Notary public: A side hustle with service

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Entrepreneur Paul C. Brunson ticks off the 10 jobs he holds to ensure that whatever happens in his career, he always has money coming in. Paul C. Brunson, Special to USA TODAY

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Brenda Charles-Edwards has always sought out jobs that involved serving the public. For 27 years, the mother and wife was a flight attendant for Delta Airlines and now-defunct Western Airlines.�She loved flying to exotic locales such as�Hong Kong and Taipei, but the work no longer suited�her.

"In the early days, before airline�deregulation�in the late '70s (when the government regulated fares, routes�and market entry of�new airlines), the�traveling public was primarily business travelers who were�fun and happy," says Charles-Edwards, a 60ish professional living in Seattle. "After deregulation, the attitude changed. But�I�stayed because the salary, medical�and retirement benefits were adequate. I also enjoyed working with my flight crews."�

Though she didn't leave the airline industry until 2000, she had begun considering other careers in the early '90s. ��I wanted to do something involving the government, but I didn��t want to run for a public office,�� she says.

She discovered that a notary public �� an official appointed by the state to act as an impartial witness during the signing of vital documents �� didn��t have to be elected. It was a chance to make some money on the side and give back to her community.

With two young daughters at the time (now ages 21 and 33) and supportive husband Paul, Charles-Edwards set up shop in 1992 as a mobile notary public. Her tagline: ��Tell me where, I��ll meet you there!��

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While every state has different requirements for certification, she received her training and certification through the National Notary Association, which involved taking courses, studying�and passing a rigorous exam on notarial acts and procedures.

According to the National Notary Association, there are 4.4 million notaries in North America.�The notary population is overwhelming female (some 84 percent), older (ages 46 to 65)�and well-educated, with nearly two-thirds having a college�degree. Traditionally, notaries are found in the real estate, legal, health care�and banking industries, and interestingly, of those who are self-employed, 54 percent�have been self-employed for less than five years.

��I notarize wills, powers of attorney, living trusts, deeds, adoptions�and more,�� says Charles-Edwards, who has traveled up and down the Pacific Northwest corridor from Bellingham, Washington, to Vancouver, Canada, to meet clients. Most people assume that a notary is someone who simply stamps documents, she says, but it's a vital role.

"A notary's duty is to screen�signers�for their�true�identity, their willingness to sign without duress or�intimidation�and their awareness of the contents of the document or transaction," she says.

In addition, impartiality is the cornerstone of�the notary's�trust with the public.�A notary�must�ensure there is no personal interest when providing services, and he or she�cannot refuse�to�serve a person based on�race, religion, politics�or sexual�orientation.

Notaries make $10 per notarization due to state-regulated laws. However, Charles-Edwards is�also a notary signing agent who notarizes mortgage loan documents, earning $100 to $250 per signing.

Notary public Brenda Charles-Edwards, right, explains the document signing process to Seattle resident Ashley Kanze at a conference in Las Vegas in June 2018. (Photo: Courtesy of the National Notary Association)

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If you��re interested in pursuing a side hustle as a notary public, Edwards offers these tips:

�� Take an education course:�Every state does not require passing an exam to become certified, but Charles-Edwards recommends selecting a course from an approved list of�education providers�referred by the National Notary Association.

��Taking a course ensures you are up to date on the laws, especially if something goes wrong during a notarization because you can be held liable and sued,�� she explains. "For instance, if a signer has a question, refer the person to his or her attorney or to the document's issuing agency (i.e., mortgage company)�for an answer.�Notaries who step outside these narrow limits risk civil and criminal penalties for practicing law without a license."�

�� Keep a journal:���I��ve always kept one, but my state didn��t require it,�� she�says. ��If you have a journal, it shows what identification was used to confirm they are who they say they are. You also list which documents you notarized.�� A bonus tip: Take a thumbprint of the signer(s), the notary public advises.���It��s not mandatory, but I explain that it��s for their protection and mine.����

�� Think safety first:�She retells the story of reviewing real estate paperwork at a gentleman��s home, and he got upset about something he read. ��It had nothing to do with me, but he had a Doberman, and as his owner raised his voice, the dog, who was laying down, got up because I guess he thinks his master is upset with me,�� she says. She left immediately�and now asks clients if any pets should be put away before her arrival.�

��Decide why you want to be a notary public,���Charles-Edwards says. ��It can be a very lucrative side hustle, and it��s rewarding to help people, but it��s also a responsibility I take very seriously.��

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Why Tyson Foods Stock Lost 16% in July

What happened

Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN) underperformed the market last month by shedding 16% compared to a 3.6% increase in the S&P 500, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

The slump added to a rough year so far for the meat specialist's investors, as shares are down by nearly 30% so far in 2018.

^SPX data by YCharts.

