Oh Snapchat - What's the Difference Between Speculation + Investing

 Hello All - I've got a lot of things cooking, as day by day we incrementally improve our lives and the lives of others. More to come on what we've been up to. Really quickly --- I read an article about passive investing and the focus of the article is there is no such thing. I somewhat agree with the premise, but one must know the term usually stems from a financial and tax code designation of whether you are "active" in the management of a business or "passive".  It's only natural that other areas within the business and investment world have piggybacked off of this term. 

It was a cute discussion but not very helpful in the sense that legally you must determine whether you are an active participant in a business and how it functions. Quite simply, if you are not active --- you are considered a passive manager --- or in simpler terms it's NOT your day job. 

I wanted to change the objective of the topic and focus on what we agree on. We agree that there is really no such thing as being a "passive" or "part-time", or "arm-chair" investor in anything that you do in life. Think about how I view investing --- it's more akin to planting seeds. When you plant seeds you must dig, till the land, plant seeds, fertilize, water, prune, and pick the fruits of your labor. So if you find an investment that doesn't take this kind of maintenance in life please, please SHOW me. I believe in the theory that there are main hustles and side hustles. It's simply a way of "prioritizing" your investments. For me my hustles include:

• Private Sector Employment (aka Main Hustle, aka 9-5 job)
• Small Business Owner (aka: Side Hustle Number 1)
• Real Estate Owner (aka: Side Hustle Number 2)
• Stock Market Investor (aka: Side Hustle Number 3)

I search for balance in life and also in my investments or hustles. There are days, weeks, months where my Side Hustles eclipse what I earn in my main hustle. Those are great times and some days, although rarely nowadays, my main hustle is primary source of income. While many say this means I'm too busy, I say it FREES me up to spend more time focusing on my #1 priority - family, friends, freedom. When adversity or life events hit, I am phased but like a prize fighter this structure allows me to bounce back quicker...working on my core...my pillars. 

The old American saying goes if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything (I think, remember I'm African). It also should say if you don't own anything, you'll be cornered by anything. Life will take its best shot and we bounce back quickly through our beliefs, values, family, friends, and inner spirit. Not by what special interests say you should do --- which are often in their best interests...not yours.

I share this story because I decided to speculate this week. I did absolutely NO research into the trade I made. I was listening to my PM stock updates and there was a discussion about "unusual activity" being seen in Snapchat, the social media platform. I don't use SNAP and had done no research and simply made a small bet based on this news briefing. I was prepared to LOSE the amount invested. In 24 hours, this bet performed brilliantly. I had no clue Snapchat was reporting it's earning (or how much money it made in the last quarter) and they reported a very positive outlook. I should have done better due diligence, but I knew the difference:

Snapchat - Say Cheese to Speculation ($200 in 24 Hours):

Investing - Want to invest, watch my boy Rick Ross. He prime hustle is rapping. The small business  he owns is his record label (Maybach Music Group). He owns Wingstop franchises, I believe an adult entertainment club off of the water in Miami (I don't judge), and I would say he has an impressive real estate portfolio. He owns the old Evander Holyfield Estate --- ALL 254 acres of it and just purchased 87 more acres of land in Georgia where land is much cheaper than S. Florida. Job well done Rozay. You take everything away from him and at least he has land --- land to build on or even camp on should times ever get rough (but I doubt that will happen...he's planting seeds). Don't let special interests take options away from your life...nurture your pillars, invest in yourself, and to a better future.

Source: Rick Ross, Instagram 

How Netflix Shows Help Me Invest - Mindhunter | Black Mirror | Beats

 

Mindhunter - This show is about the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and how they first formed the Behavioral Science Unit. Simply put, this is the unit that came up with a methodology for investigating the murders that most local police forces couldn't solve. They coined the phrase "serial killer' and how to profile people. Oddly enough, maybe we do operate in "patterns" and when you consider history...it can often be used to solve the most complex murders. The irony in the show is how often people "back then" said this type of thing doesn't happen around here. I guess when it comes to investing, I try to create a profile of the economy. I ask myself what events and triggers are likely to occur because of my profile analysis. I do lots of research, as history tends to tell a story that often and sometimes unfortunately repeats itself. Finally, I look back in time for patterns. Patterns, especially those found in charts historically help me find great entry points to plant seeds --- or invest in companies.  

