We all know in all markets prices go up and down or they fluctuate. Ideally there is more up than down and over the long term if you invest in the profitable companies the total return of capital gains and dividends will be higher. However, when you need your money the market may give to your or take away from you. We also know markets never go up straight up, there are hills and mountains, but you do not know which is which until after the fact. This is one of the reasons why even in a bear market, you need to have some money in the market, because when the market turns the easy gains will be made.

There are many people who have been around the markets for years and write about it, one person is Gordon Pape, the Editor and Publisher of the Internet Wealth Builder. His recommendations are:

Protect core assets – banks, utilities and telcoms should be the bedrock of any well-constructed portfolio.

Keep quality losers – Many prices have gone down, but some companies are expected to bounce back faster than others, for example big technology – Microsoft, Apple and Alphabet

Use rising rates to your advantage – if you have cash in your portfolio, take advantage of rising rates by locking some of the money in a certificate of deposit, but less that a year maturity because rates are expected to go over the next few months.

Do not try to time the market – no one knows when the bear market will be over, until after it is over. But what you can do is wait until the S&P 500 has gone up 10 to 20%. The market is around 3,900 or 10% is 390 points or when it is over 4,200 plus. Pick a number.

Decide what you want to buy – make a list of what you what to buy and begin to follow the stocks. Many brokerage sites allow you to make a list to follow, use it. Use the research capabilities of your brokerage company. When you decide to buy, there will be good reasons besides to make money.

Keep your cool and take your time – there has been bear markets before, there has been bull markets before they will come again. Remember if you are investing for the long term, there should be limited rush to pick what to invest in, the hard part is choosing.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, we all want to make money on the stock market, however prices go up and down. One wonderful method to protect and earn money is to buy profitable stocks that pay dividends. In this fashion, no matter the capital gain (which is wonderful), every month or every quarter money comes into your account. Then you have choices on what to do with it.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions

When you examine the economy of Russia, its economy is dominated by the oil and gas sector and after Russia invaded the Ukraine, Europe and America imposed sanctions including cutting back on oil and gas imports. It is slightly easier to cut imports in the summer, for oil and gas to be used, the infrastructure of pipelines and refineries must exist. Both cost billions of dollars and are long term projects or it is difficult to turn on a dime and use another countries oil and gas. The supplier or Russia has other options.

In an article by Austin Ramzy of the New York Times News Service, Russia went knocking on the door of China and President Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, China’s leader said there was no limits to their nations’ friendship. There are some limits but not when it counts to improving the economy.

Russia has surpassed Saudi Arabia to become China’s largest source of petroleum. in data released by China’s General Administration of Customs in May, China imported 8.4 million metric tons of crude oil from Russia versus 7.8 metric tons from Saudi Arabia. The reason Russia received less money as China paid Saudi $6.3 billion and paid Russia $5.7 billion.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, all profitable companies tend to be diversified although they will depended on one area or sector more than others. It is a function of where the company is based but if the area where it is based faces a downturn, the company can reach out to its other areas and try to sell more. In the example above Russia is based in Europe and then reached out to China, as long as revenues come in to be profitable and pay dividends, economically that is a good thing. Do you know where your company investments have their greatest dependence in and how flexible they were in past downturns?

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.

Sometimes it must be hard to be an environmentalist, over the last decade the warning over climate change was made and continues to be made with very good reasons. Institutions tend to move slowly but in general, the political parties tried to make inroads to fight climate change. One of the methods to do this in Germany was even though Germany still has many coal fields, to close down the coal fields and use a cleaner alternative – natural gas. Natural gas was plentiful and just north of Germany lies Russia where great amounts of natural gas are found and there is a pipeline system to bring the gas to Germany and the rest of Europe.

In an article by Melissa Eddy of the New York Times News Service, the Economy Minister of Germany, Robert Habeck said Germany will reopen its coal fields to supply electricity and use less natural gas coming from Russia.

At the same time, Gazprom, the Russian supplier of natural gas reduced flows through the Nord Stream Pipeline (the Nord Stream Pipeline 2 is scheduled to go into operations in the coming months). Gazprom noted it was routine maintenance, but with the war in the Ukraine and Russia going on and Europe imposing sanctions on Russia, who knows if maintenance is the real reason.

Last year Russia accounted for 55% of the natural gas imports to Germany, other large suppliers include Norway, the US and United Arab Emirates for 20%.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, every company in the world is always under pressure to do more for the environment and many try. Given there are costs not necessary seen by the consumer for example continuing to meet government regulations, companies try to move forward. Consumers often times expect profitable companies to do more, because they can but profitable companies are profitable for a wide variety of reasons and keeping costs under control is one of them. All companies work within the government framework and sometimes the priority of the government changes which means the company has to change. Change is a constant.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.

Most of us live in a bit of a bubble and how you try to stay in or out of the bubble defines your reactions to the news of the world and for your investments business news. In our bubbles we hear or know it about some companies because they were in many advertisements.

