WSTNN, Author at WStNN.com™ WallStreetNewsNetwork® Stockerblog™ WSNN®

The Geometry of Wealth

Book Review: The Geometry of Wealth

by Fred Fuld III

Wealth is not just about money. The book, The Geometry of Wealth, by Brian Portnoy, PhD, CFA, explains what wealth really is and how it can be achieved.

The book is easy to understand, especially for novice investors, and explains concepts in a way that all investors can comprehend. For example, in Chapter 1, he talks about the three major challenges facing everybody with regards to money: we have more financial control, we are wired for bad decisions, and less room for ever.

Probably the most interesting chapter is “Yes, Not Really, It Depends,” which is all about what happiness really is.

If you are looking for a different spin on money, finance, and wealth, I recommend The Geometry of Wealth.

The Triple Crown Horse Races and Some Racing-Related Stocks

by Nkem Iregbulem

Horseracing fans have now seen or heard about Thoroughbred horse Justify’s most recent win at the Belmont Stakes race this past Saturday, June 9th. Just a couple weeks before, Justify won the Kentucky Derby on May 5th and the Preakness Stakes race on May 19th. With this third exciting win, Justify was crowned the 2018 Triple Crown winner – only the second Triple Crown winner in the last 40 years.

Even with Justify’s strong performance, Secretariat, the Triple Crown winner in 1973, still holds the time records in all three Triple Crown races. These three races are the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. They all occur annually, and the Triple Crown is awarded to the 3-year-old Thoroughbred horse that wins all three races in a given year. It is widely considered the highest honor that a racehorse can receive.

Before the Triple Crown became an official award, the term “triple crown” was first used by TheNew York Timesin 1923 and was then regularly used by the paper’s racing columnist at the time by 1930. However, by 1937, other writers and publications adopted the term, and the term became more established.

The Belmont Stakes is the oldest and longest of the three, and the Kentucky Derby is the youngest. Started in 1867, the Belmont Stakes race is 1.5 miles long and occurs at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York on the first or second Saturday in June. The winner of this race is covered with a blanket made of hundreds of carnations and receives the August Belmont Trophy. Started in 1873, the Preakness Stakes race is 1.1875 miles long and occurs at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland on the third Saturday of May.The winner of this race is covered with a blanket of black-eyed Susan flowers, so the race is otherwise known as “The Run for Black-Eyed Susans.” The winning horse also receives the Woodlawn Vase.

Begun in 1875, the Kentucky Derby race is 1.25 miles long and occurs at the Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky on the first Saturday of May. The winner of this race receives the Kentucky Derby Trophy and a blanket of roses, giving the race the nickname “The Run For the Roses.” There have been 13 Triple Crown winners crowned since the creation of the award in 1950 with the first winner being Sir Barton.

If you’re looking to get financially involved in the horse racing industry, you can choose from a variety of racing-related companies to invest in: Churchill Downs Inc. (CHDN), Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment (DDE), and Penn National Gambling Inc. (PENN). The CHDN and PENN stocks are both listed on the NASDAQ exchange, but the DDE stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

Founded in 1928 and therefore the oldest of the three companies, Churchill Downs is a racing, gaming, and online entertainment company based in Louisville, Kentucky. It hosts the Kentucky Derby at its Churchill Downs racetrack. Its other racetracks include the Arlington International Race Course in Arlington Heights, the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, and the Calder Race Course in Miami Gardens. The company also operates some casinos and hotels around the country. Most of the company’s revenue comes from within the United States.

Churchill Downs has a market cap of $4.07 billion and pays a small dividend yield of 0.51%. With a price-to-sales ratio of 5.21, its stock is considered pretty overpriced. It trades at 28.06 times trailing earnings and at 26.67 times forward earnings. The stock also has a price-to-book ratio of 12.03. Its revenue has been increasing each fiscal year since 2015 as the company enjoys a 3-year revenue growth rate of 2.81%.

Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment Inc. is a gaming and entertainment company based in Delaware and founded in 1969. It operates its own casino, hotel, and racetrack called Dover Downs Casino, Dover Downs Hotel and Conference Center, and Dover Downs Raceway respectively. Its hotel offers conference, banquet, concert hall, and salon facilities. Its racetrack features live and simulcast horse races. However, most of the company’s revenue comes from its gaming operations.Its casino offers table games, slot machine games, poker, bars, and restaurants.

