Wedding Entertainment Ideas With a Twist
Most weddings follow a very tried and tested formula but there are ways you can make your special day bespoke to you and your personal tastes. And, there is one very easy way that this can be accomplished; by your choice of wedding entertainment. A standard ceremony would have the brides entrance music played on the church organ or via a CD and PA. But, with a little thinking outside the box you could opt for a string quartet or harpist to perform at the ceremony and add a touch of romantic elegance instead. Or, for completely different wedding entertainment ideas, why not hire a few singers and seat them amongst your guests to reinact the classic ‘Love Actually’ movie scene. Some couples opting for classical guitarists, contemporary acoustic duos or even opera singers.The wedding ceremony tends to be followed by the drinks reception, or, as it is commonly known, the photographs. This time is fantastic for the bride and groom and when it is your own turn great fun also. But, what do you do whilst waiting around for your turn? If you don’t know many of the guests it can actually get quite boring. A funky little jazz band or a rat pack singer could really help keep your guests amused and entertained. Or, why not opt for a magician or caricaturist? They really create a great atmosphere and will help to break the ice between your guests who maybe do not know each other yet. If your budget is quite small you could even ask the ceremony entertainers to stay on a little longer for the drinks reception. Anything at this point to keep your guests amused is better than nothing and will create a great tone for the party yet to come later on.After the photos comes the wedding breakfast. Again, you could ask your ceremony act to stay on through the meal to help set a lovely background ambience or even entertain table to table if you booked a magician or caricaturist. This is a great way again of helping your guests who may not know each other yet interact. The more relaxed your guests feel in their surroundings the more likely they are to stay on longer into the night and party the hours away helping to celebrate your special day.Finally, after the meal you enter the time where live wedding entertainment is a definite. If you have managed to survive your way through the earlier part of the day with no real entertainment, then now is the time to dig deep! No matter how great your invitations were, and no matter how tasty the food was, or, how perfect the flowers and place settings were they will be forgotten in a week by your guests. What they will remember though is if they had a great time at the evening part of your celebrations. So, please do not just settle for the hotel house DJ. Add to this entertainment by having live wedding entertainment of some kind.Wedding bands, swing bands, tribute bands and jazz bands will really interact with your guests and encourage them to take to the dance floor. After all, this is what the evening is all about, your family and friends having the best possible time to help celebrate and mark your special occasion. There is nothing like a good live band to help get your wedding reception party started. Additional wedding entertainment ideas could be to have a fire performer or fire eater. This is a welcome change to the all too normal fireworks that seem to interlude every wedding these days. The main difference is that a fire performer will be able to entertain and have banter with your guests. It’s all about fun and creating a memory.Think about you and what you like. Think about the entertainment that you want to enjoy yourselves and then consider if that is something that can translate through to your guests so that they can enjoy it as well.Wedding entertainment is a massively important factor in creating the perfect day and with a little imagination and creativity you really can create the perfect, unique day that will live in you and your guests memories for years to come.