So what

Investors reacted harshly to a sharp downgrade in the company's short-term earnings expectations. Late in the month, Tyson executives said that profits should come in between $5.70 and $6.00 per share rather than the previous target range of $6.55 to $6.70�per share.

Image source: Getty Images.

Management noted several negative trends that contributed to the weakening outlook, including tariffs that are pushing up export prices and an imbalance between supply and demand for chicken and pork products. "The combination of changing global trade policies here and abroad," CEO Tom Hayes said on July 30, "and the uncertainty of any resolution, have created a challenging market environment."

Now what

Hayes and his team believe they can deal with many of the cost and pricing challenges by aggressively managing expenses. However, the company's updated outlook, due when it posts quarterly results on Aug. 6, will likely reflect expectations for continued sluggishness on both the top and bottom lines.

BorgWarner (BWA) Upgraded at Wells Fargo & Co

Wells Fargo & Co upgraded shares of BorgWarner (NYSE:BWA) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note published on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $56.00 price objective on the auto parts company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $57.00.

BWA has been the subject of several other reports. Cowen began coverage on BorgWarner in a report on Monday, April 16th. They set an outperform rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on BorgWarner from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered BorgWarner to a buy rating and set a $57.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, March 23rd. Zacks Investment Research raised BorgWarner from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $56.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 28th. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group raised BorgWarner from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, June 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. BorgWarner currently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $57.88.

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Shares of NYSE BWA opened at $44.35 on Wednesday. BorgWarner has a 1-year low of $42.06 and a 1-year high of $58.22. The firm has a market cap of $9.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

BorgWarner (NYSE:BWA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 26th. The auto parts company reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.07. BorgWarner had a return on equity of 22.15% and a net margin of 4.68%. The business had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. BorgWarner’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. analysts anticipate that BorgWarner will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of BorgWarner by 1.2% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 11,648,949 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $585,127,000 after acquiring an additional 132,772 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of BorgWarner by 3.7% during the first quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,138,617 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $408,803,000 after acquiring an additional 289,179 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of BorgWarner by 4.0% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,205,225 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $261,459,000 after acquiring an additional 198,540 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of BorgWarner by 0.6% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,138,956 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $207,900,000 after acquiring an additional 26,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its position in shares of BorgWarner by 7.7% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,084,875 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $205,183,000 after acquiring an additional 290,788 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.18% of the company’s stock.

About BorgWarner

BorgWarner Inc provides solutions for combustion, hybrid, and electric vehicles worldwide. It operates through two segments, Engine and Drivetrain. The Engine segment develops and manufactures turbochargers; and timing systems, such as timing chains, variable cam timing products, crankshaft and camshaft sprockets, tensioners, guides and snubbers, front-wheel drive transmission chains, four-wheel drive chains for light vehicles, and hybrid power transmission chains.

Further Reading: Price to Earnings Ratio (PE)

Hengehold Capital Management LLC Has $613,000 Stake in Pimco Total Return ETF (BOND)

Hengehold Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Pimco Total Return ETF (NYSEARCA:BOND) by 20.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,951 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Hengehold Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Pimco Total Return ETF were worth $613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BOND. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Pimco Total Return ETF in the 4th quarter valued at about $215,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Pimco Total Return ETF in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,463,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Pimco Total Return ETF by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 82,282 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $8,722,000 after acquiring an additional 2,026 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pimco Total Return ETF by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 7,398 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $784,000 after acquiring an additional 577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management bought a new position in shares of Pimco Total Return ETF in the 4th quarter valued at about $273,000.

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Shares of NYSEARCA BOND traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $103.17. The company had a trading volume of 1,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 99,932. Pimco Total Return ETF has a one year low of $101.92 and a one year high of $107.65.

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 3rd were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 2nd.

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3 Macroeconomic Trends You Need To Know Now

The stock market has been climbing the wall of worry since the end of June when significant technical support at the 200-day simple moving average was violated on the downside. Since the plunge, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has rocketed above both the 50 and 200-day simple moving averages appearing to be on its way to test resistance in the 250 zone. �

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The craziest thing is the stock market is moving higher in the face of extraordinary bearish pressures. �

A brewing trade war with China, daily shocks from the White House, and geopolitical tensions can't seem to damper the bullish enthusiasm.

How can this be possible?
The reason is there are major macroeconomic trends that are crushing the day-to-day bearish economic chaos. These trends are so dominant that there is little that can interfere outside of an extreme, unexpected systematic shock. This article will explain the three major economic trends fueling the super bull market.

1. Low Global Interest Rates
Interest rates are a prime driver of stock prices.� Globally, interest rates have been ultra-low as central banks scramble to help their economies prosper.� Prime examples include a zero percent rate with the European Central Bank, a negative 0.75% rate in the Swiss economy and a 2% rate in the United States. At latest count, 17 out of 26 major central banks lowered interest rates at their last change. �

Wait, isn't the world's largest economy raising rates now?

