25 of the Most Interesting Things that happened in 2019

2019 was an exciting year. We had several milestone moments, from new space discoveries and tech innovations to sports victories and stock market records.

As we close out this decade and look forward to a great 2020, let's look back at the 25 most remarkable moments of 2019.

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Economy Economy

The unemployment rate dropped to 3.5%, the lowest rate seen since 1969.1

The current economic expansion became the single longest in history, growing for 126 consecutive months since the Great Recession.2

About 2 million Americans found new jobs.3

Top Trends Top Trends

Computer storage and data processing moved back from the cloud to the edge to improve performance.4

Motorola launched the 5G phone, bringing mobile speeds over 5x times faster than 4G.5

Artificial intelligence (AI) became the new "big data," creating advancements in nearly all industries.6

Markets Markets

The Dow set a new highest-ever closing record of 28,645.26 on December 27.7

The S&P 500 hit a new all-time record close of 3,240.02 on December 27.8

Stocks ended 2019 up 28.9%.9

The bull market passed the 10-year mark in March, becoming the longest bull market in U.S. history.10

Sports Sports

The New England Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams in a 13-3 victory, marking the 6th Super Bowl win for the Patriots and the lowest-ever final score in Super Bowl history.11

Rafael Nadal won his 19th career Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open.12

The St. Louis Blues won their first-ever Stanley Cup, defeating the Boston Bruins 4-1 in Game 7.13

The Washington Nationals won the World Series, defeating the Houston Astros 6-2 in Game 7.14

Science & Tech Science & Tech

Astronomers captured the first-ever photo of a black hole.15

Scientists mapped an uncharted part of the human genome linked to diseases.16

3 new Earth-sized planets were discovered just 12 light-years away.17

Researchers created the first-ever 3D-printed heart, using patient cells.18

Arts & Culture Arts & Culture

Netflix made major waves at the 91st Academy Awards, winning 3 Oscars for the first time—marking another major win for streaming services.19

Several animal species bounced back from the brink of extinction, including the Fin Whale, the Amsterdam Albatross, the Northern Bald Iris, and the Round Island Day Gecko.20

U.S. and global poverty rates continued their downward trend. In fact, 2019 saw the lowest prevalence of extreme poverty ever recorded in human history—less than 8%.21

Records Broken Records Broken

Gymnast Simone Biles broke 2 world records at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, becoming the first person to nail the double-double dismount and the first person to stick the landing on a historic triple-double.22

More than 600 divers in Florida held the biggest ocean cleanup event ever, removing more than 9,000 pieces of debris from the ocean.23

The world's oldest living person, a Japanese woman, celebrated her 116th birthday.24

The world's oldest living land animal, a tortoise named Jonathan, celebrated his 187th birthday.25

Let's gaze into our crystal balls and see what 2020 may have in store for us.

Keep in mind that making broad predictions is a lot like looking for answers in a Magic 8 ball; a lot of the answers are going to be: Reply hazy—try again. Even expert market strategists get it wrong a lot, because forecasting the future is an inexact science. Don't take these predictions as anything more than a fun exercise.

2020 S&P 500 Close Predictions

BMO Capital 3,400
Invesco 3,150
Deutsche Bank 3,200
Credit Suisse 3,425
Average 3,294
3,400
3,150
3,200
3,425
3,294

Source: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/where-will-the-sp-500-go-in-2020-here-are-the-most-bullish-and-bearish-strategists-2019-12-03 (as of 12/3/2019)

Projected Q1 2020 GDP: 1.8%

Projected Q2 2020 GDP: 1.8%

http://projects.wsj.com/econforecast/#ind=gdp&r=20 (as of 12/1/2019)

The global economy is expected to grow about 3.4% in 2020, increasing from 3.0% in 2019.

https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2019/10/01/world-economic-outlook-october-2019

The U.S. inflation rate is expected to rise to 1.9% in 2020.

https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomcprojtabl20191211.htm

Worldwide Internet access will grow exponentially, with roughly 5 billion users expected in 2020.

https://www.networkworld.com/article/2238913/10-fool-proof-predictions-for-the-internet-in-2020.html

A robo-taxi fleet of up to 1 million self-driving Teslas will be operating in New York.

https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/290029-tesla-well-have-full-self-driving-by-2020-robo-taxis-too

We're looking forward to another exciting year ahead!

Financial Lesson: How did 2019 treat you? What are you hoping for in 2020?

2019 has given us a lot to remember. Despite some surprises, the bull market passed the 10-year mark, becoming the longest bull market in U.S. history, and delivering a strong performance for the year.26

Some predict it may continue for at least another year.27

Will that happen?

We'll see.

In the meantime, we're adjusting our expectations for the upcoming year and reviewing clients' strategies and options. And we're looking forward to another interesting year ahead!

If you have questions about what you should be doing in the New Year, please give our office a call at (513) 779-3030. We'd be happy to answer your questions and continue the conversation.

Until then, Happy 2020!

Your Team Harvest Financial Advisors

P.S. Continue the conversation over email by signing up (my subscribers get my best insights).

# (513) 779-3030 @ Email Me W Visit Website

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