The company has a small market cap of $56.58 million, so its stock is speculative. It has a very favorable price-to-sales ratio of 0.34 and trades at 8.55 times forward earnings. It has a low price-to-book ratio of 0.53. With a negative 5-year revenue growth rate of -4.77%, the company has faced decreasing revenue values each fiscal year since 2011.

Penn National Gaming is a gaming and racing company based in Pennsylvania and founded in 1972. It stands as the second largest operator of regional casinos in the United States. In addition, it was one of the very first companies to adopt a business model, called “racino,” that combined casino operations and racetrack operations. The company has many properties scattered across the United States and Canada with three operating segments known as the Southwest, Northeast, and South/West segments.

The company has a market cap of $2.97 billion. The company’s stock has an excellent price-to-sales ratio of 0.96 and a price-to-book ratio of 9.29. It trades at 5.10 times trailing earnings and at 19.16 times forward earnings. Revenue has been increasing each fiscal year since 2014, contributing to its great 5-year revenue growth rate of 15.15%

So, if you are interested in investing in the horse racing industry, you might consider investing in the racing-related companies that you find attractive. Hopefully they turn out to be winners.

Disclosure: Author didn’t own any of the above at the time the article was written.

Chocolate May Improve Your Health and Boost Your Portfolio

by Nkem Iregbulem

Chocolate is one of the most popular foods in the world. Some of the most common types of chocolate we see are milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate. Think you know everything there is to know about chocolate? Turns out that numerous studies have found that chocolate consumption may improve your health in a variety of ways. Chocolate may be more than just a sweet treat enjoyed around the world.

Last June, The Harvard Gazette reported on a recent study conducted by researchers in Denmark and at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The study was published in the journal Heart, and its participants were 55,502 men and women from the Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health Study. Researchers found an association between moderate chocolate consumption and a lower risk of atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heartbeat. They also found that those who ate 2 to 6 one-ounce servings of chocolate per week had the lowest rate of atrial fibrillation. The chocolate consumed by participants contained relatively low levels of potentially protective ingredients, suggesting that even small doses of cocoa can go a long way in terms of possible health benefits.

A few months ago, another study found that the consumption of dark chocolate may reduce stress levels and inflammation and even boost memory, immunity, and mood. The researchers at Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Centre who led this study suspect that cacao, an ingredient commonly found in dark chocolate, may be largely responsible for the candy’s potential to support cognitive, endocrine, and cardiovascular health. They suggest cacao’s protective power likely comes from the fact that that it is a great source of flavonoids, which are very potent antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents.

Chocolate may boost not only your health but also your portfolio. You can choose from a variety of chocolate-related companies including Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Inc. (RMCF), The Hershey Co. (HSY), Mondelez International (MDLZ), Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. (TR), Nestle (NSRGY), and Lindt & Sprungli AG (LDSVF). The RMCF and MDLZ stocks are traded on the NASDAQ exchange, and the HSY and TR stocks are traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The NSRGY and LDSVF stocks are both traded over-the-counter.

Your first option is Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Inc, a company that manufactures chocolate candies and confectionery products. It operates in the United States, Japan, Canada, Philippines, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates. The company’s business activity can be divided into a couple segments: Franchising, Manufacturing, Retail Stores, U-Swirl Operations, and Other segments. Its products include clusters, truffles, caramels, mints, and molded chocolates. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Inc. has a small market cap of $64.7 million and pays a dividend yield of 4.26%. With a negative 3-year growth rate of -2.84%, the company has seen decreasing revenue values each fiscal year since 2015. Its stock has a price-to-sales ratio of 1.71 and a price-to-book ratio of 3.29. The stock also trades at 21.82 times trailing earnings.