Halal Investment Options for Muslims in Canada
I’ve always been a huge advocate of avoiding Riba (Interest), either earning or paying. There are definite financial, social and religious reasons for this and we, as Muslims, are aware of them.There has always been a concern among the Muslim community in Canada of where they should put their extra money in terms of Savings or Investments, earn money from that or at least hedge against the Inflation and other factors. Based on my knowledge and experience (Allah knows best), I was able to dart down the following investment opportunities available in the Canadian market.Investing in Commodities e.g. Gold and SilverGold and Silver have historically been the best source of securing your wealth over a long period of time. From my research of historical Gold prices, they have tripled in last 20 years. Silver is not far behind. Rather, silver has outperformed gold if we take different time ranges. So let’s say you are not someone who has huge sums of money and can make big investments, investing in gold or silver is definitely an option for you. This is purely a halal investment and if you are looking to invest for a longer period of time, let’s say saving money for your child’s education, investing a couple of hundred dollars a month should not be difficult. This way you are preserving your wealth and, in the meantime, saving money for your child’s education. You can buy gold from banks or can even purchase from an accredited gold dealer in Canada.There are other commodities you can invest in but for a domestic investor it would be hard to store those commodities over a long period of time.Investing in company Stocks i.e. sharesBasic reasoning as to why stocks are halal investments is as investors you will be rewarded with profits of the company and will also to have bear losses, if any. There are different types of stocks you can invest in based on your investment horizon i.e. time period you want to invest for and the amount of risk you can handle. Moreover, it also matters what kind of income stream you have in mind i.e. do you want regular dividend payments or you are more interested in Capital Gains (IPO’s i.e. companies that are recently launching their stocks into the stock market, are best for Capital Gains).Examples of stocks you can invest in as Muslims are:
1. Retail companies
2. Oil and Gas companies
3. Trading companies etc.There is a list of type of companies we, as Muslims, should not invest in i.e. these won’t be considered as Halal investments. Companies that primarily deal in:
1. Financial institutions i.e. banks, loaning companies
2. Alcohol
3. Pork and pork related products
4. Tobacco
5. Weapons and ammunition
6. EntertainmentThe list provided above is just an example and is not extensive.As a normal person who does not have much knowledge about how to invest in stocks in Canadian Stock markets, best thing is to reach out to someone who knows. They may be your relationship managers at the bank, a muslim scholar who has finance knowledge as well and knows financial markets or contact brokerage companies.You will need to make sure you have explained to them in detail the criteria for your investments i.e. type of companies you are looking into.Some banks such as RBC Royal Bank give you an online account that you can use trade stocks online. For this you need to have reasonable knowledge of how stocks work and how to analyse an investment opportunity.Land and propertyIf you have enough spare cash that you have saved over a period of time and looking to invest in halal options, property and land present another option for you. People do engage into buying houses through mortgage and increase their asset base, but that is definitely not a halal option. So, if you are someone who likes to avoid interest, you should not go into buying houses through mortgage.Now there are 2 scenarios:
1. You have enough money to buy a house. In this case you should be on the look for best investment opportunities in terms of property and land. I’ve seen people usually invest more into buying houses than buying land in Canada. This is not a bad option and is more secure. But investing in Land around the areas that have potential in terms of future growth and have developmental projects in the pipeline is something that can generate higher returns for you.2. You don’t have enough money to buy a house in Canada. In this scenario, since almost all of us are immigrants here, there is always an opportunity available in your country of origin. You can invest in smaller properties there and once you have collected enough money, you can bring it back here (if your goals is to own property in Canada).
Investing in new companiesA large number of Muslim business men/women want to start their new projects, they have good ideas but do not have the money to invest. You can find these people in your community or social networks and discuss about their ideas. If you have the financial knowledge, try and analyse their ideas, both in terms of practicality and future revenues. If you don’t have the knowledge, have them create a business plan and then present that business plan to an investment advisor.You can also create a pool of money with your friends, acquaintances and start a business that you normally can’t afford. Investing in new projects i.e. businesses, is riskier than investing into an already running business but if weighed and measured properly and work hard on, can generate much better returns.In the end, my knowledge is limited and above mentioned options are just suggestions, but I am hopeful they can give you an idea about investing halal and saving yourself from the curse of Riba (Interest). I’d be more than pleased to help with any of the above.