The simple mind easily complains about the athlete on TV who grinds through a physical game and calls them spoiled brats...the mindhunter wonders who pays all the salaries of the athletes on a team and how can he/she afford that payroll.  Makes you ponder -- if a particular league is 75% one race --- should coaches and executive management look more like the end product.  I guess they've never heard of no taxation without representation. 

More to come from me on Ice Cube's Contract with Black America. Just imagine if the decision - makers (Congress) had a guide to some of the items that could improve life for African Americans. Decent thought Cube, but bend your mind further --- why doesn't Congress simply reflect the represent 15% of the population that African Americans represent. No taxation without real representation. 

In The Dark - This show gets a thumbs up from me. I like the premise of the lead character being a blind person who has a messy life. We all do, so it's refreshing that they add layers of complexity to this show. It even turns the table on of the white savior complex as a black person actually is capable of helping the damsel in distress. While this theme is short-lived,  they go back to a white person saving the day but they tried. I cite this movie, because eventually as a society we are SLOWLY moving away from fake narratives and getting more real. Black people can help and save white people too. The cute white girl that's blind can have a life full of messy complex vices. This is REAL. Just like it's real when states are struggling to make ends meet. It again doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize they will have to find creative ways to balance their budgets. Hence my mindhunter investments into stocks like: Ceasars, Draftkings, and other gaming stocks. Just image that, the culture that holds puritan values so high needs gaming to save the day. It's just reality. When I travel to the United Kingdom, sports betting is prevalent on every corner. I can walk into a store that looks a lot like how a cell phone store is constructed here in the US. Instead of buying an I-Phone you can place a bet. Makes you wonder who is actually "In The Dark". 

Dark - After Black Mirror, the show "Dark" was easily next favorite series to watch. I couldn't spoil this show for you even if I tried. It's a German series that attempts to discuss how life is connected in more ways that we can imagine. I like the premise because as humans we attempt to dumb down life by only talking about the duality of life. What does this mean --- well have you ever heard someone describe things as simply black or white...good versus bad/evil?? This shows turns that concept on its head and blows up the duality narrative of life. We all know the concept is BS but we go along for the ride at every step of the way. What explains gay marriage, legalized drugs and gambling, priests who abuse their power, white supremacists', and so many other complex subjects. Boardwalk Empire shows us that will enough $$$ the prohibition of alcohol can be done away. The three-fifths clause in the constitution shows you how dark the human mind can delve to justify a means to an end. I am pro-business but I also recognize that business invest in the areas that need transformation --- in government we call this entitlements. I believe in social values so why don't we pay government workers private sector rates so that they can put food on the table and fund their own retirements and even possibly rid the system of pensions (or contractual obligations) that now many want to backtrack on and not pay? Why is this all so DARK, maybe because we try to simplify this into a dual world - good vs bad and black vs white...and it ain't that simple.

Black Mirror - Black Mirror is hands down my favorite show and describes my persona to a "T". I couldn't understand why so many don't see the harm of social media like I clearly see it. I've only had "that feeling" I get when I log into Facebook one other time and that's when I played a slot machine in Vegas. I've only done it once and it was crazy how it made me feel. I almost lost my entire $40 dollars and was prepared to go against my principle of adding more $$$ when I hit it $400 large. Then stupidly I thought well maybe I could do it again. I probably gave another $60 dollars back and decided. Enough was enough...I pulled the plugged. That dopamine effect was a feeling I've never felt before until I logged onto Facebook. The need for likes, the need to only post my travels, night outs, and big purchases. Then I decided 5+ years ago, this is overrated. So I don't log on and when I do, you get the good, bad and ugly of my life. I remind people, if someone is giving you anything for free in life --- YOU are the product. 

Beats - Finally, I wanted to highlight the movie Beats. This movie is about making it out of your environment and overcoming adversity. I don't always like the background of the need for music to black people's away out --- but music is in our DNA whether you are African, Jamaican, or African-American. I remind people to expect the road to be hard. The biggest thing I tell people to do nowadays is learn how to be independent. Find a service, skill, product that people need and be supply them with that legally. Negotiate your own terms and sleep better at night because I have no one to blame but me. More to come but I signed by first major business contract just a few months ago. I saw the tactics used against me were signs of systemic oppression because I became woke to how people were making money off of me the "talent". I appreciate the introduction, but why do you get paid tens of thousands of dollars when I'm the consultant and doing the actual work. I will tell you about this journey soon and how I am hiring people of color in an IT landscape that screams for diversity.

