Where ever you live the big competition among cities greater than one million population is the desire to have Amazon locate to the city. The prize is 50,000 jobs and good high tech service jobs and who would not want that?

Amazon has set criteria of one million population, great airport, reasonably inexpensive land, an educated work force ( nearby university or universities which train engineers) and tolerant culture (Amazon wants their brains, but people have to live and want to live in the community).  Noah Smith writing for Bloomberg News expects not only the 50,000 would be needed, but others tech companies would settle to be near Amazon. Think of auto manufacturing companies and other companies locating nearby to make things for the manufacturing company. If you are interested in the culture of Amazon – on their website is the Leadership Principles which they take seriously.

Given the reality, not many companies are expecting to hire 50,000 people the selection process is expected to be fierce. Remember while you live in your community, what the politicians are willing to give away should not put you at a disadvantage. Make sure to focus on the benefits besides the new jobs.

Mr. Smith notes there are communities which easily the bill – the Boston area, Raleigh North Carolina, Nashville, Minneapolis and Austin, Texas to name a few. Austin is a great example because it lured a government agency called Sematech  which was home to Dell, Texas Instruments, and Motorola. Austin also had a group of visionaries leaders ready to transform Austin into a tech center. The people ensure sufficient land and water resources was available, encourage the university to be co-operative (not be in an ivory tower), the infrastructure of the city was up to date and the culture was livable. These aspects will keep you in the city.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, while these companies are profitable it makes their head offices and main areas of producing goods and services even more valuable because they can stay and pay taxes. The trick is always, not to pay too much tax and contribute to the city. It is good for all cities to go through the process because what is good for Amazon is good for any company. The more the home city co-operates and nurture the existing businesses is good for the bottom line.

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

If you have been following the tech stocks the term FAANG should be familiar to you – the best stocks in technology have enjoyed a healthy rise in stock prices and if you own them your portfolio is up. The FAANG stocks are Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google. It is hard to own a fund without owning at least one of these stocks.

Cormac Mullen writing for Bloomberg News looks at a different aspect of the stocks how they are classified. All stocks are classified by a group called MSCI Global Industry Classification Standard. Facebook. Google and Apple are classified as technology stocks; while Amazon and Netflix are classified as consumer-discretionary stocks.

Other examples are American Express is classified as a financial stock while MasterCard and Visa are listed as technology stocks.

What all this means is stocks have different weighing on indexes which translates to index funds owning the index and portfolio managers trying to be in one sector or another. On the credit card stocks your way of thinking is they should all be the same since they do the same thing, however the accepted PE Ratio for technology is generally higher than financial stocks. Is one undervalued or overvalued?

Linking to dividend paying stocks, if you own a stock for a longer period of time, the classifications matters less, for you own it for different reasons. If you own the stock and short the indexes to protect your investments (hedging) you have to examine your indexes to ensure it is a real hedge. If you own a stock for the dividend, then you know the price will fluctuate for a variety of reasons, but as long as it is profitable it can be held.

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

The most important aspect to any company is the pricing model – if they get it right people buy, if it is not correct people find alternatives. In a recent article Shane Dingman wrote about the price of the new Apple phone. The first thing to think about is as products have become more powerful and smaller they have also become cheaper. The new technological features plus the supply chain efficiencies has allowed manufacturers to cut prices consistently.

With smartphones it does not seem to be the case. According to data collected by Android Authority, smartphones prices have crept upwards, from $600 in 2012 to $750 and now Apple is testing the $1,000 mark. The new Apple phone is $300 more than the existing one and the old one breaks down to the device parts costs between $250 and $270 with the screen adding another $50. The new phone the screen is likely closer to $100.

Apple has traditionally kept a 33% margin in its iPhone selection and on the NAND memory it can generate as much as 80%. NAND memory stores the data on the phone, if you order more memory, the chip costs $20 but you pay about $100.

The next advantage Apple has is the psychology of pricing – the good, better and best. A variety of pricing are offered and people tend to gravitate towards the middle and spend a little more than they expected. In addition, with the large wireless firms offering a more manageable monthly payment which 75% of smartphone users are using. The psychology of pricing works best if customers see a great benefit with the highest pricing.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, for these stocks, the best customer is the repeat customer and if the company appeals to a mass market as long as there is enough then margins will be good and profits roll in. Once customers see alternatives they deliver them the value they want and need, they will begin to make changes. For now, on the companies you invest in see if the margins are holding.

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

Every investor should own some ETFs as well as individual stocks. The individual stocks are what gets you up in the morning and to watch out, but ETFs are taking the place of mutual funds which tend to have fees attached to them. The ETF market is now in the trillion dollar range in terms of assets under administration which means you need to find the correct ones to accent your stock picking. At that level, more and more funds will operate. The trick is find the large enough ones to continuing to grow as well as add to the fund, if you like a stock which is underrated in it.

