King's Disease ---- DraftKings | ROKU | Gold

So, can I breathe? Can I walk? Can I speak? Can I talk?

Can I floss without you wanting me outlined in chalk?

Family gossiping, pocket watching him

Jealousy keeps blossoming, ain't let it box me in (King)

'Cause you are not a king if you can't come out a thing

That you got yourself in, claiming nobody helping

The stupidest part of Africa produced Blacks that started algebra

Proof, facts, imagine if you knew that as a child, bruh

Nostalgia, how I remembеr things

Remember crowns, remember, kings

They want your reign to cease (King)

You a king, you will be next to me, doing your own king shit, most definitely

We're so "Say less when I speak", y'all estrogen speak

Respected by kings only, address me as chief

Invested in things only a vet would

Only lames front on kings, that's expected from creeps

You mad at my brothas and any woman with interest in me

Artist: NAS  Song: King's Disease

Can I floss without you wanting me outlined in Chalk

My next post is about the King's Disease. I like to post rap lyrics because the world has gotten so literal. The art of communication is to read between the lines and the ability to understand people, cultures, and society is lost if we lose the art of reading people - their words, actions, and body movements. The internet has taken all the guess work outta that when I can I just re-send an article/post/clip or even a meme and then I allow you to guess or interpret what I mean without simply sitting down and communicating with you directly. I interview people for work and it's amazing how many reads I get from a voice, a look, or a person's body movement toward the questions I am asking. So again I wonder if the Internet is a form of King's Disease. A luxury that masses want but oddly everything everyone posts (breathe / walk / speak / talk) is captured and scrutinized -- even worse it's often canceled immediately - "Can I floss without you wanting me outlined in Chalk"?

'Cause you are not a king if you can't come out a thing; That you got yourself in, claiming nobody helping

I am very independent and having children you learn very quickly that there is something innate in us as human beings in wanting to do things ourselves. My daughters, just shortly after turning 1, all of a sudden don't want you to feed them. They want to feed, walk, and do everything for themselves. But as we get older or sometimes as our confidence breaks we find ourselves blindly walking into situations that may not be healthy financially, physically, mentally, or spiritually. We all go through it --- racking up debt, late nights drinking, abusive relationships, and even challenging the need for spirituality in our lives. For a child, all it takes is those two or three times of not being able to get food in your mouth to start crying and asking for help. But as we get older, we learn this thing called denial and often we DO NOT seek transformation from within until we've hit rock bottom.  Notice, I listed my 4 Pillars above and  challenge myself, especially during the roughest parts of my day, week, month, year, life to revisit those pillars for support. I try to do more which oddly is like doing LESS --  MORE meditation, sleep, exercise, reading, praying, seeking counsel to right myself and my core. I do this to get myself out of tough situations and to make sound informed decisions so that I pivot out of bad situations and decisions. Also, I find during these moments, seeking counsel is humbling because I do not have all the answers. This is the cure to King's Disease instead of blaming or claiming nobody's helping. Competing with each other is self-defeating, but that's why we teach "competition" so much in our society. If we work together and take on the systemic injustices in the system, imagine that --- real change --- that's our competition.

The stupidest part of Africa produced Blacks that started algebra; Proof, facts, imagine if you knew that as a child, bruh

