Category Archives

Nothing has changed… with iPhone sales compared to the same time last year. However, the company managed to post an $11.5B profit which is up 32% compared to the previous year. That increased profit despite flat iPhone sales is very good news to investors because it shows that Apple isn’t putting all of their eggs in one basket. After all, how many first-time iPhone buyers are there at this point?

Everyone has an iPhone… so why not convince these people to use Apple Services? That is what they did, and the App Store, Apple Pay, and AppleCare were up 30% from a year ago with $9.5B in sales. Also, the $999 iPhone X has been the top-selling model since launching in 2017. If you can’t sell more iPhones, how about selling more expensive ones?

The first $1 trillion company… not yet, but Apple is getting close. With the positive news on Tuesday, the tech giant’s stock rose 3% in after-hours trading. The tech sector has been running into problems, but Apple has managed to steer clear and head toward the money – exactly what we like to see.

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In China… the world’s largest car market, BMW will become less affordable. As if the car wasn’t expensive enough, the prices of the X5 and X6 models have increased by 4% and 7%. The rising costs are a result of the increased import duties placed on US-made cars by China. BMW follows Tesla as the second major automaker to increase prices in China.

Their best customer… is China, selling 560,000 cars there in 2017. That figure amounts to more than the amount sold in the United States and Germany combined. The German automaker exported around 81,000 vehicles from the United States to China last year, which accounted for $2.4B in sales.

Ties to China… BMW had already announced plans to increase production in China. According to the company, this move relates to growing demand in the country – rather than dodging tariffs. And even though a BMW will cost up to 7% more, the automaker is absorbing some of that cost with their customers. However, this can only go on so long, and if it continues, BMW may look to move some production from America to Europe which pays lower duties. But I am guessing most of us don’t live in China and can’t afford a BMW anyway – but it’s good to stay informed, right?

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T-Mobile has Nokia… locked in to supply it with $3.5 billion in 5G network gear the companies announced on Monday. 5G networks should deliver faster speeds and make systems more reliable which will benefit areas like medical monitoring, driverless cars, and industrial automation. This marks a significant move in an industry that has been hesitant to upgrade their existing networks.

Nokia will be… supplying the 5G hardware, software, and services that will enable T-Mobile better service to highly trafficked urban areas. The company will also be providing T-Mobile with its AirScale radio access, cloud-connected hardware, software and acceleration services.

Good news for all… because T-Mobile recently agreed to a merger with Sprint and will now deliver the first nationwide 5G services. Nokia is a company that has seen better days, but can breathe a sigh of relief with this T-Mobile award.

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Aaaand now they aren’t… because the stock fell below $1 on Monday, again. A low share price was the exact thing MoviePass wanted to avoid when they approved a 250-to-1 reverse stock split that moved share prices from 8 cents to $21. And now the company is worried they will be delisted from the NASDAQ, again.

Here’s why… other than the fact the company borrowed $5 million on Friday to keep the service running after a brief outage, there were also reported problems with the app itself over the weekend. Users were having trouble checking in – a “technical issue” according to the company.

Oh, and “peak pricing”… has been unpopular with customers because some have reported paying as much as $8 extra as a result. At that rate, you mine as well be buying the ticket yourself. It seems that MoviePass was too good to be true and they are pissing customers off in droves with cash shortages and technology glitches. But $10 for unlimited movies makes us really want them to succeed.

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You should be doing both… which includes making regular payments toward your student loans and contributing enough to your retirement plan to receive an employer match (if eligible). Make at least the minimum payment on your loans for the apparent reasons (i.e., don’t wreck your credit).  Also, the employer match is an instant 25%, 50%, or even 100% return on your investment – where else can you get that?

Consider interest rates… assuming a 5% on your student loans, it would be difficult to match that return on an after-tax basis when investing. However, if you are looking out 30-40 years until retirement, a balanced portfolio may be able to outperform your student loan rate – but the higher the rate, the more difficult that will be and debt repayment is a guaranteed “return.” It may be worth looking into lowering rates by refinancing with companies like SoFi and CommonBond.