In a recent article by Dale Jackson some ideas were presented:

In Technology one fund which has done well and as our economy Technology Select Sector SPDR fund which tracks 70 of the biggest stocks in the tech sector of the S&P 500 index. This means the largest companies such as Apple and Microsoft will dominant 25% of the fund. If you like a smaller company, you can always add it to your holdings.

iShares which is run by Blackrock has multiple ETFs and they range from US Aerospace and Defence ( these companies are up this year) to ishares US Preferred Stocks (if you want move defensive posture to your portfolio as interest rates rise preferred shares tend to rise).

In the world of ETFs as well as many parts of investing, there are multiple options – often sticking to vanilla or something relative simple is the best.  An interesting quote by a portfolio manager said 80% of the return is getting to the right neighborhood, or if your themes are correct the market will reward you.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, as an active investor you will hear many themes and possibilities and you can pick one or more of them. As a long term investor, you know themes come and go and the world tends to move on cycles. During the summer, people do more renovations than in the winter – do the home renovation companies reflect that? As a dividend investor, you want year over year profitability which translates into growing dividends and greater stock price. If you focus on the first part, the likelihood of the second is easier.

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

 

 

In the world of business, there are some truths in the marketplace and the Power of Broke is one of them. The Power of Broke written by Daymond John of FUBU and seen on the Shark Tank was published by Crown Publishing, NY, 2016. The Power of Broke is how empty pockets, a tight budget and a hunger for success can become your greatest competitive advantage. Mr. John wrote a number of principles and they continue:

# 5  Put All Your Passion and Purpose behind Whatever You are Doing.

At the end of day, people are buying your product or service because they trust in you. People want to invest in people not just a product or service. What you do and how you project your decisions help you in see the trust factor.

# 6  Take Time to Understand and Appreciate the People You Meet on Your Path to Success

As the business goes forth, you will meet all kinds of people – investor, distributor, vendor, perspective buyer, customer, advice giver. They all want you to succeed and if you show them you are rooting for them, then other things can happen.

# 7  Think beyond the Moment

Find a way to support your vision with logic, data, and realistic projections. Wishful thinking and conjecture have a way of working against you and breaking you in a bad way.

# 8  Make the probability of your success a natural part of your Thinking. Expect it … will it be so.

This is the positive thinking – good things happen to those who expect them to happen. Now that does not mean winning the power ball lottery, but it does mean you train yourself to keep your goals in sight and in reach and you believe you can do it.

The things you should be continually doing is:

Set a goal

Do Your Homework

Adore what you do

Remember, you are your brand

Keep Swimming     (Daymond is a member of the Shark Tank)

In a book similar to Mr. John’s there are lots of stories about people who overcame barriers and succeed. It means it is possible and there will be lots of barriers against you but it you are solving a problem, people will want to hear about it.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, all companies go through cycles, some are regulated and they still can make money even if they do not seemingly do the right thing. However, when you find a company that sets goals, does their homework, their people seem to love what they do and they make a profit on a yearly basis – how good is that. There are companies that are out there and when you invest in one it is easy to buy and hold.

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

 

 

In the world of business, there are some truths in the marketplace and the Power of Broke is one of them. The Power of Broke written by Daymond John of FUBU and seen on the Shark Tank was published by Crown Publishing, NY, 2016. The Power of Broke is how empty pockets, a tight budget and a hunger for success can become your greatest competitive advantage. In Business and life, we all want to ensure we have enough money so we do not have to worry about the basics plus. If your pockets are empty, then worry about your next meal is a concern. However if you have some money, a tight budget will make you creative. You will need to be creative to leverage the tight money into something bigger – partnerships, researching and trying to stretch the money to wholesale prices rather than retail. When you can do this and more, that is a competitive advantage for you.

Damon wrote the book to help your business whether you are doing very well or just starting out. In some ways, just starting out on a shoestring budget is better, however if you can retain the attitude while having more than a shoestring budget- life will seem better. Mr. John wrote some principles on the Power of Broke

# 1  Use all the resources available for you.

Everyone has resources, some people’s networks are better, but we all have resources. How to use them – social media has made it easier is the trick. You have a great idea or at least believe you have, you eventually need OPM or Other People’s Money to help you. Learning to tap Other People and eventually OPM is using the resources available.

#2  Keep it Real

No matter what you do you must be authentic or sincere in everything you do. The reason is the more humility and integrity you put into the world, the more people will want to help you and want you to succeed.

# 3  Learn and (embrace) the Power of Optimization

Everyone has heard there are only 24 hours in a day, try to make the best use of your time, energy, actions, opportunity costs and capital.

