https://www.alainguillot.com/dating-apps/

After my divorce, I decided to give dating apps a try. I went on a few dates and, although I met some wonderful women, I found the whole process exhausting and extremely inefficient. For me, the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze. I spent hours scrolling, sending hundreds of messages, dealing with ghosting, waiting hours or even days for responses, and finally, when I met a woman in person, I often realized we weren’t a good match.

Success Stories Amid the Struggles

However, as a dance teacher, I’ve met many couples who met through dating apps. Good for them—many seem happy, and some even got married.

But I believe that most people feel frustrated, as I did, and they are deleting the apps from their phones and computers, or at the very least, they don’t want to pay for the service.

Investors Take Note: They are not seeing the growth

From an investor’s point of view, this is worrisome. Revenues are not growing any more, if people don’t want to pay, then what’s the point of owning the stock. And this lack of paying members growth is being reflected in the stock prices.

As we can see, while the S&P 500 has risen by 33% over the past 12 months, dating stocks are lagging behind.

Match Group, which is the largest and most established player, has a portfolio of over 20 brands. Each brand is targeted towards specific types of online dating or to certain demographic groups (i.e. Tinder for short-term hook-ups, Hinge for long-term relationships, etc.)

is up only 1%.

Bumble, known for its female-first approach, is down 54%.

Grindr, which focuses mostly on gay and bisexual men hooking up, is up 100%.

So, what’s happening here?

The Reality for Men on Dating Apps

What I hear is that if you’re a good-looking man, you have all the options. Most women will want to date you. If you’re in the top 10% of attractive men, you could essentially have your pick. 50% of the women are liking your profile.

If you’re in the top 50%, you have a decent chance of finding a partner. If you’re in the bottom 50%, you’re likely to struggle and may end up alone.

Why Bumble’s Approach May Be Struggling

I suspect Bumble is not succeeding because, despite the emphasis on female empowerment, many women still prefer to be approached rather than to make the first move. Historically, men have always been the ones to initiate, and they’ve learned to handle rejection. For women, this is a relatively new shift, and many are still adjusting to the idea of occasional rejection.

User Fatigue and Conflicts of Interest

In general, except for Grindr, people aren’t finding what they’re looking for, and many users are dissatisfied. According to various industry sources, the number of daily app users is just not growing.

There’s also an inherent conflict of interest between dating apps and their users. Clients want to find love and leave the app, but the apps profit when you don’t find a match, and they keep you as a paying customer for as long as possible.

Gen Z and the Future of Dating

Demographic studies show that generation Z (those aged 12 to 27) is showing less interest in traditional dating compared to previous generations. They are prioritizing mental health, personal goals, and self-development.

From an economic perspective, the cost of housing is also a serious issue. It’s hard to date someone when you’re living in your parents’ basement or juggling two jobs. Many young people finish their regular day job only to start driving for Uber or work another side hustle just to pay the rent. These challenges make dating less of a priority.

Generation Z is supposed to represent the future of dating, but through dating apps some social norms are changing. Many young men are feeling disengaged or left out, with women under 30 often dating men over 30. Around 64% of men under 30 are single. On the other end of the spectrum, older women are also having difficulty finding partners, with 70% of women over 60 being single. Clearly, there

https://www.alainguillot.com/china/

Admiring China’s Economic Growth

For the past 10 years, I admired China’s rapid economic growth with great interest. I was convinced it would be a formidable challenger to the economic superiority of the U.S. However, over the past 12 months, I have changed my mind.

If you follow economic news, you might be impressed by China’s great advancements in artificial intelligence, military expansion, and global resource acquisition. China has also become a major economic partner in regions like Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.

Also China’s military, which once was seen as inferior, is now rapidly catching up with that of the U.S. From the outside, many would feel confident predicting that China will soon catch up with the U.S. economically, politically, and culturally.

However, a closer look reveals significant weaknesses.

China is facing a major demographic crisis. The fertility rate needed to maintain a stable population is about 2.1 children per woman. China’s fertility rate is currently 1.1. The reason is simple: women no longer want to have children. There is insufficient infrastructure to support family growth, and as a result, families are simply not growing.

Without a younger generation to take over, the consequences are dire. An aging population is less productive, has higher healthcare costs, and they will start collecting pensions at the age of 55 for women and age 63 for men. There won’t be enough workers to fund these pensions or sustain the economy.

The U.S. is also experiencing a birth rate decline, with a rate of 1.7 children per woman. However, the U.S. can address this challenge because millions of people want to migrate to the U.S. The U.S. has a serious immigration influx, with people risking their lives to get there, while no one is risking their lives to migrate to China. In fact, many Chinese citizens aspire to move to the U.S.

For investors, this information is crucial. You don’t want to invest your money in China without being aware of these risks. While investing in China might seem attractive in the short term, from a long-term perspective, China is far less appealing.

My tip for you: keep investing in the U.S. It offers a liquid market, is full of creative people, and, for now, maintains a growing population.

https://www.alainguillot.com/utility-industry/ What do artificial intelligence, cryptocurrencies, and electric vehicles have in common? They all consume an enormous amount of electricity. Companies in the AI, crypto, and EV sectors will struggle to secure enough electricity to maintain normal operations. Electricity demand is so high that Microsoft is considering building a nuclear plant to meet its own power needs. Utilities have performed exceptionally well over the past 12 months, and they are poised for another strong year. Utilities uptrend during 2024. +26% It’s been a nice ride. 26% gain during the last 12 months. It’s been a great ride, with a 26% gain over the last 12 months. As AI continues to expand, energy consumption is expected to increase significantly. The energy required to run AI tasks is accelerating at an annual growth rate of 26% to 36%. It’s important to note that neither fossil fuels nor renewable energy sources alone are sufficient to meet the growing energy demands. Therefore, the energy and renewable energy sectors are also likely to see significant gains in 2025 and beyond. Utilities are also well-protected from competition; you can’t simply decide to open a new electricity plant overnight. It typically takes anywhere from four to ten years to establish a new utility company, with enormous costs involved. As a result, utility companies are expected to continue their bullish trend for the foreseeable future.