My cancel culture vultures will take aim at Nas for using the term stupidest. But if you read between the lines he is bringing awareness to the advanced, highly civilized accomplishments of early African societies. The fact that Africa is the birthplace of forming civilized societies living together, developing math, and methods of communication. This is clear...you just need to open a book or be taught in school. I remember planning my trip to Africa and my then girlfriend asked me about safaris and jungles?? I didn't blame her but elementary, middle, high school, and college had failed her, us and our society. I knew since a child that safaris were more common to Sub-Sahara Africa, and other parts of Africa had deserts, and hills, mountains, waterfalls, and forests. The funniest thing is my mother's two story home in Western Africa is bigger than any home I lived in until I bought my duplex condo unit in 2010 at the ripe old age of 30. Proof, facts - my mother's crib in Africa was bigger than anything I lived in in America until I reached the age of 30. I wonder if an inadequate education that doesn't focus of contextualizing historical and factual information is King's Disease.  I used to travel to London often for work and remember an interesting interaction I had at a bar in the Picadilly Circus area in the West End of London. My co-workers and I easily stood out and our version of English clearly marked us as Americans. I am also sure it was our love for khakis and polos, which clearly are NOT in the British dress code. The men are often well-dressed during the work week and suits and ties are still the norm, even for the gent I witnessed riding a bike to work in a suit.  But back to the bar --- this woman from the BBC was chatting me up at the bar and inquired what plans I had for the weekend. So I asked what bars and restaurants should I visit and got a curt response of what "CULTURE" would I be taking in. I didn't understand exactly what she was talking about so I said what do you me. CULTURE, she said what CULTURE are you taking in. She proceeded to school me on the importance of knowing history, different cultures, and art. Something I almost never hear AT A BAR in America. In London, ALL of the museums are FREE. So I went to the Tate Britain, The British Museum, Imperial War Museum, Windsor Castle, and others to soak in CULTURE. I saw artefacts from all over the war dating centuries back...but it also opened my eyes that to the victor goes the spoils. There were items clearly belonging to African and Asian cultures of important value and they were in a British museum. What if America made all our museums free, I wonder if the awareness and appreciation for a global world would increase. Thank you to my friends in the UK, for a moment, I was suffering from King's Disease.

Stocks Fit for a King

Draftkings Inc  NASDAQ: DKNG  - I entered this stock after I learned legend, icon, and NBA greatest of all time Michael Jordan toon an equity stake in DraftKings.  He will become a special adviser to the sports betting and fantasy sports company and maybe read my posts about the unleashing of sports gambling on America. Recognize what's coming - states are drowning in debt and will want to dip into this revenue pot along with Marijuana legalization as they usually embrace quick fixes to solve problems. Don't believe me, look at my bet on Ceasars Entertainment, they were bought out by PENN National Gaming (PENN) for a nice profit.

Roku Inc  NASDAQ: ROKU - Roku is my COVID-19 investment play. It aligns with my larger theme of cutting the cable. America's appetite for staying open and not addressing this disease head on means people with be home streaming the hell out of this service. I wrote earlier this year about cutting off my cable service...sorry Comcast and we don't miss it for a moment. Roku is a day trader's dream because it is a more volatile than a teenager in HBO's hit series Euphoria. I place a HUGE bet on ROKU and each week I trade against it for additional income. The worst is these income producing bets cause me to have to sell my base position early. The upside, is currently during the entire COVID summer I've been collecting 100s of dollars a week of income as the stock moves up in trades that might take the stock off my hands (i.e., like a pending trade offer for my best player). Like Jay said the industry is shady and needs to be taken over --- so I'm coming for the crown. King shit Nas

Gold - I wrote just a few posts ago that this rally in the stock market is artificial. The Federal Reserve is single-handedly propping up the markets and has printed over $7 Trillion dollars to stave off foreclosures, companies closing, and high unemployment. They deserve to be applauded and certain politicians probably deserve to lose their job as real people are hurting. The only problem is this analogy: The Federal Reserve is akin to your family using a credit card to stay afloat - to pay the mortgage, food, car, and school bills. Eventually the credit card company will cut off the credit and/or ask you to pay it back. In governments, paying off debt usually means services are cut - government workers - post office, city transportation, trash and sanitation. It also means tax hikes in the future. Hikes in the future means inflation will be in our future --- assets that are not in dollars is the bet to protect your dollar. Gold, Silver, and yes even Bitcoin might be the play to diversify this historic helicopter money printing effort.  I didn't even mention, that UNTIL there is cure or bold steps taken LIKE A BUBBLE to stop the disease from spreading ---- people will continue hurting and the Federal Reserve may have to PRINT MONEY until things improve. Yes I own Novagold, Warren Buffet owns Barrick Gold, IAU is an ETF as everyone is winning now but there is always a cold winter. 

Stay blessed, stay safe, get your URB own

My Predictions On the Upcoming War... (Free Picks Included)

Well I had a very interesting discussion last week on wars...and that was in a bar, so I figured I'd keep going I guess.  I could talk about North Korea but I'd rather talk about a different possible war.  I started off believing that only athletes and musicians "make it rain" and usually in dimly lit places :)

At Urbanomics, we don't leave you out in the cold, here is a quick definition from URBANDICTIONARY.COM:

Make It Rain: When you're in the club with a stack, and you throw the money up in the air... The effect is that it seems to be raining money. 

