Author Archives: admin

Catalan Parliament Declares Independence From Spain

Catalan Parliament Declares Independence From Spain.

BARCELONA, Spain — Spain faced a territorial showdown Friday with dueling votes over the future of Catalonia. Lawmakers in the regional parliament voted to secede and establish an independent Catalan Republic — an extraordinary move met moments later by a Spanish Senate vote to authorize the government to take control of the prosperous northeastern region.

A majority of senators gave Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy the go-ahead to apply unprecedented constitutional measures, including firing Catalan regional President Carles Puigdemont and his Cabinet and curtailing Catalan parliamentary powers.

It will be the first time in four decades of democratic rule in Spain that the national government in Madrid will directly run the affairs of one of the country’s 17 semi-autonomous regions, a move that will likely fan the flames of the Catalan revolt.

A spokesman with the central government said Rajoy’s Cabinet would enact the measures immediately during an urgent meeting later Friday.

In Barcelona, the main city in Catalonia, the vote on the motion to secede was approved with 70 in favor of independence, 10 against and two blank ballots in Catalonia’s 135-member parliament.

Outside the parliament, thousands who had gathered to call for independence cheered at the news, with some dancing and raising glasses to toast the vote after seeing the vote-counting live on a giant screen.

No country has expressed support for independence for Catalonia, a region of 7.5 million people. Catalonia represents a fifth of Spain’s gross domestic product and polls show its people roughly evenly divided over independence. The regional government said a disputed October 1, 2017 referendum, which was banned by Spain’s Constitutional Court, had given it the mandate to declare independence.

Catalonia Just Declared Independence From Spain. What’s Going On?

Catalonia – one of the major regions in Spain – is battling to declare independence and become its own country. We traveled to the area to hear different perspectives on the independence movement and witness the massive demonstrations.

Catalonia Independence From Spain (For Dummies)

Bitcoin Mining Can Land You In Jail In Venezuela

Above: Bitcoin Mining Can Land You In Jail In Venezuela.

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have long been seen as a risky investment but in Venezuela you can end up behind bars. Thousands of others across Venezuela are secretly mining Bitcoin just to make ends meet. In Venezuela being involved with Bitcoin is very dangerous, but also a vital lifeline for survival. Venezuela was once the richest country in South America, but now it is a country in crisis.

Venezuela has the highest inflation rate in the world, and its currency is in serious trouble. Food and basic necessities are scarce in Venezuela. In fact, the situation is so bad in Venezuela that people are starving, rationing toothpaste, and saving as much toilet paper as possible (soap and toilet paper can be used to trade or barter for other basic necessities such as food and water). Continue reading

What Is Ether? What Is Ethereum? Can I Become Rich Investing In Ether? Can I Invest In Ethereum? What Are Cryptocurrencies?

As we explored in “What is Ethereum?”, Ethereum aims to function both as a kind of decentralized Internet and a decentralized app store, supporting a new type of application (a “dapp”) in the process.

But while no one owns Ethereum, the system that supports this functionality isn’t free. Rather, the network needs “Ether”, a unique piece of code that can be used to pay for the computational resources needed to run an application or program.

Like Bitcoin, Ether is a digital bearer asset (similar to a security, like a stock or a bond, issued in physical form). Just like cash, Ether doesn’t require a third party to process or approve a transaction.

But instead of operating as a digital currency or payment, Ether seeks to provide “fuel” for the decentralized apps on the network.

Above: What is Ether?

Humans Are Already Cyborgs

Above: Humans Are Already Cyborgs.

“Our destiny is to become what we think, to have our thoughts become our bodies and our bodies become our thoughts” – Terence McKenna.

“If human history is the story of a creature who molts from ape to
angel – or, as Nietzsche claimed, from beast to Superman – then
somewhere along the way it seems that we must become machines” – Erik Davis.

Macy’s Versus L Brands – Is Macy’s A Buy With An 8.2% Dividend?

Macy’s Versus L Brands – Is Macy’s A Buy With An 8.2% Dividend?

*Macy’s is still profitable and has an 8.2% dividend.

*Macy’s has lost over 50% of its value over the last 12 months.

*L Brands is very profitable and has a 5.1% dividend.

*L Brands has lost approximately 28% of its value over the last 12 months.

The last 12 months have been extremely painful for fashion retailers with many fashion stocks losing over 50% of their value. Fashion retailers like L Brands (LB) and Macy’s (M) have seen their share prices hit lows not seen in years, with Macy’s losing over 50% of its value in the last 12 months and L Brands (parent company of Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works) also losing at one point this year approximately half of its value (even though L Brands shares have now recovered somewhat since they hit their 52 week low of around $35 per share earlier this summer).

Macy’s Versus L Brands Stock.
Macy’s Versus L Brands Stock.

One of the problems that many investors have had with investing in Macy’s during the past few months is that just when they thought Macy’s shares could not go any lower, the shares would take another hit and decline even further in value whenever similar mall retailers released negative news about their specific companies (think J.C. Penney (JCP) or Nordstrom (JWN) to name just two examples). In fact, Macy’s share have taken such a beating that its dividend yield is now at an astonishing 8.2% even though the company is still profitable (unlike other mall retailers such as J. C. Penney that are bleeding money with huge quarterly losses).

L Brands is a similar story, but as many experienced investors have learned over the years, not all retailers are created equal. L Brands (which also owns Bath & Body Works along with other smaller retailers such as La Senza and Henri Bendel) is the #1 lingerie company in the world, and its products are well protected against the Amazon effect (meaning that a large percentage of women will generally not accept a lower quality lingerie brand even if it is selling at lower prices compared to lingerie being sold by Victoria’s Secret).