Putting HOPE Back into Health Care
Our current health care system is ailing. Satisfaction among patients as well as health care providers is as low as it has ever been.Even in the era of doctor making house calls, people had confidence in their doctor, who, back then, represented the health care system. Confidence was based on trust, that the doctor was offering the best treatment and advances possible.Today, patient trust is dwindling. Yet, there is still a great deal of trust in doctors and nurses. In a recent poll, the professions that were most greatly admired and respected by the public, second to firemen, were doctors and nurses.Lack of confidence stems not from the health providers themselves, but from the system that the doctors and nurses work for.Let’s examine some potential areas eroding public confidence in our health care system:1.) Speed: Our system has always moved quickly, but the current pace is nothing short of phrenetic. Oh yes, a doctor or nurse could move slower, but the price would be at the expense of patients who would not be seen or cared for that day. Quietly, health providers talk about feeling like they are part of a “conveyor belt” that treats paperwork more than it does people.Indeed, the amount of paperwork has increased exponentially and the “system” doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. Insurance companies, particularly managed care, has heavily contributed to this additional layer of bureaucracy taking time away from patient care. At the risk of offending managed care companies, this is the truth. Managed care was originally designed to contain costs. But the impact on care of patients is one that has yet to be determined.2.) Commercialiazation of health care: commercials etc….erodes public confidence. Patients regularly verbalize an overwhelmed and distorted image of the role of medication from watching television commercials. This is not the patient’s fault! And it works both ways, commercials can be suggestive, or implant resistance in patients who might genuinely benefit from a trial of medication. Patient’s decisions are influenced by marketing, rather than medical facts, and that just doesn’t make good clinical sense.3.) “Pill popping society” – stems in part from commercialization but also from a stressed society looking for ways to make it easier to cope4.) Conventional health care has yet to accept natural modalities as part of its treatment regimens. Yet, public opinion on this matter is very evident. Annual spending on Complementary/Alternative modalities exceeds ______/year. Yet, a large reason for this lack of integration into conventional health care remains lack of scientific research. Without large funding sources like pharmaceutical companies, natural treatments have been left largely to a word by mouth market.And the word has spread like wildfire. And most often from people with chronic health challenges whose health has been restored. Yet why haven’t these potentially life-saving remedies been studied? In fact, for many health providers in conventional medicine, caring for people suffering with these chronic health challenges, it is heart wrenching not to be able to offer people more hope.5.) The U.S. Health care system is rated 37th in the world according to the World Health Organization. Clearly these dismal results becry the need for health care solutions and transformation for the sake of our people.Health: not simply the eradication of disease but the concept of healing, restoration and rejuvenation, particularly for those with chronic health conditions. Included in this is the incorporation of preventative health care into mainstream medicine.Transformation of health care = Hope for all
Health Care Services
There are many health services and a proper range of health care services needs to be provided under a proper healthcare system. The United States does not have the best health care services in the world but it can be said that it has the best emergency care system around the globe. The fact behind this is that America is having highest level of poverty and income inequality among all the rich and developed nations and it affects the reach of the people to the proper health services.Health systems are designed to fulfill the needs of the health care of some targeted nation or population. Health care planning and its proper system implementation are much more necessary for any country or government. According to the World health report 2000 “Improving performance are good health, responsiveness to the expectations of the population, and fair financial contribution.” Duckett (2004) proposed a two dimensional approach to evaluation of health systems: “quality, efficiency and acceptability on one dimension and equity on another.”To have a best health care facilities UNICEF advises that there must be three primary steps which can then systematically improve the health services and to complete a health system.1. Standards
2. Assessment and Accreditation
3. Support MaterialsSeven years ago World Health Organization made the first major effort to rank the health systems of 191 nations. The following parameters were taken in consideration for the best care services;· Insurance Coverage
· Access
· Fairness
· Health Lives
· Quality
· Life and Death
· Patient Satisfaction
· Use of IT
· Top of the Line Care