A second option is The Hershey Co., one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world. The Hershey Company, headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania, controls around 45% of the domestic chocolate market. Its products are offered in about 80 countries including the United States, China, Brazil, India, and Mexico. The leading chocolate company sells chocolate, sweets, mints, and other snacks to its customers. The company has a market cap of $18.94 billion and pays a dividend yield of 2.92%, which has been decreasing since 2015. With a price-to-sales ratio of 2.56, its stock is slightly overpriced. The stock trades at 18.27 times trailing earnings and 16.89 times forward earnings. The company’s stock also has a high price-to-book ratio of 19.66. The Hershey’s revenues have been increasing each fiscal year since 2015, giving it a 3-year revenue growth rate of 0.42%

You may also want to consider Mondelez International, a confectionary, food, and beverage company based in Illinois. It manufactures chocolate, biscuits, gum, candy, beverages, cheese, and groceries. However, chocolate alone is responsible for about 30% of the company’s sales revenue. Its portfolio includes billion-dollar companies such as Chips Ahoy! and Oreo.The company has a nice market cap of $57.91 billion and pays a dividend yield of 2.17%. The company’s stock is slightly overpriced with a price-to-sales ratio of 2.30. It trades at 17.25 times trailing earnings and 16.03 times forward earnings. Its price-to-book ratio is 2.22. Mondelez International’s revenue has been decreasing each fiscal year since 2013 as the company faces a negative 3-year growth rate of -8.89%.

Another option is Tootsie Roll Industries Inc., a company that manufactures and sells candy to wholesale distributors and to retail stores. It candy products — many of which are chocolate-based — include Tootsie Rolls, Tootsie Pops, Junior Mints, Charms, Blow-Pops, and Dots. The company mainly operates in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, but over 90% of its sales comes from customers in the United States. The company has a market cap of $1.45 billion and pays a dividend yield of 1.21%. Its stock has a price-to-sales ratio of 3.72, making it somewhat overpriced. The stock trades at 24.25 times trailing earnings and has a price-to-book ratio of 1.60. Tootsie Roll’s revenue has been decreasing each fiscal year since 2014 as the company faces a negative 5-year growth rate of -1.14%.

Nestle is another well-known, chocolate-related powerhouse to consider. By sales, the Swiss company is the world’s largest food and beverage company. Brands such as Nestle, Nescafe, Perrier, Pure Life, and Purina are all part of the company’s product portfolio. Under these brands and various other brands, the company offers baby food, cereal, bottled water, coffee products, chocolate, frozen food, and confectionery products. The company has a large market cap of $231.56 billion and pays dividend yield of 3.18%, but this value has been decreasing each year since 2015. With a price-to-sales ratio of 2.59, the company’s stock is slightly overpriced. It trades at 31.28 times trailing earnings and 19.49 times forward earnings. The stock has a price-to-book ratio of 3.74. Nestle’s revenue has been increasing each fiscal year since 2015, giving it a 5-year growth rate of 0.04%.

You might also look at Lindt & Sprungli AG, a Swiss chocolatier and confectionery company that manufactures and sells premium chocolate products. It is best known for its chocolate truffles and chocolate bars. The company focuses its operation in developed markets in Europe and North America. Lindt & Sprungli AGoffers its products under brand names such as Lindt, Ghirardelli, Russell Stover, Whitman’s, Pangbourne, Caffarel, and Lindor. The company has a nice market cap of $7.55 billion and pays a dividend yield of 0.93%, which has been increasing each year since 2014. Its stock has a price-to-book ratio of 1.78 and an excellent price-to-sales ratio of 0.37. It trades at 3.30 times trailing earnings and 30.30 times forward earnings. Revenue has been increasing each fiscal year since 2011 as the company enjoys a 3-year revenue growth rate of 6.49%.

Turns out that chocolate may be beneficial in more ways than one. Beyond merely satisfying your sweet tooth, chocolate can better your health and sweeten your portfolio.

Disclosure: Author didn’t own any of these stocks at the time the article was written.

Less Than a Year Ago, I Said Twitter was a Screaming Buy – Was I Right?

by Fred Fuld III

It was only about ten months ago, on August 2, 2017, that I wrote the article, Why Twitter is a Screaming Buy. I discussed several reasons, including Twitter’s biggest asset (Donald Trump). Also, an extensive coverage of earnings and the lack thereof. I also came up with some suggestions about how Twitter could improve its revenues.

At the time that I wrote the article, the stock was trading for less than $16 a share. It closed at the end of the day at 16.07. What’s it trading for now? Currently, the stock is up 3% so far today, trading at 40.94.

What’s the return if you had bought the stock back on August 2? A very respectable 155%! Not bad for a holding period of less than a year.

The bird is flying!!!

Disclosure: Author owns TWTR.