Thus, for many women fit and comfort along with quality will be more important than being able to purchase lower quality lingerie items at lower prices. In addition, if a woman wants to purchase Victoria’s Secret lingerie, she will generally only be able to find Victoria’s Secret products at a local Victoria’s Secret store or by visiting the company’s website simply because Victoria’s Secret products are generally not available at other retail stores (this helps to protect the value of the Victoria’s Secret brand by giving L Brands and Victoria’s Secret better control over the pricing of their lingerie and beauty products).

Macy's Versus L Brands Stock (Long Term).
Macy’s Versus L Brands Stock (Long Term).

The problem with Macy’s is that it lacks that exclusivity of products that Victoria’s Secret enjoys. While it is true that some products can be unique to Macy’s, the vast majority of their products are probably available at other mall retailers such as Nordstrom, J.C. Penney, Dillard’s (DDS), or Sears (SHLD). However, unlike many other mall retailers, Macy’s has managed to stay profitable even as mall traffic continues to decline in many malls throughout the United States. In addition, Macy’s owns extremely valuable real estate which basically means that Macy’s investors would be getting the Macy’s fashion business for pennies on the dollar if we were to include Macy’s real estate holdings which are extremely valuable.

Many investors are legitimately concerned and worried that Macy’s could decide at some point in the future to either cut or reduce the dividend significantly. However, what many investors fail to realize is that if Macy’s were to cut the dividend, the extra cash that would become available to the company could be used to reduce Macy’s debt significantly (which is a little over $6 billion dollars).

This reduction in Macy’s debt would make their balance sheet stronger (making the company stronger) which in turn could help the share price in the future. Thus, a better way of looking at Macy’s as an investment is to realize that at current market prices an investor could purchase for half the price a very profitable company with significant real estate assets and a very valuable brand (it would be very hard to find someone that has been living in the United States for several years who is not familiar with the Macy’s brand). In addition, Macy’s continues to invest in its e-commerce website which as of November 2017 was ranked as the 164th most visited website in the United States (source: Alexa.com).

In terms of brand power, L Brands is hard to beat. This is because Victoria’s Secret is known around the world (they have over 57 million Instagram followers and over 28 million likes on Facebook compared to Macy’s which has a little over 1 million followers on Instagram and over 14 million Facebook likes). In addition, Victoria’s Secret has the Victoria’s Secret Angels which are constantly promoting the Victoria’s Secret brand on social media to their tens of millions of followers around the world.

The interesting thing about L Brands is that it doesn’t really have a problem with its business model compared to other fashion retailers (besides being in an industry that is not very much liked by investors these days). Many investors will tell you that Aerie and Amazon are formidable competitors, but the truth is that L Brands is a global brand which is expanding and opening new stores around the world. A large number of fashion retailers have been filing for bankruptcy over the past 2 years, and making things worse for L Brands was its decision to stop selling swimwear and apparel, which only added to its problems by reducing store sales compared to the previous year. Add the fact that it decided to discontinue its famous lingerie catalog (which in our opinion created huge brand awareness), and you can clearly see why many investors decided to sell the shares of L Brands first and ask questions later.

In our opinion, L Brands is the better company between these two very prestigious fashion retailers, and is the company that we would select between the two if we had to purchase the shares with a very long term view (10 to 20 years). However, the shares of L Brands have already increased significantly since they hit their 52 week low of $35 per share during the summer, and thus present some downside risk at current prices. Thus, we would consider adding to our Macy’s position at current prices (less than $19 dollars per share), while also patiently waiting to add to our L Brands position if the share price dips once again below $40 per share as it did during the summer.

Experienced investors that can handle the downside risk in L Brands shares could also sell L Brands cash secured puts that expire in 2018 in order to acquire L Brands shares below $40 per share even if the share price stays above $40 per share over the next few months.

ZARZAR MODELS is one of the top modeling agencies for women in the United States representing models in print fashion editorials, high fashion runway, film, television commercials, and promotions. The agency represents top models in all of the major fashion cities and recruits and represents models throughout the world through its global fashion and modeling network.

http://www.zarzarmodels.com

Why Invest In Qualcomm Stock? The Internet Of Everything

Why Invest In Qualcomm Stock?

Join futurist Jason Silva as he outlines just how much a seamless, secure, and connected Internet of Everything changes the way we use technology. See what can happen when connectivity transcends our devices and amplifies our lives. With the Internet of Everything, Qualcomm technologies becomes an extension of us. This is just one more way Qualcomm is bringing the future forward faster than anyone could have ever imagined. Continue reading

What Exactly Does The Sun Do To Your Beautiful Skin?

Above: What Exactly Does The Sun Do To Your Beautiful Skin?

Have you ever wondered what exactly the sun does to your beautiful skin? Join us as we explain what UV rays do to your beautiful body. These young women had no clue what the sun did to their once beautiful young looking skin. We have a range of terrible excuses for forgetting to put on sunscreen — from being in a rush, to not wanting to get our hands oily (there’s a spray for that, people), to believing that the sun’s rays are entirely blocked when it’s overcast and cloudy.

Sunlight arrives on earth in three forms: infrared (heat), visible light, and ultraviolet. Fair-skinned women usually burn rather than tan in the sun because they lack melanin, which is responsible for a tan’s coloring. A fifth of adults think they can’t get a sunburn if they already have a tan.

Is Tanning Ever A Good Thing For Your Body?

Above: Is Tanning Ever A Good Thing For Your Body?

Summer is here, and that means more time in the sun! However, most of us have been warned about the dangers of sun exposure. But our fashion models wonder, is getting that bronzed bikini body ever actually good for your health? There is a pervasive belief in our culture that a tan connotes health, affluence, wealth, and even beauty. Guess what? Tanning beds are really bad for you. In fact, many doctors believe that tanning beds are as bad for you as smoking.