· Walk in clinicHealth is a state of well being, physically, mentally, socially and psychologically. Health services are fundamental part of any community, therefore financial stability and proper coverage of medical through insurance or some other way is very much necessary for a human to live and stay normal. There is a proper process oriented structure is required, implemented by the government to provide the health services to each and every of their citizen. The health care industry is responsible to provide the proper health care services to the people with their arm namely health services providers. These health services are paid and could be paid by the patient, by insurance plan, or by the government. Charities and volunteers also play their role to provide the health services to those who are unable to afford. There could be various ways to provide health services to the patient, normally can be categorized into two main;· Face to Face:This is the most common way, where the provider, interacts with the patient physically and after having the checkup and understanding of the issues, diagnoses the problem or suggests some tests or medication.· Non -Face To Face:Telecommunication is the latest emerging facility, which is now in use to provide healthcare services as well. The practitioner can interact with the patient using, phone, email, text message, or video conferencing and then can provide further suggestions to him / her.Health services are also provided at schools where the children could be taken care of. UNESCO has published a set of tools to provide the guidance to school healthcare services providers. Following are the basic parameters which must be catered;· HIV/AIDS
· Food and nutrition
· Helminthes and hygiene
· Malaria
· Violence
· Drugs, tobacco and alcoholIn any health services providing system there could be the following three types of health services.1. Primary Health Care Services:Whenever someone needs a health care service in normal and routine life, who could be a family doctor, nurse, nurse practitioner, physiotherapist, pharmacist, etc. Primary health services often include prevention and treatment of common diseases and injuries.2. Secondary Health CareServices:Whenever someone needs a special care he/she is referred to a specialized care unit, like hospital, or nursing home to provide secondary level of health facilities.3. Additional / Supplementary Health Care Services:The services which are normally provided to the senior citizens, children or to whom which do not have their proper medical coverage or paying capabilities and the expanses are covered through government funds or through some volunteer or charity organization.
S&P 500 Rallies As U.S. Dollar Pulls Back Towards Weekly Lows
Key Insights
The strong pullback in the U.S. dollar provided significant support to stocks.
Treasury yields have pulled back after touching new highs, which served as an additional positive catalyst for S&P 500.
A move above 3730 will push S&P 500 towards the resistance level at 3760.
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Pfizer Rallies After Announcing A Huge Price Hike For Its COVID-19 Vaccines
S&P 500 is currently trying to settle above 3730 as traders’ appetite for risk is growing. The U.S. dollar has recently gained strong downside momentum as the BoJ intervened to stop the rally in USD/JPY. Weaker U.S. dollar is bullish for stocks as it increases profits of multinational companies and makes U.S. equities cheaper for foreign investors.
The leading oil services company Schlumberger is up by 9% after beating analyst estimates on both earnings and revenue. Schlumberger’s peers Baker Hughes and Halliburton have also enjoyed strong support today.
Vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna gained strong upside momentum after Pfizer announced that it will raise the price of its coronavirus vaccine to $110 – $130 per shot.
Biggest losers today include Verizon and Twitter. Verizon is down by 5% despite beating analyst estimates on both earnings and revenue. Subscriber numbers missed estimates, and traders pushed the stock to multi-year lows.
Twitter stock moved towards the $50 level as the U.S. may conduct a security review of Musk’s purchase of the company.
From a big picture point of view, today’s rebound is broad, and most market segments are moving higher. Treasury yields have started to move lower after testing new highs, providing additional support to S&P 500. It looks that some traders are ready to bet that Fed will be less hawkish than previously expected.
S&P 500 Tests Resistance At 3730
S&P 500 has recently managed to get above the 20 EMA and is trying to settle above the resistance at 3730. RSI is in the moderate territory, and there is plenty of room to gain additional upside momentum in case the right catalysts emerge.
If S&P 500 manages to settle above 3730, it will head towards the next resistance level at 3760. A successful test of this level will push S&P 500 towards the next resistance at October highs at 3805. The 50 EMA is located in the nearby, so S&P 500 will likely face strong resistance above the 3800 level.
On the support side, the previous resistance at 3700 will likely serve as the first support level for S&P 500. In case S&P 500 declines below this level, it will move towards the next support level at 3675. A move below 3675 will push S&P 500 towards the support at 3640.
SPDN: An Inexpensive Way To Profit When The S&P 500 Falls
Summary
SPDN is not the largest or oldest way to short the S&P 500, but it’s a solid choice.
This ETF uses a variety of financial instruments to target a return opposite that of the S&P 500 Index.
SPDN’s 0.49% Expense Ratio is nearly half that of the larger, longer-tenured -1x Inverse S&P 500 ETF.
