The Punk Rock of Business

by Fred Fuld III

You may wonder what punk rock has to do with business. If you starting a startup, a manager, or the head of a company, it is worth your while to read The Punk Rock of Business.

The book is written by Jeremy Dale, the former Corporate Vice President of Microsoft’s worldwide retail sales, and is now CEO of an entertainment and football startup.

Dale discusses the philosophy of Punk Rock Business, “pure, stripped down, no bullshit,” and how this philosophy can be applied to your business.

The book covers in detail the eight elements of punk rock business, including.Have a Cause, Build a Movement, and Create New and Radically Different Ideas. All the elements have extensive real life examples.

My favorite chapter is Element 4: Drive Speed and Action, especially the subsection called Meeting Productivity Comes from Ruthless Cutting. The book has some great ideas about dealing with meetings, such as removing chairs from the room for in-person meetings, and utilize video meetings instead of dial-in meetings (see who’s paying attention).

If you run a business, or manage a department of a company, I recommend that you read The Punk Rock of Business.

Latest Investment, Business & Startup Books On Sale

This is a list of the finance, investment, and business books that are currently on sale, and available on the Amazon (AMZN) Kindle. If you have any interest in these books, you should order them right away, as these sales don’t last long.

The Motley Fool Million Dollar Portfolio
By David Gardner and Tom Gardner
New York Times investment bestseller that teaches how to build a successful portfolio utilizing strategies and trade secrets.
Sale price: $1.99 Retail: $9.99

The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn’t Have to be Complicated
By Helaine Olen and Harold Pollack
Practical handbook on managing your money with ten sensible rules that can all fit on an index card.
Sale price: $1.99 Retail: $11.99

Mavericks at Work
By William C. Taylor and Polly LaBarre
New York Times bestseller. The most unconventional American innovators who are redefining the way business is done.
Sale price: $1.99 Retail: $11.99

The Daily Drucker
By Peter F. Drucker with Joseph A. Maciariello
Tips for time management, innovation, and much, much more!
Sale price: $1.99 Retail: $15.99

Alpha Dogs
By Donna Fenn
Eight success stories offer guidance to aspiring entrepreneurs! 
Sale price: $1.99 Retail: $9.99

Talent Is Overrated
By Geoff Colvin
Specific, actionable steps you can take to achieve more.
Sale price: $1.99 Retail: $12.99

People over Profit
By Dale Partridge
Seven core beliefs shared by consumers and leaders to take businesses to new heights. 
Sale price: $0.99 Retail: $13.49

Crush It!
By Gary Vaynerchuk
Practical strategies for harnessing social media and other tools to turn your passion into a profitable business. 
Sale price: $2.99 Retail: $11.99

Exclusive Interview with Chet Billingsley CEO of Mentor Capital on the Marijuana Industry

by Fred Fuld III

The following fascinating and informative interview was provided by Chet Billingsley, the Chairman, CEO, and founder of Mentor Capital, Inc., a public operating company that invests in pre-IPO cannabis related businesses. He did his undergraduate work at West Point. He later received a Master’s Degree in Applied Physics at Harvard University with concurrent study at Harvard Business School, and at MIT studying proton radiology. He is also a founding director and officer of the board of directors of the Nevada Cannabis Industry Association.

The discussion includes the following:

  • What has happened in the cannabis industry during the last five years
  • Why high excise taxes can cause the illegal market to continue
  • Tilray and the Canadian market
  • Why low excise taxes caused the legal Canadian marijuana market to grow
  • The US cannabis regulatory scene
  • Beer companies buying interests in marijuana businesses
  • Tobacco companies getting into the marijuana businesses
  • The growth of the medical marijuana market versus the recreational marijuana market
  • Cannabis versus opiates
  • Cannabeer and canabeverages
  • The cannabis sub-industries, such as edibles, local delivery services, etc.
  • And much more extensive interesting information!

To stream the interview, click:

HERE

You can download as an mp3 file by right-clicking HERE (or Control click on a Mac) and choosing “save as.”

More information about Chet Billingsley and Mentor Capital can be found at:

Mentor Capital

All opinions are those of the interviewee, and do not represent the opinions of this website or the interviewer. Neither this website, nor the interviewer, nor the interviewee are rendering tax, legal, or investment advice in this interview. No investment advice is expressed or implied. No recommendations are made to buy, sell, hold, or short any security. All information is provided for education and general information only.