Then, I learned about Central Bankers around the world and their endless access to cash and they put guys like Lil Wayne, Adam 'Pacman' Jones, and P. Diddy to shame.  Central Bankers (around the world) are the equivalent to the US version of Ben Bernanke, the head of the Federal Reserve.  Earlier this year, I wrote about Ben and how some very smart investors (see David Tepper, Ray Dalio) were telling us that when the Fed 'makes it rain' it's our job to pick up the money and buy stocks.  We did just that and we've rode the stock market ALL THE WAY up to all time highs in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the SP500.

Here is where the war begins...other countries don't usually like when one country prints money because their goods become cheaper and the people across the world begin buying those cheaper goods and so far this has helped the US economy. So guess what they in turn do...THAT'S RIGHT, they sometimes do the exact same thing.  So who is ready for battle, see JAPAN.  They have an official that has promised to 'make it rain' at levels that only we've seen in here in America.  Here's why I find this interesting...and how we make money:

Notes from the Matrix - April Download Pt I

I know its a little late but it is about that time to download thoughts that have been swirling in my head (usually typed into my phone) for the month of APRIL. As I mentioned in the past, I've noticed a not so subtle shift in my investing habits and it has been a huge thirst for data! I think that in periods like this where the direction of the economy, country and the world are not so clear cut, everyone saturates the internet, tv, and newspapers with there different view points of how it will all play out. For me this amounts to a lot of noise. And noise for a MACROVALUEQUANT (not sure what this means, run a quick search for previous posts) can be good and bad, but mainly its time consuming. Its time consuming because I think investing and being wrong about these events may be worse than not investing at all. This gets us back to that VALUE concept and my need to want to have conviction that I am entering into an investment at a point where there is significant value to be gained.

But enough of my ramblings and onto the themes and concepts that I've dialed into the most this month, starting with the oldest dated notes:

A look back in time...

I've been following the ups and downs of the markets the last few months and what's interesting about my analysis is I don't really feel like much has changed. It has to be the most perplexing thing in the world for me now in my over 10 years of personal investing. It's perplexing because things are changing (slightly) and for the market we've seen its slow ascent higher. But I still think the market sucks. There is a lot of downside risk and I STILL like Commodities, Technology, Wireless.


I am clearing through my papers and I was looking of the habits of investing for success. The purpose of this blog was to capture the main theme of that write up and that was to keep a diary, a virtual diary in my example. The things to try and remember to do are:

~ Review your holdings (probably not daily)
~ Remember you portfolio includes all your accounts: Stocks, 401K, and IRA accounts do matter and they make up your complete portfolio
~ Pick how you want to measure your success: Success can vary from investor to investor so what defines whether you're up...a percentage, a target goal, etc
~ Start keeping track

I hope these tools go a long way into to helping you build your own portfolio. For me I do these things and really don't review my portfolio very frequently. I care about how they are trading but I don't get to concerned on their moves up or down. A great example was when we bought Burlington Northern Santa Fe. If you go back to when this stock was first recommended you will see why I thought it was important and at what prices I thought it was attractive. By taking notes, I still remember I liked this stock in the mid 70s because I believed that one of the positive things to take away from where the economy was at the time was the importance in commodities and the shift in emerging markets needing those commodities. I kept up with things but often didn't watch its swings. Its hard to wait but the odd thing was when Burlington finally got bought out at over $100 a share it was my friend that called me and alerted me of what had happened...I didn't know right away.


Here are a few examples of stocks that we've recommended over time and waited and watched them pay off as the fundamentals developed:


Supertel (SPPR) - I originally bought this in 2005 when it was known at Humphrey Hospitality. In researching my blog this was sold roughly 3 years later for around a 60% increase.

Cytyc (CYTC)- One of my all time favorite stocks, they were one of the first stocks I recommended and one of the first that I owned to get bought out. Bought at $17 and held until they got bought out in the $40s I believe.

Ambassadors International (AMIE) - This one was a stock that didn't move much for a long time I bought in 2004 for $13. I wrote an article 3 years later finally selling after I recall it hitting a peak of $32 and coming back down and settling in the mid 20s.