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My job is to help the largest corporations in the world to simplify their most complex and riskiest businesses. So I do that for people here when it comes to the economic engine of the world. It's a machine that has patterns. People at as if the world operates in a black and white manner but it simply does not. Right now its simple, the US government has printed 13 Trillion dollars. Most of that has gone to companies. Those companies are skyrocketing as their stocks are going through the roof. Roku is up so much that I am simply making trades each week that will make money betting the impossible will not happen. For example, Roku will NOT increase 30% in one week and if does not, please cut me a check. I usually execute these trade when I am supposed to be most scared --- when Roku reached its all-time high of $239 just in the last week. They want me to be scared to put the trade on but I'm not. I simply do it for the culture -- we can be talk about how wrong the system is or we can Robin Hood it and help our folks. I don't see them listening and trust me a system this rigged ain't changing anytime soon. Here is me slamming Roku. I trust you can do math on my gains. Any trades highlighted in Green means I only held the trade for 7 day, IMO a week. Not bad for a guy with a 9-5 and a side hustle.

Note: I'm masking my trades as I hope to dust off an alert service startup company I had dreams of running over 10 years ago. For almost a year, I've been literally an open book in hopes of teaching and showing people a different way. I'm not here to motivate, just to plant seeds. If we plant enough seeds, change gon' come. 

The US Economy Has a Stimulus Hangover

 I fear the US economy is starting to feel the hangover effect, after binging on $13 Trillion, yes with a "T", trillion dollars of stimulus. I'm not going to argue whether it's needed or not because I previously said stimulus to main street America is definitely needed. But the hangover reminds me of how I felt after a Saturday night of partying in Chicago once we officially transitioned from winter to warm weather --- everyone was out drinking.

When I think about government stimulus, everyone this spring and summer was wasted off of stimulus. If you were unemployed you got an extra shot of stimulus in the form of $600 added to your unemployment pay. For small businesses and then surprisingly large business (remember my post on even the LA Lakers organization getting PPP funds), we benefitted from stimulus if we promised to bring workers back. We soon found out many of my business colleagues graciously took the money and then far too many decided NOT to bring workers back --- why because they were more concerned about tying the funds to when business would come back. But being in the RISK MANAGEMENT business, this is fundamentally flawed thinking. The PPP experiment as I call it was a social experiment to see if as a nation we could band together and do what's best for our neighbor financially. I'm sad to say, the experiment didn't work as business people fought it along the way, while cashing in the money. During a health pandemic where people SHOULD stay home quarantined, you cannot expect business to return back to normal --- use government taxpayer money to keep people afloat. 

Note to anyone reading -- What kept people going was the unemployment checks and the extra bump of $600, it caused an e-commerce boom. How do I know, well I am in the Cyber Risk Management business. I have been getting calls from all over the country to help people do more business across the internet. My most amazing story is a company that sells boats and luxury yachts in Florida. They called me and we discussed business. At the beginning of the pandemic, no business because their model was predicated on customers coming in. But they quickly learned they needed a robust web platform as they were getting boat and yacht orders left and right. It sounds like most of us in Corporate America could keep going as we could work from home and buy boats and yachts but I wonder about the front line worker who is exposed to the virus on a daily basis if you're driving a bus, riding the train, or working the grocery checkout system. No national quarantine holiday in my humble opinion was a bad risk management move.