What Elon Musk Said at the Tesla Annual Shareholders Meeting Yesterday

by Fred Fuld III

The Tesla (TSLA) annual meeting was packed with shareholders yesterday. at the Computer History Museum on North Shoreline Blvd. in Santa Clara, California. I arrived an hour and a quarter early and the long line to get in through security was already lined up all across the very wide building.

Outside the entrance were the latest Tesla vehicles, including the Tesla Semi truck. But the one that attracted the most interest was the new Tesla Roadster.

By the time the meeting started, it was standing room only. The official part of the meeting went quickly, and the corporate voting results were in line with what the directors recommended.

Once that was done, Elon Musk came out and gave a presentation, which included a question and answer session at the end.

Musk began by saying that of all American car companies, only two haven’t gone bankrupt, Ford and Tesla. He initially pointed out that he expects Tesla to be producing 5,000 cars a week by the end of this month.

He discussed the market share of the Model 3 and said that it is the best selling midsize of any kind, not just electric or hybrids. He also expects to be producing lower cost cards by the end of the year.

He mentioned that employee safety is an important issue for him and that the company’s injury rates are 6% below the industry average year to date. It has a 50% decrease in the injury rate from the final years of NUMMI (the Toyota GM partnership). Most of the injuries are due to repetitive stress, such as back strain, and the company is working on that issue by rotating employees through different roles.

Tesla currently has 9,969 superchargers worldwide. The company has 1 gigawatt of cumulative energy storage deployment year-to-date, and expects another gigawatt in less than a year, with each year being the combined sum of future years.

Tesla ships more battery capacity than all the other EVs combined.

SolarCity is now installing its first solar roofs, where the entire roof is made up of roofing materials that are solar panels. They are still under evaluation because the company wants to be sure that they will last 30 years.

The company is expecting positive GAAP net income and positive cash flow in the third and fourth quarter. In addition, Musk has no plans for incremental debt or equity funding.

The Model Y production will begin next year.

The Tesla Semi is being developed. The company is working on obtaining acceptance in countries around the world.

The Tesla Roadster can outperform any gas car in every way. Musk said that they are even offering a “SpaceX Option Package”.

The gigafactory is one third completed and will be completed in four to five years. At that time, it will be the biggest building in the world. Everyone will be produced in it: the vehicle, battery pack, and powertrain.

Tesla is also working on setting up its first gigafactory outside the US, which will be built in China. The next one will be built in Europe, with an ultimate goal of 10 to 12 worldwide.

Everything is recycled and the company is spending more on R&D to improve recycling, especially in the gigafactories.

In regards to insurance, Tesla is getting the cost of insurance lower than the BMW 3 Series.

The waiting time for the Model 3 in the US is three to four months, however, the right side driver models have a waiting period over a year. Test driving the Model 3 should be available by the end of the month.

Musk expects to have ten Tesla body shop repair locations by the end of the month, with same day repair service for many of them, which will have restocked parts.

Tesla expects to have a compact car in less than five years.

Tesla is enhancing the Tesla app. It can already change the temperature of your car before you get in it, but Musk wants the app to anticipate your needs as if it was a chauffeur.

Musk has no plans to make motorcycles, due to an accident he was in when he was young.

One amusing incident was a question that was asked by a member of an animal rights group. She asked if leather could be removed from the gear stick shift and the steering wheel. So Musk said, “Stick shift? What’s that?”

Disclosure: Author is a shareholder of TSLA.

Stocks Going Ex Dividend During the Month of June 2018

Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called ‘Buying Dividends,’ also commonly referred to as ‘Dividend Capture.’ This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend.

This technique generally works only in bull markets, and can work in flat or choppy markets, but you need to avoid the technique during bear markets. In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can’t sell the stock until after the ex date.

The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable list of the stocks going ex dividend in the near future. The list contains many dividend paying companies, lots with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the ex-dividend date, the quarterly dividend amount, and annual yield.