#4  Understand that you will be reward for solving other people’s problems or filling holes in the marketplace.

The reason why anybody will buy your goods or services is it solves their problems. If you are solving a problem they do not know they have, it will be a tough sell. If you solve a problem that people have, buyers will come. As you look around where you live or work, bring the actions you do to what problem you have solved. Start simple – you turn on the light to see in the dark. When you think about your business what problem does it solve?

Linking to dividend paying stocks, ideally these stocks know where their profits are coming and they come every year. How they are managed is where Mr. John’s principles fit in. If the company is throwing money at a problem to fix it, eventually it will waste a lot of money. If the company goes through the steps and solves the problem with creativity and less money, then as a shareholder you win and that is what you like to see.

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

 

Many people go to museums all over the world, they are filled with treasurers and it is possible to see other civilizations without leaving your home country – those are great reasons to visit a museum. On the other side of the coin is how did those treasurers come to be at the museum? Some were bought by collectors who often could see talent which was subsequently seen by the rest of the world. Some items likely were taken by archaeologists as they searching for treasurers to be displayed by the institution they were working for. There could have been the best of reasons to ship the treasurers from one country to another, but once in a while it is good to ask the question.  In the book, Loot – the Battle over Stolen Treasurers of the Ancient World writer Sharon Waxman published by Times Books, New York, 2008 asks the questions of the some of the greatest museums in the world.

In general, prior to World War II, to the victor went the spoils, for generations if another country used its military to take over another country, the country which dominated sent treasurers back to the home country. Whether the treasures were raw materials or art, it was accepted practice to do it. When Napoleon invaded Italy it seems half of Italy’s art works went to the Paris and many of them ended up in the Louvre. In the book, Ms Waxman focused on the Germans, British, Americans and French museums. In the end there was no real answer to whether the treasurers should stay or go back to their home country, because the answer is complicated. It is generally accepted, times have changed to some degree while private investors can and still buy whatever pleases them, to have the public see them in the museums means how they achieved the final destination is important to know.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, if you are a collector of art which is a good thing, depending on your budget sometimes wonderful pieces which are not 100% legal will come your way. Then you will make a decision. In investing, all the exchanges are public which allows you to always be certain what the price is and whether that meets your expectations or not. With smaller capitalized companies there are possibilities of stock irregularities however when a company has paid dividends for years, there is less opportunity. If you live your life on the straight and narrow, dividend investing is a good thing to do.

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

 

 

In early September Hurricane Irma went through the Caribbean and up the coast of Florida causing billions of dollars in damage and massive flooding. After you consider the lives of the people trying to go back to what is their normal, consider the stock market. The weather will mean tourist attractions are affected, however in the northeast the weather is beginning to change from summer to fall to winter and Florida still means sunshine. People will want to go somewhere and when they do, the tourist attractions will be on their minds. With all Hurricanes (and natural disasters) companies that have physical assets are affected and those public companies shares will fall. The question is how much will they fall and when will they bounce back up?

Linking to dividend paying stocks, even if you do not have direct investments in the area, you need to do your homework by picking some stocks in the area and knowing which ones are great value. For example, Disney has a big complex in Florida and operates the Cruise Ships from the region – many of their ships go to the Caribbean. The Hurricane affected them and the shares are down. However Disney makes most of its money from the movies and merchandise, or it will continue to earn money even though its Florida properties are affected. Your homework will tell you what is a good price for Disney to bounce back to where it was.

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

Many people know of Tesla and Mr. Musk’s electric cars, because of the abilities of the firm Audi is making a change in their thinking to become an tech firm. If you think of the world’s largest auto companies, you tend to think of their engineering work to achieve greater performance out of basic metals. As Audi and other companies begin to make greater number of electric vehicles, the company’s DNA has to change to. In an article written by Dan Ilika in AutoGuide.com was at an Audi Summit in Barcelona, Spain. Audi’s chief digital officer Roland Villinger said digitalization allows Audi to focus on urbanization and sustainability. Audi believes making the electric vehicle without the infrastructure is not a good idea and that is why it has partnered with others to build the infrastructure which will allow a high performance charging network.

Audi is exploring besides making vehicles low emissions but the production process itself. From improving efficiencies to so less goes to landfills and energy supply perspectives. They are taking a holistic view rather than looking at the tailpipe. Over the past number of years, Audi has increased the number of digital products and services, unfortunately both internal and external surveys for example the JD Power Tech Experience Index, many drivers do not use all the products Audi has in its vehicles.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, for many companies to succeed in the future, they have to embrace tech and see their world differently. It is not easy, it takes time but as a customer or viewer of the company if you do not see the embrace, it is time to look for alternatives.

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