Why do I think we're feeling a hangover let's look at the news:

Company Continue to Announce Layoffs - 

• Airlines - this industry announced 35K job cuts and some anticipate this number will top 100K
• Disney - announced 28K layoffs
• Salesforce - initial pledges were made to not layoff, well soon thereafter they announced 1K layoffs

Jobless Claims Continue to Rise

As an investor, how do I keep track of economy. I use one indicator called the Jobless Claims report from the US Labor Department. The data is staggering:

• As of September 30, 2020 25 million required jobless benefits 
• Last week (Oct 10, 2020), - 898,000 new persons applied for jobless benefit aid for the first time
• To put this data into context, during the 2008 Financial Crisis that I believe was the worth since the Great Depression, the number of first-time applicants peaked @ 665,000 

COVID-19 Continues to Spike 

• France noted that 40% of it's hospital beds are filled w/ COVID patients
• Europe cases are rising
• The rural US is now the leading source of new cases
• And unfortunately people are fatigued or bored with staying home

Like a patient addicted to stimulus, the stock market is calling for more. What happens if we don't get more --- a painful withdrawal??

The ride up has been nice if you bought into e-commerce and stay at home stocks: think ROKU, PELETON, AMAZON, FACEBOOK. Everything else hasn't moved much...need proof I believe the S&P500 is up only 4%. So my barbell approach is still working. My retirement funds are safe (not invested in the market) and my investments in ROKU and Collectors, Sprint, Alibaba Allergan and others have surprisingly made me a tidy fortune during the pandemic. Real Estate is the other area where I'm poking my nose in. 

A reminder to not drink the Kool-Aid --- you'll avoid a hangover. Stick to the pillars.

What You Need in Life -- Invest Like a "Middle Child"

 

Investing In Yourself – Using Pillars to Build Your Core	https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2015/04/urbanomics-pillars-path-set-for.html
Setting Budgets + Saving for Black Swans	https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2013/02/personal-finance-budget-101-free-credit.html
	https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2019/11/hey-henry-high-earner-not-yet-rich.html
How to Open My First Brokerage Account	https://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2015/04/personal-finance-101-starting.html
Diversify your Life (Mind, Body, Soul, + Investments)	Search My Blog

The Pillars - The Miseducation

In my culture, lessons are taught by the elders to the community and especially to the young children. Ironically, one thing has not changed over time which is song is a form of communication used to narrate stories.  This is still on display today with the power of music artists sharing stories through song  If you have read my blog you know that I like a flashback and reference songs that were defining for a generation.  When I thought of this post, a song came to mind popped in my head that defines success.  Success for many could be summed up through the hit track "Money, Power, Respect".  Many will believe this song was a track by Lil Kim.  Simply, before there was a Nicki Minaj or Cardi B there was Lil Kim eviscerating hooks like she did for the L.O.X on this track.  No disrespect to The L.O.X or Lil Kim, but my generation and generations before that bought into the wrong message:

See I believe in money, power, and respect. 

First You get the money. 

Then you get the power. 

After you get the power, MF will respect you

Song: Money, Power, Respect; Artist(s): The L.O.X ft. Lil Kim,

While Lil Kim described one way to obtain respect, she forgot to tell you that this way is not sustainable for everyone.  So I challenge, what you need in life --- are the pillars.  We need to strengthen our mental fortitude through education.  Those are skills that can never be taken away from you.  We need to use our skills to invest in our own assets.  By being independent, no one can dictate the terms to how you live, especially if you live within your means.  I'm proud when I see people discussing the pillars in our community here a few recent examples:

I believe J. Cole's has unplugged from the Matrix and understands the Pillars. He's on the same mission, Check out his lyrics from the track "Middle Child":

What good is the bread if my brothas is broke?

What good is first class if my brothas can't sit?

That's my next mission

That's why I can't quit

Just like LeBron

Get my brothas more chips

I think Kanye read my post on Master P. Go back and read how I wrote that over 20 years ago he inspired me to be independent, black owned, and bout it bout! People are finally understanding the stakes. Yes, Kanye you are the talent, why don't you own your own masters sir. Don't be afraid brotha because as a producer, artist, businessman, and family man you owe it to yourself, family and community to negotiate your own terms as long as you know your worth. Thank you for seeking out Master P and as I've told many people, you will grind for years but you must flip the switch to negotiating own your own terms when the time is right. I look at all my business deals closer, eliminate the middle men, and because it's my business I can choose to keep the money in my community and invest in people who share my values.