Southwest Airlines Company (LUV)	6/5/2018	0.16	0.93%
Abercrombie & Fitch Company (ANF)	6/7/2018	0.20	3.67%
Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST)	6/11/2018	0.225	0.87%
HP Inc. (HPQ)	6/12/2018	0.139	2.40%
Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY)	6/13/2018	0.45	2.14%
Coca-Cola Company (KO)	6/14/2018	0.39	3.48%
Merck & Company, Inc. (MRK)	6/14/2018	0.48	3.14%
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS)	6/19/2018	0.75	3.65%
Tiffany & Co. (TIF)	6/19/2018	0.55	1.51%
Yamana Gold Inc. (AUY)	6/28/2018	0.005	0.70%
Xerox Corporation (XRX)	6/28/2018	0.25	2.97%
Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (WWW)	6/29/2018	0.08	0.76%

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found here at wstnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn’t show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out some of the other high yield stock lists at HERE or WStNN.com. Most of the lists are free.

Dividend definitions: Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.

Monthly Dividend Stock List

Record date: the day when you must be on the company’s books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks at two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.

Don’t forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

Coffee May Be Healthy for You and Your Portfolio

by Nkem Iregbulem

Many people drink coffee first thing in the morning. Some heavily rely on this dose of caffeine to boost their energy and start their day. Turns out that in addition to its energy-boosting powers, coffee may be associated with more health benefits than we once thought. Recent studies have highlighted different reasons why coffee may be good for us.

One news article reports on a recent study conducted to examine previously unidentified risk factors for certain heart conditions. Researchers at the University of Colorado medical school analyzed data from the Framingham Heart Study, which track the eating habits and cardiovascular health of over 15,000 individuals since the 1940s. They used machine learning to identify trends in this large data set. The study found that drinking coffee may lower one’s risk of heart failure, stroke, and coronary heart disease. The researchers used the same methods to analyze two other large study groups, the Cardiovascular Heart Study and the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study, and found similar results.

An umbrella study published in the British Medical Journal in 2017 highlights a range of coffee’s potential health benefits. The study identified over 200 meta-analyses of observational and interventional studies that investigated the link between coffee and numerous different health outcomes. These health outcomes could come from any adult population in all countries and all settings. Researchers found that drinking three to four cups of coffee per day lowers one’s risk of all cause mortality, heart disease, several specific types of cancer, and neurological, metabolic, and liver conditions.

Another study, published in Circulation for the American Heart Association, presents positive findings. The study investigated the connection between the consumption of caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee and total and cause-specific mortality among men and women from the Nurses’ Health Study, the Nurses’ Health Study II, and the Health Professional Follow-up Study. Researchers found that the consumption of 1 to 5 cups of coffee a day may lower one’s risk of mortality. More specifically, they found that coffee consumption was associated with an 8% to 15% reduction in the risk of death.

You can even use coffee as a financial instrument. The price of the iPath® Series B Bloomberg Coffee Subindex Total Return ETN (BJO) has decreased by 1.16% since it began trading this past February. BJO consists of one futures contract on the commodity of coffee and allows investors to gain exposure to coffee prices without worrying about direct exposure to futures.

The potential health benefits may also compel you to invest in some coffee related companies. Your options include Starbucks (SBUX), Coffee Holding (JVA), Farmer Bros. Co. (FARM), Spot Coffee (Canada) Ltd. (SPP), and Youngevity International Inc. (YGYI). All of these stocks are traded on NASDAQ except SPP, which is traded on the TSX Venture Exchange — previously known as the Canadian Venture Exchange.

Most people have heard of Starbucks, a global coffee powerhouse. The company has over 28,000 stores around the world that sell coffee, tea, blended drinks, sandwiches, pastries, and many other food and drink items. As the largest coffeehouse chain in the world, Starbucks boasts a large market cap of $79.3 billion and pays a dividend yield of 2.01%, which has been up each year since 2010. The company has also increased its revenue each fiscal year since 2009 and enjoys a 5-year revenue growth rate of 11.01%. With a price-to-sales ratio of 3.51, the company’s stock is somewhat overpriced. Starbucks’ stock has a PE ratio of 25.13, a forward PE ratio of 22.88, and a high price-to-book ratio of 16.76.

You may also want to consider investing in Coffee Holding, a wholesale coffee roaster and dealer that manufactures, roasts, packages, markets, and distributes roasted and blended coffee for private labeled accounts and its own brands. Its products can be divided into three product categories: wholesale green coffee, branded coffee, and private label coffee. With small market cap of $24.24 million, the company’s stock is very speculative. Coffee Holding’s revenue has decreased each fiscal year since 2015 as the company faces a negative 5-year revenue growth rate of -14.98%. The stock has an excellent price-to-sales ratio of 0.31 though it trades at 47.25 times trailing earnings.