Details aside, the potential continuation of the equity bear market makes single-inverse ETFs an investment segment investor should be familiar with.
We rate SPDN a Strong Buy because we believe the risks of a continued bear market greatly outweigh the possibility of a quick return to a bull market.
Put a gear stick into R position, (Reverse).
Birdlkportfolio
By Rob Isbitts
Summary
The S&P 500 is in a bear market, and we don’t see a quick-fix. Many investors assume the only way to navigate a potentially long-term bear market is to hide in cash, day-trade or “just hang in there” while the bear takes their retirement nest egg.
The Direxion Daily S&P 500® Bear 1X ETF (NYSEARCA:SPDN) is one of a class of single-inverse ETFs that allow investors to profit from down moves in the stock market.
SPDN is an unleveraged, liquid, low-cost way to either try to hedge an equity portfolio, profit from a decline in the S&P 500, or both. We rate it a Strong Buy, given our concern about the intermediate-term outlook for the global equity market.
Strategy
SPDN keeps it simple. If the S&P 500 goes up by X%, it should go down by X%. The opposite is also expected.
Proprietary ETF Grades
Offense/Defense: Defense
Segment: Inverse Equity
Sub-Segment: Inverse S&P 500
Correlation (vs. S&P 500): Very High (inverse)
Expected Volatility (vs. S&P 500): Similar (but opposite)
Holding Analysis
SPDN does not rely on shorting individual stocks in the S&P 500. Instead, the managers typically use a combination of futures, swaps and other derivative instruments to create a portfolio that consistently aims to deliver the opposite of what the S&P 500 does.
Strengths
SPDN is a fairly “no-frills” way to do what many investors probably wished they could do during the first 9 months of 2022 and in past bear markets: find something that goes up when the “market” goes down. After all, bonds are not the answer they used to be, commodities like gold have, shall we say, lost their luster. And moving to cash creates the issue of making two correct timing decisions, when to get in and when to get out. SPDN and its single-inverse ETF brethren offer a liquid tool to use in a variety of ways, depending on what a particular investor wants to achieve.
Weaknesses
The weakness of any inverse ETF is that it does the opposite of what the market does, when the market goes up. So, even in bear markets when the broader market trend is down, sharp bear market rallies (or any rallies for that matter) in the S&P 500 will cause SPDN to drop as much as the market goes up.
Opportunities
While inverse ETFs have a reputation in some circles as nothing more than day-trading vehicles, our own experience with them is, pardon the pun, exactly the opposite! We encourage investors to try to better-understand single inverse ETFs like SPDN. While traders tend to gravitate to leveraged inverse ETFs (which actually are day-trading tools), we believe that in an extended bear market, SPDN and its ilk could be a game-saver for many portfolios.
Threats
SPDN and most other single inverse ETFs are vulnerable to a sustained rise in the price of the index it aims to deliver the inverse of. But that threat of loss in a rising market means that when an investor considers SPDN, they should also have a game plan for how and when they will deploy this unique portfolio weapon.
Proprietary Technical Ratings
Short-Term Rating (next 3 months): Strong Buy
Long-Term Rating (next 12 months): Buy
Conclusions
ETF Quality Opinion
SPDN does what it aims to do, and has done so for over 6 years now. For a while, it was largely-ignored, given the existence of a similar ETF that has been around much longer. But the more tenured SPDN has become, the more attractive it looks as an alternative.
ETF Investment Opinion
SPDN is rated Strong Buy because the S&P 500 continues to look as vulnerable to further decline. And, while the market bottomed in mid-June, rallied, then waffled since that time, our proprietary macro market indicators all point to much greater risk of a major decline from this level than a fast return to bull market glory. Thus, SPDN is at best a way to exploit and attack the bear, and at worst a hedge on an otherwise equity-laden portfolio.
S&P 500 Biotech Giant Vertex Leads 5 Stocks Showing Strength
Your stocks to watch for the week ahead are Cheniere Energy (LNG), S&P 500 biotech giant Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX), Cardinal Health (CAH), Steel Dynamics (STLD) and Genuine Parts (GPC).