For years I've been talking about living within your means and prioritizing ownership and investing in assets that appreciate.  I was pleased to see the rapper Plies make this comment:

Finally, I'm hopeful people are listening.  I read a great story and about a business man, named Young Bleu.  He talked about his goals of being an independent music artist and how he already owns a few assets: a house and a restaurant.  And the thing I love the most about his article was an example that he gave: Young Bleu Interview courtesy of HipHopDx:

"I’m going to put it like this. Just say as a rapper, you got $400,000 in your account. You don’t got a house, right? Now just say that your label say, “F&ck you.” You know what I’m saying? “F&ck you. We don’t want to do nothing with your shit right now. We don’t feel like we want to do shit with you right now.” All right. You got $400,000 right? Okay. A nigga come up to you and say, “Man, shit. I can get your record going. Shit, we can go and do radio 150,000, 200,000.” Okay, there’s always a chance that this shit might not go as planned. So now you only got $400,000 but nowhere to go besides what someone says they can do for you.

Now if you already had a house, you already had cars paid for, why would you spend the $400,000? You know what I’m saying? If all else fails, you have a home to go back to. But if you don’t you’ll be scared to spend that money if you felt like, “Damn. Shit. If I blow this shit, it’s over and I’m back at the bottom. Shit, I’ll probably be back staying with my mama. Goddamn.” You feel me? If you got your shit in order, you will be more comfortable spending money, you know what I’m saying?"

Sound familiar?? All I can say is well said young brotha. This young man understands the game.  If you dissect his statement, he says: "what is the point of having so much capital (or cash) in your account and you own nothing.  If you own a house and have assets to fall back on (especially if this house was paid off), then when someone approaches you about doing business you are more likely to take prudent risks and make more investments knowing that you have something to fall back on.  As he eloquently stated, if you don't own that house (or some asset that appreciates) you will be scared to spend that money. I have a 9-5 job and a side hustle for income; my assets range from: 2 homes, have a individual retirement account that I could live off of and I use my brokerage account as war chest and make numerous investments every day...I'm not scared because I approve every investment. I can't wait to invest with J Cole, Master P, Young Bleu, Kanye if they share my value (b/c I don't always see eye to eye with some folks). But if we can agree people of color need their contracts rewritten, need independence, and they need investment...then let's do business.

#pillars, #independent, #Master P, #Young Bleu, #MiddleChildInvesting, #J Cole #educationispower

Baby on Board - ROKU | PALANTIR | DRAFTKINGS

I keep saying I'm going to go back into stealth mode and limit my posts but there's an energy that makes me want post to our community of people looking to improve themselves. It's the primary way we affect change. We improve our mind, body, and our soul and use the 21st century model of capitalism to strengthen those that have less --- capitalism +. When companies have issues, they transform and invest in the areas of business that are suffering. I wonder who is investing in the black and brown communities in America and across the world. I don't need a handout, you don't, we don't --- we need an investment. It's commonplace for the wealthy to invest in areas that need transformation. We call these investments many things in my investment circles --- seed money, capital infusions or injections and they are critical in growing the companies that are babies today, but will be giants of tomorrow. Our hoods, bandos, barrios, and streets need investment NOT enforcement and they need to be nurtured and groomed. I will do my part and I'm hoping you'll join me. More to come very soon on how I'm using my own money to keep the dollars flowing through my community. 

But I'm here to change a longstanding mentality. Somewhere along the way the criminalization of segments of our population have caused knowledge of key stills to be lost. We are not teaching our youth about debt management, investments, how to grow your own food, care for self and how to build assets. These assets, when leveraged together, change communities, law, and even politicians. They grow schools, churches, and places to keep those most at risk safe. 

My biggest 3 accomplishments are the three children my wife and I nurture. Blessings to my strong wife as she recently delivered our 3rd baby girl. And in honor of my daughter, I am reminding you of how to beat the system. Spend when they spend --- if the fed is printing cash, the system will NOT fail. There will be bubbles and we are seeing it in the stock market, housing, everywhere. This is your chance to take calculated risks and build equity for your family and our communities. I'm investing primarily in babies at the moment --- that is young companies who are the wave of the future. IPOs, SPACs, and technologies that will fundamentally change the way we do business. 

I am hammering my winners over and over, hoping they eventually get sold out from under me as I execute trades that bet they cannot reach valuations I once thought were stratospheric. For example, I own Roku at around the $130s level. And every week, I make trades, begging the markets to take the stock away, first at $160, then when it reached this level $180, next $225, now I'm betting $240 and $260. What a time to be alive...Drake once said --- HAMMER this damn thing and keep the $$$ in our communities. My other trades are truly babies: Palantir just went public and Draftkings too. Young companies that used to protect the goverment's data and tax those that should be investing. 