OIL - My call to buy oil stocks back in 2005 in my inaugural post was fitting. Who would have known the ride this commodity was going to be on going forward. Oil Post

Clayton Williams (CWEI) - Based on my call in oil, this was the a stock bought at $42 and this went all the up into the $100s. This took years to develop but what a ride.

Collectors Universe (CLCT) - Here is the final and prime reason to not let go of a good thing. CLCT is not the best stock I've owned over time, but it was the most stressful one to own. I have owned this stock since 2007. CLCT POST The story behind this stock and why I still own is because of fundamentals. This stock was paying a healthy dividend $.20c a quarter back then and helped me build up my war chest. When the decline of 2008 hit this stock plummeted to $4 when management cut the dividend. The only thing that stopped me from taking a huge loss was reading the financial report that was put out by the company. The newly appointed CEO (because the company booted the last one) outlined that the company could afford to still issue a dividend however it is prudent to hold the cash during tough times. So I waited and waited through the darkest period in the market and true to his word they brought the dividend back when the stock was around $6 a share. So I was essentially buying the stock each quarter with the dividends and lowering the cost of what I had bought the stock in. So today even with the stock standing at mid $13s a share we are seeing a 25% increase.


This is why its important to take notes.



Now it is even more important to remember your blunders and boy have I had a few in my past. The easiest one I can remember is:

Zhone Technologies - I rode this stock from $1.10 to the $1.40s. Then the fundamentals fell and I waited to long. This cost me a bunch as I never sold until this stock hit .70c! Ouch, they didn't get approval to sell in a region in Europe which they thought they had locked down. So this taught me be careful with penny stocks and they are volatile and their business can swing based on contracts.


Not Shorting Housing - This would have made me a legend if I knew about shorting back in the day. This post proves why you should write down your thoughts...my first call on housing and I didn't nothing about it: Housing


Rite Aid (RAD): Just a horrible pick and I'm glad to notice that I wrote about getting out of this position and putting my capital to better use. Ha to bad that cash went to Zhone Tech. LOL


NOT Buying Apple (AAPL) - I wrote a piece on this based on a reader question, and never followed my own advice.

BUYING ETFs - I will write here. Do not buy ETFs as an investment. I would only use these purely as hedges in your portfolio. They are difficult securities to own due to their calculations and just because oil is going up doesn't mean the ETF is going to do up also. Also, anything super levered (Banks x3) is just not smart!!! Repeat do not buy unless you are hedging your portfolio!!!

Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) Mania...

There has been a lot of buzz about the ETF industry and the flexibility it gives the average investor of trading like the pros. You can buy or sell short industries and sectors and even multiply the effect of your returns 2x or 3x the daily amount. One ETF that I would like to discuss is Direxion Financial Bear 3x Shares (FAZ)

FAZ seeks to increase the magnitude of a decline in financial stocks by the tune of 3 to 1. When you pick up these shares be ready for the crazy ride you will be on. On any given day this ETF can fluctuate from a difference of over 10 points from the high and low prices of the day! With the banks desparate for the release of the second half of the 700 Billion dollar TARP fund this could continue to fuel FAZ's rise. I see one of two scenarios coming down the pipeline:
1. More investments from the government into financials mean more stock dilution; or
2. A program to get rid of the bad bank assets means huge write-downs for the banks

Use FAZ for no longer than a day as you can end up on a downward slide very quickly. I am already in the red on the timing of this play and will cut my losses short. However, I will intently watch the financial sector and during periods of weaknesses this will definitely be a way to use a little bit of money to maximize your returns.

Damn Gina!

Yeah, I had to steal my favorite line from my Urb flashback sitcom "Martin", featuring Martin Lawrence. What does Martin have to do with investing, yeah you guessed it Damn Gina! That's what I say when I get something right but I am too weak to pull the trigger. I have to give some credit to a stock star (not rockstar) friend of mine that goes by "The Great". We were all over the fact that the mortgage world is imploding as we speak. Need proof read a few of my columns that date back to last year when we called the top of the market...need more proof check out American Home Mortgage!!! But I will get back to that story in a minute.