Disclosure: Interviewer owns shares of MNTR and has a short position in TLRY.

Stocks Going Ex Dividend in October 2018




by Fred Fuld III

The following is a short list of some of the many stocks going ex dividend during the next month.

Many traders and investors use the stock trading technique called ‘Buying Dividends,’ also commonly referred to as ‘Dividend Capture.’ This is the strategy 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 in bull markets and flat or choppy markets, but you need to avoid the strategy 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 many with yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the ex-dividend date, the periodic dividend amount, and annual yield.

Comcast Corporation (CMCSA) 10/2/2018 0.19 2.06%
Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (DGX) 10/4/2018 0.50 1.85%
General Dynamics Corporation (GD) 10/4/2018 0.93 1.86%
Gap, Inc. (GPS) 10/9/2018 0.24 3.49%
Foot Locker, Inc. (FL) 10/18/2018 0.345 2.96%
Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (LOW) 10/23/2018 0.48 1.69%
Hasbro, Inc. (HAS) 10/31/2018 0.63 2.39%

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found HERE . (If you have been to the page 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 HERE . 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.

 

The Blue Chip Marijuana Stocks




by Fred Fuld III

If you have been watching some of the Canadian cannabis companies, you would have seen that many of them are on fire.

For example, Tilray (TLRY), based in British Columbia, has almost tripled in the last 15 days, shooting up from around 40 a share to over 109 per share.

The Toronto, Ontario based vertically integrated cannabis company, Cronos Group (CRON) has risen over 21% in the same time frame, moving from 42.65 to 47.23.

Many of the American marijuana stocks haven’t moved much during the last couple weeks, and some have even dropped.

Numerous investors are looking to invest in this industry, but are concerned about the volatility of many of the cannabis stocks and the stability of ongoing operations of the companies in this industry.

Yet, investors still want to participate. It is interesting to note that marijuana legalization may actually lead to reduced deaths in a community, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a division of the U.S. Government’s National Institute of Health, which published the article: “Study Links Medical Marijuana Dispensaries to Reduced Mortality From Opioid Overdose.”

Fortunately there is a way for investors to take advantage of the growth of the marijuana sector though “blue chip’ companies.

Wikipedia defines Blue Chip as “a corporation with a national reputation for quality, reliability, and the ability to operate profitably”. So you might be asking, what stocks fit into this category?

Several large publicly traded corporations have, or are looking for, significant ownership interests in marijuana companies, and as more and more states legalize the use of marijuana, and the possibility of Federal legalization, these stakes could provide significant returns to the cannabis blue chops (maybe I should call them Green Chip companies?).

For example, Constellation Brands, Inc. (STZ), the large beer, wine, and liquor distributor, recently upped its stake in the medical marijuana company, Canopy Growth (CGC). Constellation has been around since 1945, trades at 15 times earnings, and pays a yield of 1.4%.

Molson Coors Brewing Company (TAP) is partnering with HEXO Corp. (HYYDF), formerly known as The Hydropothecary, a Canadian marijuana producer. Molson Coors is a $13 billion market cap company which has a very favorable price to earnings ratio of 8.7 and offers a decent dividend yield of 2.47%.

In the biotech and pharmaceutical arena, and a cannabis pure play, GW Pharmaceuticals plc (GWPH) has been developing cannabinoid prescription medicines since 1998. The stock has a market cap of almost $4 billion, but is currently generating negative earnings.

If you are looking for more speculative stocks, stay tuned for our more in-depth article on marijuana companies.

Also, check out the exclusive interview with Chet Billingsley, CEO of Mentor Capital, which invests in pre-IPO cannabis companies.

Disclosure: Author owns and has a short put position in CGC.

What I’m Reading: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup: The Theranos & Elizabeth Holmes Story




by Fred Fuld III

Actually, I’m not currently reading, I just finished reading Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou, and my first comment is “Wow”.  This is the story of the rise and fall of the notorious blood-testing company, Theranos, founded by Elizabeth Holmes when she was 19 years old. The company, which claimed it could do numerous tests from one drop of blood, was valued at $9 billion at one time, and now is out of business.

This is one of the most extensive and thoroughly researched books on a corporate collapse that I have ever read. Carreyrou conducted numerous interviews  and writes the book in such a way that it comes across as a real life mystery and thriller.