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While the market remains in correction, with analysts and investors wary of an economic downturn, these five stocks are worth adding to watchlists. S&P 500 medical giants Vertex and Cardinal Health have been holding up, as health-care related plays tend to do well in down markets.
Steel Dynamics and Genuine Parts are both coming off strong earnings as both the steel and auto parts industries report optimistic outlooks. Meanwhile, Cheniere Energy saw sales boom in the second quarter as demand in Europe for natural gas continues to grow.
Major indexes have been making rally attempts with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 testing weekly support on Friday. With market uncertainty, investors should be ready for follow-through day breakouts and keep an eye on these stocks.
Cheniere Energy, Cardinal Health and VRTX stock are all on IBD Leaderboard.
Cheniere Energy Stock
LNG shares rose 1.1% to 175.79 during Friday’s market trading. On the week, the stock advanced 3.1%, not from highs, bouncing from its 21-day and 10-week lines earlier in the week.
Cheniere Energy has been consolidating since mid-September, but needs another week to forge a proper base, with a potential 182.72 buy point formed on Aug. 10.
Houston-based Cheniere Energy was IBD Stock Of The Day on Thursday, as the largest U.S. producer of liquefied natural gas eyes strong demand in Europe.
Even though natural gas prices are plunging in the U.S. and Europe, investors still see strong LNG demand for Cheniere and others.
The U.K. government confirmed last week that it is in talks for an LNG purchase agreement with a number of companies, including Cheniere.
In the first half of 2021, less than 40% of Cheniere’s cargoes of LNG landed in Europe. That jumped to more than 70% through this year’s second quarter, even as the company ramped up new export capacity. The urgency of Europe’s natural gas shortage only intensified last month. That is when an explosion disabled the Nord Stream 1 pipeline from Russia that had once supplied 40% of the European Union’s natural gas.
In Q2, sales increased 165% to $8 billion and LNG earned $2.90 per share, up from a net loss of $1.30 per share in Q2 2021. The company will report Q3 earnings Nov. 3, with investors seeing booming profits for the next few quarters.
Cheniere Energy has a Composite Rating of 84. It has a 98 Relative Strength Rating, an exclusive IBD Stock Checkup gauge for share price movement with a 1 to 99 score. The rating shows how a stock’s performance over the last 52 weeks holds up against all the other stocks in IBD’s database. The EPS rating is 41.
Vertex Stock
VRTX stock jumped 3.4% to 300 on Friday, rebounding from a test of its 50-day moving average. Shares climbed 2.2% for the week. Vertex stock has formed a tight flat base with an official buy point of 306.05, according to MarketSmith analysis.
The stock has remained consistent over recent weeks, while the relative strength line has trended higher. The RS line tracks a stock’s performance vs. the S&P 500 index.
Vertex Q3 earnings are on due Oct. 27. Analysts see EPS edging up 1% to $3.61 per share with sales increasing 16% to $2.2 billion, according to FactSet.
The Boston-based global biotech company dominates the cystic fibrosis treatment market. Vertex also has other products in late-stage clinical development that target sickle cell disease, Type 1 diabetes and certain genetically caused kidney diseases. That includes a gene-editing partnership with Crispr Therapeutics (CRSP).
In early August, Vertex reported better-than-expected second-quarter results and raised full-year sales targets.
S&P 500 stock Vertex ranks second in the Medical-Biomed/Biotech industry group. VRTX has a 99 Composite Rating. Its Relative Strength Rating is 94 and its EPS Rating is 99.
CRISPR Stocks: Will Concerns Over Risk Inhibit Gene-Editing Cures?
Cardinal Health Stock
CAH stock advanced 3.2% to 73.03 Friday, clearing a 71.22 buy point from a shallow cup-with-handle base and hitting a record high. But volume was light on the breakout. CAH stock leapt 7.3% for the week.
Cardinal Health stock’s relative strength line has also been trending up for months.