We are here to say DAMN GINA! to the fact that I wanted to:

MAKE MONEY off of the real estate market. Specifically I wanted to SHORT MORTGAGE companies. So I had this convo with "The Great" only 2 days ago and we plotted a master plan to make so dough off of this scenario. The scenario is simple but the buzz from my friends at Fast Money on CNBC is that shorting this sector was old news. But "The Great" mentioned a few great points. The bloodshed has only begun on the books of these real estate companies. They have assets that are deteriorating in value and they can't pay back their damn loans. So our strategy was to pick a few sectors in real estate and get to work SHORTING those stocks, or betting that the value would go down for these stocks. So J. Gotti wanted to take the least risk adverse road possible and I will not guess what stocks will tank I want some certainty.

Urb "Living Legend" lesson of the day: My main man, Warren Buffett says make big bets on highly probably events.

Guessing which real estate stock will tank is like shooting darts. So I want to pick a fund that has exposure to: Mortgages and Homebuilders and short the whole damn sector. Now this is highly likely that the sector will fall over time. So what did I come up with:


(REM) an Exchange Traded Fund that specializes in Mortgage companies

The Damn Gina part -> http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=rem
REM was down over 9% today

So what have we learned today...go with your gut. And my gut is telling me that the main reason REM tanked today was because of American Home Mortgage fears. This stock is done, finished...beat it, scram. And the kicker is they issued over 50 billion in loans last year and non of them were sub prime. That means, none of their loans were really janky!!!! Janky is a lovely word for horrible. But guess what, most of their loans were Alt -A or almost Janky. And if companies are going bankrupt on loan portfolios that are not even sub prime then we are in big trouble folks. Alt -A loans are going to a lot more almost "normal" home buyers.

So to wrap things up folks I am going out a limb and say if the market hasn't punished the finance companies that specialize in Alt - A loans then its time for us to do it, before the market realizes the obvious. Here is a quick list of companies that I found that specialize in Alt A loans:

Alliance Bancorp - already bankrupt
M+T Bank

Hey if you know any public companies that specialize in these loans, let me know!

Space Age Pimpin' - Space Age Portfolio

Ok folks time to get your portfolio Space Age Pimpin', well into the next few decades. What does this mean? By following the Space Age Portfolio, readers here at Urbanomics will finally be able to buy stock they are looking to hold long term. As most of you know I am your favorite Urban Economist and that's why you see my boys Eightball and MJG here ->




They were early pioneers in the rap game and I am pioneering the stock investment game with a little bit of Urban flavor. Yeah, I know that my boy Jim Cramer and the guys at Fast Money are pretty cool but they got nothin' on me. My strategy is like my basketball game...very versatile. I generally look for undervalued stocks that will experience some type of near term catalyst that will catapult the stock into a great momentum trade and turnaround story. Want proof, follow my recommendations that have been posted: MMS, CLCT, MOBE, each purchased in the last 6 months with returns over 25%. Need more, I own 2 stocks that will like be bought out this year after merger talks are over: Sallie Mae (SLM) & Cytyc (CYTC). But on to what you want to hear. What about the stocks that will have your back for the long term.

Here goes, the goal of this portfolio will be to pick stocks across a diverse group of industries, that are best in class, and have the opportunity for both price appreciation and income potential. Let's start with my favorite industry so far, OIL. With this group I have to go with ConocoPhillips...yes I am

piggybacking their most recent upgrade by Bank of America and it does hurt that they just disclosed a stock buyback program of roughly 15billion.

ConocoPhillips (COP)


Next, I am going out to one of my long term income potential plays. You will benefit because real estate stock is a REIT and those dividend payments can help grow our portfolio. GGP also operates in two segments retail and master planned communities. So you get retail, land owner, and landlord all in on. Real estate has taken a little bit of a beating so jump on board, now.




General Growth Properties (GGP)




No long write up for this one, because I've already told you why to own it but add this retail player to your portfolio.


Best Buy (BBY)

Wrap up your portfolio with exposure to Utilities. Why?...Because it is too damn hot outside. Man and with this heat wave out there what is every one doing at home turning up the Air Conditioner. And when the A/C goes on, the utility man gets PAID. Ka-Ching. So load up with this exchange traded fund (ETF):



XLU