In an article by Praveen Paramasivam, Maria Ponnezhath, and Dietrich Knauth of Reuters, if you look through a fashion magazine you likely seen ads for nail polish and lipstick by Revlon. You may or may not have the brands in your household, but given Revlon filed for bankruptcy it is likely other brands.

Revlon was founded in 1931 by Charles and Joseph Revlon and was sold in 1985 to its present owner MacAndrews & Forbes whose Chair is Ron Perelman. Mr. Perleman’s daughter Debra is the present chief executive officer.

According to Tomai Serdari, a marketing professor at New York University, in the fashion industry there is a constant need to offer the hype of the consumer and its brands are a little older and not offering the hype for young consumers.

In the global supply issue, Revlon has been hit hard as the shelf space were empty. This has resulted in the compeitition including Covergirl owner Coty gaining market share.

The last acquisition Revlon made was buying Elizabeth Arden in 2016 whose brands include fragrances by Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.

Revlon has long term debt of $3.31 billion. Two years ago, Citibank accidentally sent near $900 million of tis own money to Revlon’s lenders. Revlon is in court trying to get back the money.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, there are many companies and some in the fashion business operate on why is cool and hype for this season. There are profitable companies in the space, but it is easier to make money buying a business in which is boring and generates cash to make profits to raise dividends over the years. If you buy an investment which depends on hype, ensure you are connected to the target group, else it is easier to find boring but profitable businesses.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.

If you ever watched James Bond movies – there is a movie staring Pierce Brosnan as James Bond called Tomorrow Never Dies. In the opening scene James Bond jumps in a fighter jet and shoots up armaments before a missile reaches the site to do more damage as James leaves just in time. The opening is exciting and since the armaments are for countries fighting against the G7 as audience member you cheer for James Bond. However in the world of arms manufacturers, they have arms to sell and there was recently a conference in Europe.

In an article by John Irish and Lucien Libert of Reuters every year in Europe there is the Eurosatory arms bazaar where western governments go shopping. This year the bazaar was held in France and over 60 countries representing 1,700 exhibitors were represented. This year because of the war in Ukraine and Russia, the world’s second largest arms exporter or Russia decided not to come or were asked not to attend.

Arms manufacturers serve a need and where there is a need, demand follows which means the Ukraine – Russia war is good for business for the arms manufacturers. Several manufacturers told Reuters there is a shortage in capacity, notably in Europe what has depended on imports from the US. The shortage in capacity means the manufacturers are looking at backlogs until 2024-25.

The reason for the backlog is Ukraine’s armed forces are now using more ammunition in a day that Europe’s arms industry could produce in a month. From a supply point of view, the European defense industry is unfit for the warfare we see in the Ukraine. according to Elie Tenenbaum, director of the Security Studies Center at the Paris based Institute of International Relations.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, all of us have companies or industries we would prefer not to be a shareholder in for all types of reasons. However one of the analysis of any investment is to ask is the demand for the goods and services more than the supply. If the demand is high, every year prices can be raised and margins sustained which keeps the company profitable and can pay dividends. All companies do some good, but investing is individual decision and over time you will determine which companies you will invest in and which ones you will not even though there are profitable companies in all segments of the market.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.

Companies spend billions of dollars on branding and it works to some degree, how much is anyone’s guess but we all remember some ads. It is certain that even if the brand has more or less disappeared from the marketplace somebody remembers the slogan and sometimes the company behind it.

In an article from Reuters, some 30 years ago McDonald’s open its first franchise in Russia to long line ups and the world seemed a more peaceful place. Before the war before Ukraine and Russia there were over 850 McDonald’s in Russia and similar to the US they did good business. Then the war happened and similar to many companies McDonald’s decided to close down operations in Russia, although they have a 15 year option to come back to the country.

In the meantime, one of the hallmarks of McDonald’s is they choose very good locations to set up in business, the new owner has changed the store’s name to Vkusno & tochka – the phrase translates to tasty and that’s it. The slogan is “the name changes, love stays”

Siberian businessman Alexander Govor is the new owner of the business and although the store is similar by using the same equipment and food sources, the new company does not have the right to some of the colors of McDonald’s, can not use the golden arches, can not use any mention of McDonald’s, but it is similar and people were coming to the restaurants. The owner said most of the chain’s ingredients are sourced in Russia. Part of the deal with McDonald’s was those who wanted to work at the restaurant could be rehired. McDonald’s took a $1.4 billion write down from the sale.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, all of us believe the company we work for is special because we work for them. The reality is companies adapt with or without us, as an investor that is what you expect for a company to remain profitable for a long period of time. How the company adapts in crisis, is a good thing to know when you invest.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.

