Sanebull

World Wrestling Entertainment… usually known simply as ‘WWE’ is up 152% this year and the show may go on. Shares of WWE were up 3% on Friday as Morgan Stanley raised its price target from $58 to $100. They have the momentum, and momentum is what we like to see.

Sticking to what they do best… which is wrestling. Sure, WWE competes in the media and entertainment industry with companies like Netflix and Amazon, but they have the wrestling niche in a chokehold. WWE is taking their niche and focusing on increasing original content, growing their subscriber base, and negotiating new TV deals. Most notably, the company has broadcast deals in the works with both Fox and Comcast.

A word of caution… because yes, WWE stock is killing it – but everything they have going could already be priced into the stock. For example, the stock surged 14% after the TV deals with Fox and Comcast were announced. So be sure to keep an eye on these wrestling maniacs – but try not to get pinned under an overpriced stock.

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On your marks, get set, GO!… Amazon is hosting its fourth Prime Day today beginning at noon PT – but pace yourself because it is a 36-hour shopping marathon this year. As the biggest event yet, Prime Day will be available in even more countries and will include millions of deals. Deals will also be available to welcome Whole Foods to the Prime family, such as a $10 credit when you spend $10 or more from July 11 through 17.

Better than Christmas… for Jeff Bezos and his company which many have predicted will earn about $3.4 billion in revenue and beat last year’s sales by 40%. Impressive numbers, but they represent just six times what a normal day is for the retail giant. More importantly, Amazon would like you to join the club and sign-up for a $119 Prime membership. But be careful because once you get a taste of that sweet free two-day shipping you are unlikely to live life any other way.

And here are the sales numbers… $900M in 2015, $1.5B in 2016, $2.4B in 2017, and an estimated $3.4B in 2018 (if you do your part). Also, last year the company saw a record-high number of free Prime trial sign-ups. With such impressive results, other retailers have been scrambling to create their own special days, including Target who will hold a one-day sale on Tuesday for “everyone – no membership required.” Happy Prime Day – just don’t spend to the point of “Primenesia.”

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Pfizer had a “talk” with Trump… although it may have been the US President’s Twitter complaint that caught the company’s attention. Pfizer claims that they had an extensive conversation with the President over their recent drug price hikes.

Trump got his way… no matter how it was accomplished, Pfizer is taking back their price hikes which were rolled out on July 1. The company “shares the President’s concern for patients and commitment to providing affordable access to the medicines they need.” Nothing can create a change of heart like bad publicity from the President.

Happy Trump, happy life… moreover, he praised the company for their decision to see things his way. However, Pfizer has only agreed to defer the price increases to give Trump more time to strengthen the healthcare system or until the end of the year, whichever comes first.

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You may have heard… that Starbucks is ditching all single-use plastic straws by 2020. But how will we transport liquid from cup to mouth if not for plastic straws? Well, our friends at Starbucks are weighing the options, which include a recyclable sippy cup-type lid and reusable straws.

Paper straws are an option… although they are five times more expensive than plastic straws. That’s right – straw prices will go from 0.5 cents to 2.5 cents per straw. I am sure that adds up but come on, that is still really cheap. And paper straws are a more environmentally friendly alternative to their plastic counterparts.

Any solution is a solution… and if you are worried about that paper straw falling apart in your drink – drink faster. None of these solutions are perfect, but at least they aren’t hurting the only planet we call home (as much).

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It could have helped in Thailand… according to Elon Musk who suggested that his submarine could have rescued the trapped Thai boys. However, at least one Thai official believed the mini-submarine would have been impractical for saving the boys.

Thankfully, it wasn’t necessary… because divers were able to rescue the boys and bring them back safely. But Musk is sure that his contraption could have journeyed through the cave, and he is willing to demonstrate this at any time. It also would have been a perfect size as the mini-sub can hold one child or small adult…and possibly a talented [full-size adult] contortionist.

It is also useful for… other rescue missions, including “vulnerable patients” in toxic environments. Musk has even pondered deploying his submarine underwater again or in space. Who else but Elon Musk…

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Not to rain on your parade… however, the hottest housing market is in Washington state where home prices are up 13% compared to last year. The situation is even worse around Seattle, mostly due to the near 55,000 jobs added to the market last year alone. Take the population coming in for these jobs and combine them with the slow pace of construction, and voila – you have expensive housing.

But don’t let me burst your bubble… because Washington’s market isn’t exactly a bubble. A bubble occurs when prices go up without demand going up, as well. People are getting jobs, and they need living arrangements, so the market is there.

The thing is… housing developers need to use their crystal ball when planning and building a project because each project takes about three years to complete. With all of these countries playing ‘tariff tag,’ along with other local policies, it is difficult to know if the job market in Washington will grow, stay put, or drop.

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We may be getting too close… with voice assistants, such as Apple’s Siri, Google’s Assistant, and Amazon’s Alexa. We welcomed these devices into our living rooms, kitchens, and bedrooms with open arms. But now users are reporting that they have a use for these guys (or things?) in their very own bathrooms.

They are useful… for playing music, looking up information and checking the time – and don’t lie, those features would be helpful even when nature calls. To remedy this, Kohler will be releasing voice-enables bathroom fixtures, and you can even use your favorite voice assistant. The company figures that most people have their hands tied in the bathroom, one way or another, and could use the extra help.

Okay, there is one catch… and that is that these fixtures are incredibly expensive. For instance, Kohler’s Sensate Faucet is $660, and their DTV+ Shower System will set you back about $3,300. If you have privacy concerns regarding your bathroom – I promise you are not that interesting and could probably benefit from the added convenience.

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Check your cupboard… and I’ll bet you have something from Kellogg, McCormick, or Sysco in there. Also, even though the trade war rhetoric is ramping up, we have found there are more important things in life – such as feeding yourself. People need to eat, and that is why there are not many moves safer than food stocks.

In times of uncertainty… consumer staples, like food stocks, tend to outperform the market. Companies like Kellogg began to rally in early July when the first round of tariffs were imposed, and people gave up on their hopes for a quick trade resolution.

Keep an eye on… Mondelez, a food stock that has proved to be one of the best consumer staples over the past month, up 3% in July. And heck, with the way trade talks have been going, the consumer staples rally may just be heating up.

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Breaking news… oh wait, it’s just “fake news.” That situation happens all too often for YouTube users who just want the real story. People with nothing better to do (apparently) spread propaganda and confuse the hell out of us when real news breaks.

YouTube is… “…making changes to put more authoritative content in front of people.” What’s authoritative? Well, it is news-related information that comes from more reliable sources. What you are reading right now is authoritative (I promise).

To best give you the news… YouTube is introducing the “new information panel” which will appear at the top of search results related to developing news stories. Other conspiracy-filled topics will be accompanied with linked to sources like Wikipedia to provide users with more accurate information. So if you are one of those people that tries to convince others that the moon landing was fake – life may get a bit harder for you.

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One million per day… is the amount of Twitter accounts suspended in May and June of this year alone. That equates to 70 million total accounts. After the report of the suspensions broke Twitter stock dropped as much as 9%.

Twitter can explain… so they did, via Ned Segal the company’s CFO, who clarified that most of these accounts were not active within the last thirty days. Since most of these accounts weren’t active they were not included in the “oh so” important monthly active users metric.

Seventy-million and not a peep… from Twitter users, because they were mostly fake accounts – so please, calm down. The suspended accounts have no impact on the company’s user growth, which is much of what Wall Street focuses on. With this information, hopefully, your concerns have been quelled, and you can breathe a sigh of relief for Twitter…

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