors will gradually lose interest in the company. Although the stock market is not representative of the economy, the prices “influence consumer market and business confidence” (2). Nike must play catch up in order to be even relatively near where it was projected to be by the end of the year and hopefully it can.
Here at the MORE Program, students are able to learn about the stock market, investing, and more. It is important that students are able to be financially independent before they graduate high school so that they can practice the skills that they have learned. High school students in the United States are not equipped to be financially smart, so we believe that we can help with that.
Shashine is an intern at the MORE Program and is a rising sophomore at UCSB studying Physiology. She aspires to be a sports medicine physician at a professional sports team or work at Nike’s research lab in Beaverton, Oregon.
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