China is an interesting country, on one hand the government allows and encourages companies to do their own thing, but every once in a while the government decides the owner or the company is getting too big or too uppity or too something and then cracks down. The companies have to grin and bear it, while the situation sorts itself out. In the case of Alibaba (similar to Amazon in China), the government decided it was getting too out of control, its Chairman Jack Ma was speaking out and the government sent the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) on its tail.

In an article by Julie Zhu of Reuters, Alibaba owns an bank called Ant Financial and it was giving loans that state banks could not so they cried foul and the government cracked down on Alibaba. One of the elements was to stop an IPO of Ant Financial in November of 2020. The IPO at the time was to be valued at $315 billion and $37 billion in shares were to be sold. The new IPO will be at less money.

Since the crackdown, Mr. Ma has kept a low profile, Alibaba and Ant have waited for the Chinese government and its agencies to do their regulatory work. Also similar to countries around the world, the slowdown in economic growth has affected China, which means China wants growth in the economy and needs the help of Alibaba.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, all companies in the stock market need to consider the host government positions. Most of the time, the government and the company will be able to easily work together, but once in a while the government needs a poster child to say it is not beholden to companies. One or more companies will be in the crosshairs of the government for a time and then it will abate. Ideally, the company tries to do what it does best sell its goods and services at a profit and pay dividends and wait till the government find another issue of importance to the taxpayer.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.

In the summer, more drinks including beer are consumer than during the winter and everyone knows that fact. The reasons include heat but also in normal times there are many more events where people gather and enjoy a beer or two. If you think images about Germany, you likely think about Germans drinking beer. The breweries in which they are many, brew beer to meet the demand and there are roughly 1,500 breweries and they have 4 billion returnable glass bottles in circulation – about 48 for every man, woman and child.

In an article by Melissa Eddy of the New York Times News Service, there are many problems operating a German brewery at the moment and one of them having enough glass bottles for the beer. German is facing a severe shortage of beer bottles.

The good news is most of German beer bottles are recycled glass and that is good, but people are not returning their empties. It is a big of hassle for people to bring back the empties so many people store them in their homes until they need the space or want the spare cash.

The article focused on Germany’s Klosterbrauerei Neuzelle, a small brewery where 80% of the beer sold is using glass bottles. The company has seen natural gas prices increase 400%, electricity bill up 300%, the barley bill is up and the war between Russia and Ukraine is not helping prices fall. The business was founded in 1589, which means it has survived many difficult times and the present owners from 1993 believe it will continue to survive.

Solutions for the bottle shortage including ads in newspapers, considering increasing the deposit, and increasing prices. Similar to many industries, the supply system has seen prices increase from the wooden pallet to salaries to fuel costs. The largest brewery in Germany – Radeberger Group which makes Radeberger and Schofferhofer beer has increased prices, but it more difficult for the smaller breweries.

One of the creative measures by the Klosterbrauerei Neuzelle was to have its most popular beer – Schwarzer Abt or Black Abott bottle blessed by the Pope and then dip the bottle in every batch made.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, in every country there are some stable companies who have made profits for generations. There will always be challenges, but it is possible to make profits and pay dividends for generations. When you are investing, look to have some of these companies in your portfolio to ensure the stock prices are maintain and go higher every year and you receive a dividend for you good decision.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.

When the stock market is rising in value, people want to be involved and one motivating method was to be involved with wallstreetbets which helped encouraged individuals or retail clients to be involved. One Wall Street, the dominant players are institutional, but to help drive markets up the market needs individuals. Although everyone invests for the same reason – to make more money, the reasons for investing are different for institutional and retail investors. Often times there are more restrictions on what institutions can and should not or can not be doing or flexibility is a hallmark of retail investors. Often retail investors start out as momentum investors but hopefully learn along the way because what goes up does come down.

In an article by David Randall and John McCrank of Reuters, the bears are shorting meme stocks GameStop and AMC Entertainment Holdings. According to data from S3 Partners, the percentage of company’s float that is short was 24% for GameStop and 22% for AMC.

You may remember there were short squeezes on these stock and the price soared into the hundreds from the teens or less. Retail investors caught the bug, some made money but many bought when the stock was rising, held on and the stock dropped below their buy in position and now if they still hold the stock there are losing money.

The S&P 500 is down 13.5% while GameStop is down 13.7% and AMC down 56%. According to Peng Cheng, head of big data and AI strategies at JPMorgan, retail investors have been net sellers of single stocks for the past 8 weeks.

Many institutional investors examine GameStop and AMC and see the companies operating on smaller footprints in the future or the business will not be growing. While retail investors see something else?

Linking to dividend paying stocks, it is wonderful when you make an investment and the stock rises in the near future, however if your buy stocks for dividends you are expecting the stock price to maintain or rise in the long term which translates into a total return from stock price increases plus dividends to rise. The market brings many people together looking for reasons why a stock price should increase, but buying profitable stocks which pay dividends helps ensure you are correct many more times than you are not correct.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.