I'm sharing trades I executed this week in honor of my 3rd daughter:

Palantir Technologies Inc [NYSE: PLTR] - Big data storage for governments, however; they promise privacy and no transparency. 

Roku Inc [NASDAQ: ROKU] - Transformational, we cut the cord and demand we pay for what we want to watch. Simple

Draftkings Inc [NASDAQ: DKNG] - I will hit this stock hard because Sports brings enjoyment and sports gambling is like playing the lottery for men...and some women as well.

Hot - Stock Summer

Wow what a summer! It can be described best as a Hot Girl Summer considering Megan Thee Stallion's dominance on the music charts. If you are an investor like me, I asked you to flash back to a post I wrote back in 2010 on why stocks are red hot. I learned from legendary investor, David Tepper, to NOT FIGHT THE FED. They clearly have printed so much money that the stock market has come roaring back. That is why many are calling this market a K shaped rally. With the backdrop of COVID, investors and asset owners are going up and to the right and making money in this market. It's sad and very disappointing that a good majority of main street and communities of color are trending down and to the right -- as they are not benefiting from PPP loans, the Federal Reserve inflating the stock market, or even the huge boom in the housing market. 

For those that do not like or understand economics, we all just got another clear lesson this year. The Fed can print dollars and create programs that can inflate stocks, corporate businesses, houses, and precious metals (Gold, Silver, etc.) even during an environment of double digit unemployment. Like in 2010, even when things are bad you must buy assets because the Federal Reserve is telling you they won't let the economic machine fail. 

Moments like this are hard because some people can take maximum risk but I'm first generation many things in my family so you'll recall I took the less risky approach with my retirement funds. They are NOT benefiting from the upside BUT I am ensuring that I have a sizeable nest egg waiting for me down the line. Luckily for me I constructed a barbell asset portfolio. About half the dollar size of my retirement account is in a stock investment account. This strategy allowed me to have money stacked away for a rainy day (in my retirement acct) while taking advantage of the free printing of the Fed (in my stock acct). With only 1 quarter left to go in 2020, it truly is a Hot-Stock Summer. Here is a quick look at what's moving on my radar:

E-Trade Hook-Up Alert - Trade Completed

I acquire stocks like a coach recruiting players. E-TRADE Financial Corp. (ETFC) is a player I recruited based on a disruption trend I watched firsthand. Robinhood, has come in and shaken up the investment community. Free trades has disrupted the landscape and are now the NORM and all of the other players have followed suite, kicking and dragging their feet. I invested in E-TRADE after I witnessed TD-Ameritrade get purchased by Charles Schwab. Shortly thereafter, Morgan Stanley agreed with my train of thoughts and made an offer for E-TRADE. I just saw in my news feed yesterday that the Federal Reserve has approved the acquisition. So this deal is officially done. My trade terms where laid out here and yes your boy is due to collect roughly $1.2K on this trade. Time to find another stock recruit:

Link to E-TRADE position: E-TRADE Hook-up Alert


Hot Stock Summer Trades
ROKU - PLAY ON COVID; PEOPLE STAYING AT HOME, CUTTING THE CORD, AND STREAMING MEDIA

COLLECTORS UNIVERSE - SMALL CAP, ACTIVIST BUYING LARGE STAKE, DIVIDEND PLAY, 

ALIBABA - RECOVERY IN CHINA, GLOBAL PRINTING CAUSING ONLINE PURCHASES

NOVAGOLD - FED PRINTING MONEY WILL LEAD TO INFLATION, MOVING TO GOLD FOR AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE

Fall Radar Trades

DRAFTKINGS - CATALYST: STATES NEED MONEY

VIASAT - UNDERVALUED

CORE LOGIC - BARBARIANS AT THE GAME, LOOKING TO TAKE OVER THE COMPANY
CUBIC - UNDERVALUED

CROWN CASTLE - WIRELESS

IPOs/SPACs  -- RISKY / SPECULATION BUT SHOOT YOUR SHOT ON A MOONSHOT