The cup-with-handle base is part of a base-on-base pattern, forming just above a cup base cleared on Aug. 11.
Cardinal Health, based in Dublin, Ohio, offers a wide assortment of health care services and medical supplies to hospitals, labs, pharmacies and long-term care facilities. The company reports that it serves around 90% of hospitals and 60,000 pharmacies in the U.S.
S&P 500 stock Cardinal Health will report Q1 2023 earnings on Nov. 4. Analysts forecast earnings falling 26% to 96 cents per share. Sales are expected to increase 10% to $48.3 billion, according to FactSet.
Cardinal Health stock ranks first in the Medical-Wholesale Drug/Supplies industry group, ahead of McKesson (MCK), which is also showing positive action. CAH stock has a 94 Composite Rating out of 99. It has a 97 Relative Strength Rating and an EPS rating of 73.
Steel Dynamics Stock
STLD shares shot up 8.5% to 92.92 on Friday and soared 19% on the week, coming off a Steel Dynamics earnings beat Wednesday night.
Shares blasted above an 88.72 consolidation buy point Friday after clearing a trendline Thursday. STLD stock is 17% above its 50-day line, definitely extended from that key average.
Steel Dynamics’ latest consolidation could be seen as part of a larger base going back six months.
Steel Dynamics topped Q3 earnings views with EPS rising 10% to $5.46 while revenue grew 11% to $5.65 billion. The steel producer’s outlook is optimistic despite weaker flat rolled steel pricing. STLD reports its order activity and backlogs remain solid.
The Fort Wayne, Indiana-based company is among the largest producers of carbon steel products in the U.S. It engages in metal recycling operations along with steel fabrication and produces myriad steel products.
How Millett Grew Steel Dynamics From A Three Employee Business
STLD stock ranks first in the Steel-Producers industry group. STLD stock has a 96 Composite Rating out of 99. It has a 90 Relative Strength Rating, an exclusive IBD Stock Checkup gauge for share-price movement that tops at 99. The rating shows how a stock’s performance over the last 52 weeks holds up against all the other stocks in IBD’s database. The EPS rating is 98.
Genuine Parts Stock
GPC stock gained 2.8% to 162.35 Friday after the company topped earnings views with its Q3 results on Thursday. For the week GPC advanced 5.1% as the stock held its 50-day line and is in a flat base.
GPC has an official 165.09 flat-base buy point after a three-week rally, according to MarketSmith analysis.
The relative strength line for Genuine Parts stock has rallied sharply to highs over the past several months.
On Thursday, the Atlanta-based auto parts company raised its full-year guidance on growth across its automotive and industrial sales.
Genuine Parts earnings per share advanced 19% to $2.23 and revenue grew 18% to $5.675 billion in Q3. GPC’s full-year guidance is now calling for EPS of $8.05-$8.15, up from $7.80-$7.95. The company now forecasts revenue growth of 15%-16%, up from the earlier 12%-14%.
During the Covid pandemic, supply chain constraints caused a major upheaval in the auto industry, sending prices for new and used cars to record levels. This has made consumers more likely to hang on to their existing vehicles for longer, driving mileage higher and boosting demand for auto replacement parts.
Fellow auto stocks O’Reilly Auto Parts (ORLY) and AutoZone (AZO) have also rallied near buy points amid the struggling market. O’Reilly reports on Oct. 26.
IBD ranks Genuine Parts first in the Retail/Wholesale-Auto Parts industry group. GPC stock has a 96 Composite Rating. Its Relative Strength Rating is 94 and it has an EPS Rating of 89.
Shoe Repairs And Several Other Things When I Was 7
Shoe Repairs And Several Other Things When I Was 7
My Dad repaired most of our shoes believe it or not, I can hardly believe it myself now. With 7 pairs of shoes always needing repairs I think he was quite clever to learn how to “Keep us in shoe Leather” to coin a phrase!