A third option is Farmer Brothers Company, a coffee foodservice company that manufactures, wholesales, and distributes coffee, tea, and hundreds of other foodservice items to retailers and foodservice providers. Its customers include hotels, offices, restaurants, convenience stores, and other establishments. The company has a market cap of $501.9 million. Its stock trades at 23.29 times trailing earnings and at 37.59 times forward earnings. It has a price-to-book ratio of 2.41 and a favorable price-to-sales ratio of 0.83. Though the company has a 5-year growth rate of 1.66%, the company has seen slowly decreasing revenue values each fiscal year since 2015.

Two other coffee-related companies to consider are Spot Coffee (Canada) Ltd. and Youngevity International. The former has a market cap of just $18.89 million, and the latter has a low market cap of $75.59 million, making both these stocks very speculative. Spot Coffee (Canada) Ltd. is a Canada-based company that designs, builds, and operates coffee cafés throughout Canada and the United States. These cafés sell coffee, sandwiches, pastries, salads, and many other food and drink items. Most of the company’s revenue comes from sales at these cafés, licensing and franchise fees, and the wholesale of roasted coffee beans. The company has a 5-year revenue growth rate of 7.52% with its stock trading at 37.5 times trailing earnings.

Youngevity International is a company that develops and distributes nutritional products and commercial coffee. It operates in two segments, Direct Selling and Commercial Coffee, but generates most of its revenue from the Direct Selling segment. It offers a wide variety of products including gourmet coffee, skincare and cosmetic products, nutritional supplements, sports and energy drinks, fashion accessories, digital products, and organic food. The company enjoys a 5-year revenue growth rate of 17.18%, and its stock has a very favorable price-to-sales ratio of 0.43.

If you’re looking for more than just an energy boost and some health benefits from coffee, you may want to consider investing your money in a coffee ETN or in the stocks of some coffee-related companies.

Disclosure: Author didn’t own any of the above at the time the article was written.

Is a Bear Creeping Up on You? How to Make Money in a Falling Market

by Fred Fuld III

If you had invested in the stock market exactly ten years ago, you would have almost doubled your money. The SPDR® S&P 500 ETF has increased by 96% during that time period, and that includes a big drop that took place right at the beginning from June 2008 to March 2009.

Many investors and traders think the market is a bit toppy and are looking for ways to make money on the downside, in case we enter a bear market.

There are many ways to profit from a stock market drop without having to incur the unlimited risk or shorting stocks, and without having to buy puts with their own set of limitations.

One way to aggressively play the short side of the stock market is to buy the triple leveraged bearish exchange traded funds. These ETFs provide triple the inverse return of indices. They are available for general market indices, specific industries, and countries.

There are over two dozen triple leveraged bearish ETFs. They have significant volatility, and may have wide bid and asked spreads, and low volume. Plus, the losses can be quick and substantial. They ETFs are designed for short term trading, not long term holds.

Of course, the advantage of these trading vehicles is that they are a way of shorting various indexes without actually shorting an ETF, plus there is a limit on the downside.

One of the more actively traded triple bearish ETFs is the ProShares UltraPro Short Dow30 (SDOW). The average daily volume is 1.3 million shares.

In terms of industries, you have available the 3X bear ETFs. A couple of example are the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X ETF (SOXS) and the Direxion Daily Energy Bear 3X ETF (ERY).

To access a free list of over two dozen of these investments, go to the triple leveraged bearish ETFs.

How Would You Like to Have Lunch with Warren Buffett? Here’s How!

If you have ever wanted to have lunch with arguably the greatest investor in the world, Warren Buffett, well now you have your chance. In addition to eating with Buffett, the head of Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) (BRKB), you get to pick his brain about investing.

All you need to do is be the successful bidder for the eBay (EBAY) auction of the Power Lunch with Warren Buffett to Benefit GLIDE. The current bid at the time this article was written is $1,510,100.00. There have been 23 bids so far and the starting bid was $25,000.

Buffett will have a meal with the winning bidder and up to seven friends at Smith & Wollensky in New York City on a mutually agreed upon date.

All of proceeds from the winning bid will benefit GLIDE, one of the leading social service institutions working to alleviate human suffering and poverty in the San Francisco Bay Area.