Think about taxes… because you can contribute pre-tax money to a 401(k) and IRA. Lower income savers are also eligible for a ‘saver’s credit’ on those same contributions. You can deduct up to $2,500 of interest paid toward student loans each year – and you don’t need to itemize to take advantage! But the main point is to be informed. Check out companies like Student Loan Hero and Payitoff to evaluate your options. Although it may seem like it, I promise, you are not doomed forever – start planning now!

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They aren’t going anywhere… seems to be the consensus among young investors as they jump on to ‘Robinhood’ and buy up Facebook and Twitter stock. Both companies fell 20% after posting earnings results last week. I know – two articles on Facebook, but it really is that important to talk about today.

Putting on the brakes… is what both companies are preparing to do. Facebook is investing in “privacy first,” and Twitter is cleaning up and focusing on the health of the platform. Such ambitions will undoubtedly put a damper on advertising dollars which is how both companies make their money.

Even more problems… and both companies are stalling when it comes to user growth. Everyone has heard of Facebook and Twitter, and the platforms have 2.23B and 335M users, respectively. However, people that don’t use these platforms seem unlikely to be won over at this point. Just look at Myspace, the old social media platform that now serves as an archive of your cringe-worthy pre-teen years. Will Facebook and Twitter see a similar fate?

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As you know… Facebook tanked, and Alphabet reported glowing results on earnings last week. However, many may not realize the connection between the two companies. Both are internet advertising giants and make almost all of their money through advertising. But Google is winning because they are far more diversified than Facebook.

More popular services… Google has seven services with more than a billion monthly active users, which include: Search, Gmail, Chrome, Maps, YouTube, Google Play Store, and Android. Facebook has four: Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp.

Google is a jack-of-all-trades… and is growing non-advertising revenue with the cloud, hardware, and Play Store while Facebook relies solely on advertising (a battle they are losing, currently). If that isn’t enough, Google also has 13 independent businesses with CEOs and budgets. All of this has analysts very excited about the future of Google because everything they touch turns to gold. To tie this out – Facebook is a declining ‘5’ while Google is looking like  a solid ’10.’

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No, there isn’t another Kanye… I am talking about the Kanye West. Kanye gifted shares of stock to his lovely wife, Kim Kardashian, last Christmas and his picks managed to outperform the S&P 500 by over 40 percent! His choices included Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Adidas, and Disney.

Netflix and Amazon… were the top performers, up more than 90% and 50%, respectively since last Christmas. Netflix bested HBO in Emmy nominations and struck a deal with Barack Obama himself to produce original series. Amazon saw its biggest Prime Day in company history last week and has had an overall great year (you should know this by now).

Apple, Adidas, and Disney… are also up 14%, up 7%, and 4%, respectively since Christmas. Apple signed a deal with Oprah Winfrey for original content and created the HomePod smart speaker in February. Adidas represented 12 teams in the FIFA World Cup which proved to be great exposure for the firm. Disney won approval to buy 21^st Century Fox’s assets and is working on acquiring Sky. So, you say your stocks have performed well – but have they performed Kanye well?

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He may have quit… his job at The Denver Post where he was senior editor, but Larry Ryckman didn’t leave journalism. His former company, owned by a hedge fund, faced numerous budget cuts and layoffs. Such financial and personnel decisions created an environment where corporate owners and journalists could not coexist; a scenario that happens all too often.

Time for a change… and Ryckman founded The Colorado Sun. The company has a 10-person staff and is owned by journalists rather than a corporate overlord. Most of the funding came from Kickstarter and Civil Media, a blockchain company that supports a decentralized model for journalism. And Civil Media is where this gets even more interesting…

Debuting cryptocurrency… is what Civil Media plans to do. Odd, right? However, token owners will oversee newsrooms that are part of Civil and can challenge any content that fails to coincide with a journalistic code of ethics. CEO Vivian Schiller will ultimately decide if changes are imposed. This plan is supposed to create a world of independent, ethical journalism without all the spam, trolls, and misinformation. Can you smell that? That is the smell of innovation at work!

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