He bought several different sizes of cast iron cobbler’s “lasts”. Last, the old English “Laest” meaning footprint. Lasts were holding devices shaped like a human foot. I have no idea where he would have bought the shoe leather. Only that it was a beautiful creamy, shiny colour and the smell was lovely.
But I do remember our shoes turned upside down on and fitted into these lasts, my Dad cutting the leather around the shape of the shoe, and then hammering nails, into the leather shape. Sometimes we’d feel one or 2 of those nails poking through the insides of our shoes, but our dad always fixed it.
Hiking and Swimming Galas
Dad was a very outdoorsy type, unlike my mother, who was probably too busy indoors. She also enjoyed the peace and quiet when he took us off for the day!
Anyway, he often took us hiking in the mountains where we’d have a picnic of sandwiches and flasks of tea. And more often than not we went by steam train.
We loved poking our heads out of the window until our eyes hurt like mad from a blast of soot blowing back from the engine. But sore, bloodshot eyes never dampened our enthusiasm.
Dad was an avid swimmer and water polo player, and he used to take us to swimming galas, as they were called back then. He often took part in these galas. And again we always travelled by steam train.
Rowing Over To Ireland’s Eye
That’s what we did back then, we had to go by rowboat, the only way to get to Ireland’s eye, which is 15 minutes from mainland Howth. From there we could see Malahide, Lambay Island and Howth Head of course. These days you can take a Round Trip Cruise on a small cruise ship!
But we thoroughly enjoyed rowing and once there we couldn’t wait to climb the rocks, and have a swim. We picnicked and watched the friendly seals doing their thing and showing off.
Not to mention all kinds of birdlife including the Puffin.The Martello Tower was also interesting but a bit dangerous to attempt entering. I’m getting lost in the past as I write, and have to drag myself back to the present.
Fun Outings with The camera Club
Dad was also a very keen amateur photographer, and was a member of a camera Club. There were many Sunday photography outings and along with us came other kids of the members of the club.
And we always had great fun while the adults busied themselves taking photos of everything and anything, it seemed to us. Dad was so serious about his photography that he set up a dark room where he developed and printed his photographs.
All black and white at the time. He and his camera club entered many of their favourites in exhibitions throughout Europe. I’m quite proud to say that many cups and medals were won by Dad. They have been shared amongst all his grandchildren which I find quite special.
He liked taking portraits of us kids too, mostly when we were in a state of untidiness, usually during play. Dad always preferred the natural look of messy hair and clothes in the photos of his children.
US Markets in green on Friday; Dow 30 up over 345 points, Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500 up nearly 1%
US Markets were trading in the green on Friday with Dow 30 trading at 30,678.80, up by 1.14%. While S&P 500 was trading at 3,701.66, up by 0.98% and Nasdaq Composite 10,690.60 was also up by 0.71 per cent
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US Markets in green on Friday; Dow 30 up over 345 points, Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500 up nearly 1%
Earlier today, Indian stock markets ended the week on a winning note. It was the sixth straight gains for equity markets. Source: Reuters
US Markets were trading in the green on Friday with Dow 30 trading at 30,678.80, up by 345.25 points or1.14 per cent. While S&P 500 was trading at 3,701.66, up by 35.88 points or 0.98 per cent and Nasdaq Composite 10,690.60 was also up 75.75 points or 0.71 per cent. A Reuters report said that today’s strength was on the back of a report which said the Federal Reserve will likely debate on signaling plans for a smaller interest rate hike in December, reversing declines set off by social media firms after Snap Inc’s ad warning.
Source: Comex
Nasdaq Top Gainers and Losers
Source: Nasdaq
Earlier today, Indian stock markets ended the week on a winning note. It was the sixth straight gains for equity markets. The BSE Sensex ended at 59,307.15, up by 104.25 points or 0.18 per cent from the Thursday closing level. Meanwhile, the Nifty50 index closed at 17,590.00, higher by 26.05 points or 0.15 per cent. In the 30-share Sensex, 13 stocks gained while the remaining 17 ended on the losing side. In the 50-stock Nifty50, 21 stocks advanced while 29 declined.