You have less than four days to bid, as the auction closes on June 1, 2018 at 7:30 pm PDT. You must prequalify to bid.

How to Invest in Soccer

by Nkem Iregbulem

In America, football and soccer refer to two different sports. However, in the UK, American football doesn’t exist, so football and soccer are synonymous. While American football is the most popular sport in America, soccer, otherwise known as association football, remains the most popular sport in the world. With time, soccer has begun to win over the hearts of the American people. If you want to benefit from the increasing popularity of the sport around the world, consider investing in a soccer related stock.

You have five main choices: Manchester United PLC (MANU), Juventus Football Club S.p.A. (JVTSF), Goals Soccer Centres PLC (GOAL), Olympique Lyonnais Groupe (OQLGF), and Borussia Dortmund GmbH & Co KGaA (BORUF). The MANU and GOAL stocks can be found on the New York Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange, respectively, but the OQLGF, BORUF, and JVTSF stocks are all traded over-the-counter.

Manchester United Football Club, a professional football club based in England, is widely considered one of the world’s best soccer teams. The team and its activities are managed by Manchester United. The company is responsible for the club’s news, sports features, media network, fan zone, and team merchandise. It generates most of its revenue from three principal sectors: Commercial, Broadcasting, and Matchday. The company has increased its revenue each fiscal year since 2015 and enjoys a 3-year revenue growth rate of 10.3%. The company’s stock has a very high PE ratio of 806.12 but a much lower forward PE ratio of 80.0. Manchester United has a market cap of $3.46 billion, and its stock pays a small dividend yield of 0.86%. With a price-sales ratio of 4.14, its stock is somewhat overpriced. This stock can be found on the New York Stock Exchange.

Juventus Football Club SpA is a company that operates as a professional soccer club based in Italy. The Juventus Football Club has one of the largest fan bases worldwide. It generates the majority of its revenue from advertising, sponsorships, ticket sales, and the licensing of television and media rights. The company has a market cap of $741.9 million. It has increased its revenue each fiscal year since 2011 and boasts a 3-year revenue growth rate of 21.24%. Its stock, which is traded over-the-counter, has a price to earnings ratio of 46.04, a price-sales ratio of 1.21, and a price-to-book ratio of 4.74.

Another soccer related stock to consider is that of Goals Soccer Centres PLC, a company based in the UK that operates more than 40 5-a-side soccer centers in the UK and one in Los Angeles. Of the five soccer related companies, Goals Soccer Centres boasts the largest market cap of $6.43 billion. The company’s stock has a current PE ratio of 14.26 and forward PE ratio of 12.39. Its stock has a price-sales ratio of 1.97 and a low price-to-book ratio of 0.65. The company faces a negative 3-year revenue growth rate of -1.56% as its revenue has been decreasing each fiscal year since 2014. You can find this stock on the London Stock Exchange.

You may also want to look at Olympique Lyonnais Groupe, a company headquartered in France. The company owns and manages the Olympique Lyonnais soccer team based in Lyon. This club is supported by a very loyal and active fanbase. The company generates a great deal of its revenue from ticket sales, player trading, sponsorships, advertising, and media licenses. Olympique Lyonnais Groupe’s revenue has been increasing each fiscal year since 2015 as the company boasts a 3-year revenue growth rate of 23.82%. Its stock is traded in the over-the-counter market, giving the company a market cap of $208.9 million. The company’s stock has a PE ratio of 20.22, an excellent price-sales ratio of 0.96, and a low price-to-book ratio of 0.65.

One last soccer related company to consider investing in is Borussia Dortmund GmbH & Co KGaA, which operates Borussia Dortmund, a German professional football club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Most of the company’s revenue comes from sponsorships, catering, player transfers, TV marketing, and ticket sales. Its revenue has been increasing each fiscal year since 2014 as it enjoys a 3-year revenue growth rate of 15.88%. The company has a market cap of $689.86 million and pays a small dividend yield of 0.85%. Borussia Dortmund’s stock has a PE ratio of 18.30 and a lower forward PE ratio of 9.74. Traded over-the-counter, its stock has a price-to-book ratio of 1.70 and a price-sales ratio of 1.16.

As soccer’s popularity grows across the world, you may want to consider getting in on the game by investing your money in the stocks of some of these football clubs and companies.