If you don’t know the Theranos story, that’s probably a good thing and I won’t ruin it for you by giving away a lot of the details. But those of who were duped by Holmes, according to Carreyrou, include the following:

  • Steve Burd, Safeway CEO
  • Wade Miquelon, CFO Walgreens
  • James Mattis, current United States Secretary of Defense and a former United States Marine Corps general
  • George Shultz, former Secretary of State
  • Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of State
  • Larry Ellison, co-founder, executive chairman and chief technology officer of Oracle Corporation
  • Rupert Murdock, Executive Chairman of News Corp and Executive Co-Chairman of 21st Century Fox (who invested over $100 million in the company)
  • And many, many other wealthy and high level individuals

If you are looking for some “can’t put it down” reading for the fall season, I highly recommend  Bad Blood. It is the twelfth most read book according to Amazon Charts and 90% of the ratings are five stars.

Crypto Domain Names Being Auctioned

by Fred Fuld III

SEDO, one of the leading companies involved in buying, parking, and selling domains, is currently auctioning a group of cryptocurrency domains.

Some of the domain names being offered include the following:

tokens.org

cryptobanks.com

coin.club

bitcoin.fund

bitcoins.shop

tokensinfo.com

The auction ends in about six days.

Exclusive Interview with NBC Sports Broadcaster Jim Kozimor: Discusses ProSports ETF, Sports Betting, Colin Kaepernick, Team Investments, Becoming an Announcer




by Fred Fuld III

The following interesting and informative interview was provided by Jim Kozimor, the three-time Emmy Award winning host who has worked on four Olympic Games as a Play-by-play announcer for The NBC Sports Group, and co-founder of SportsETFs, which manages the first sports related Exchange Traded Fund, the ProSports Sponsors Fund (FANZ).

The discussion includes the following:

  • The importance of a company being a corporate sponsor for a sports team
  • The types of companies that are considered for the ETF
  • How the idea for a sports related ETF came about
  • The limitations of team ownership stocks
  • The effect of Colin Kaepernick on the Nike stock
  • The future of the growth of sports betting
  • Advice for future broadcasters
  • and much, much more!

To stream the interview, click:

HERE

You can download as an mp3 file by right-clicking  HERE (or Control click on a Mac) and choosing “save as.”

More information about SportsETFs can be found here:

SportsETFs.com

More information about Jim Kozimor can be found here:

Jim Kozimor

If you missed the previous interview with Nick Fullerton, the other co-founder of SportsETFs, you can check it out here.

 

All opinions are those of the interviewee, and do not represent the opinions of this website or the interviewer. Neither this website, nor the interviewer, nor the interviewee are rendering tax, legal, or investment advice in this interview. No investment advice is expressed or implied. No recommendations are made to buy, sell, hold, or short any security. All information is provided for education and general information only.

Exclusive Interview with Nick Fullerton, President of SportsETFs, The First Sports ETF




by Fred Fuld III

The following interesting and informative interview was provided by Nick Fullerton, founder and principal at Fullerton Advisors, and co-founder and president at SportsETFs, which manages the first sports related Exchange Traded Fund, the ProSports Sponsors Fund (FANZ).

The discussion includes the following:

  • The importance of a company being a corporate sponsor for a sports team
  • The types of companies that are considered for the ETF
  • How the idea for a sports related ETF came about
  • Why the stocks of stadium sponsors may be worth looking at
  • The limitations of team ownership stocks
  • Other sport stock considerations, such as soccer, tennis, golf, and motorsports
  • The process to set up the ETF
  • and much, much more!

To stream the interview, click:

HERE

You can download as an mp3 file by right-clicking  HERE (or Control click on a Mac) and choosing “save as.”

More information about SportsETFs can be found here:

SportsETFs

More information about Nick Fullerton can be found here:

Nick Fullerton

Don’t forget to check out the follow-up interview with the other co-founder,  NBC Sports Announcer Jim Kozimor, which can be found here.

 

All opinions are those of the interviewee, and do not represent the opinions of this website or the interviewer. Neither this website, nor the interviewer, nor the interviewee are rendering tax, legal, or investment advice in this interview. No investment advice is expressed or implied. No recommendations are made to buy, sell, hold, or short any security. All information is provided for education and general information only.