Yes, the United States has entered a regime of climbing rates.� However, the Federal Reserve is well aware of how interest rates affect the stock market and overall economy.

While it is generally believed that climbing interest rates are damaging to the stock market, the truth is very different.

Evidence shows that it is the velocity and surprise factor of interest rate hikes that control how the stock market reacts. Over the last six significant periods of raising rates, the S&P 500 rallied 23% on average, according to a CNBC study.

Remember, the Fed is raising rates since the economy is rapidly expanding.� A growing economy is the ultimate bullish scenario.� As stated earlier, the Fed is cautious with the gentle rate increases by telegraphing them well in advance. �

For now, the lowest global interest rate trend, despite the upticks, remains a tremendous tailwind for stocks. �

2. Economic Growth
Ever-improving technology combined with higher consumer demand across most sectors has triggered an era of robust economic growth.� Gross domestic product (GDP) is one way to measure growth.� It is viewed over time via trends rather than a simple snapshot.

Helping gain an overall perspective, TradingEconomics.com provides an excellent historical look at U.S. GDP: "GDP Growth Rate in the United States averaged 3.21 percent from 1947 until 2018, reaching an all-time high of 16.90 percent in the first quarter of 1950 and a record low of -10 percent in the first quarter of 1958."

While the growth rate from 2010 to 2016 averaged around 2%, it has jumped to an average of 2.5% over the last eighteen months.

While it is good to see the U.S. GDP trending higher, what has me most bullish is global growth in emerging markets

First, let's take a look at Asia. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has kept its growth estimates at 5.9-6.0% despite the pending Chinese tariffs.� However, the ADB did add that clear risk exists should the tariff threat escalate. �

According to FMG Funds, the prime factor in the bullish global growth outlook from 2017 to 2018 is the emerging market sector. Emerging markets are projected to expand at an estimated 4.9% in 2018 and is forecast to reach 5% for 2019. Growth is predicted to continue into 2021 at 5.1%. �

Perhaps the most bullish factor for emerging markets growth is equity valuations.� Presently, emerging market equities boast a cyclically adjusted P/E multiple of around 12.8 times. The long-term average is 25 times -- indicating that emerging market stocks are trading at an incredible discount. When compared with developed markets, emerging markets trade at approximately 23% discount. I expect the discount to continue to attract significant institutional allocations pushing the sector higher over the long term.

Not only will the emerging markets growth trend continue to lead the global economy higher, but significant opportunities also exist in the sector for all investors!

3. Consumer Confidence
Consumer confidence is a prime driver of economic growth and stock prices.� Confident consumers spend money, which in turn fuels economic expansion, leading to the subsequent improvement in corporate bottom lines. Consumer spending is a huge factor, accounting for 70% of U.S. economic.

The metric soared to 130 in February 2018 marking the highest level in nearly two decades. The trend of consumer confidence riding near record highs is a macro trend that will continue to push stocks higher.

Risks To Consider: Despite my bullish optimism, no one knows what the future holds. Always use stops and position size wisely when investing!

Action To Take: Stay long and consider diversifying into emerging markets.

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Should You Buy Netflix Stock After Earnings Beat?

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) is being beat like a drum after reporting its second-quarter earnings results. Expectations were high going into the report, given that shares have more than doubled so far this year. While Netflix earnings came in ahead of estimates, revenue missed the mark.

Earnings of 85 cents a share beat estimates looking for 79 cents. However, the $3.91 billion in sales missed estimates of $3.94 billion. That’s a no-no for a momentum stock like Netflix. However, the company’s subscriber result is the real culprit here. The streaming giant added “just” 5.15 million subscribers during the quarter, well short of its prior guide of 6.2 million and analysts’ estimates of 6.27 million.

Wow, what happened there? That’s surely something management will address during the conference call. Depending on how they handle it will likely determine whether the initial 8% after-hours selloff is just the start of a larger selloff, or if it’s an attractive buying opportunity.

While the conference call can change investor sentiment, along with more volume in the upcoming regular-hours trading session, this shortcoming will be hard to shake off. Investors can shrug off a revenue miss, but a subscriber miss this big will be hard to ignore.

Trading Netflix Earnings

Earnings are one of the most difficult events to trade. Even good results can have a poor reaction depending on how the stock has performed leading up to it. As of Monday’s close, Netflix stock was up almost 30% over the past three months.

That’s a massive gain for any company, let alone one that is now up 108% so far in 2018. On that basis, it was hard to buy shares ahead of Netflix earnings results. That said, shares did pullback in the days leading up to the report, falling from roughly $420 to $400. Surprisingly, that made it even trickier, because despite the pullback, NFLX was still sporting lofty gains.

So what now?

The initial after-hours move has Netflix trading near $368. It has essentially knocked the stock down to its 50-day moving average. However, short of management talking their way out of this big subscriber miss, I would be leery of this level holding.

If it does hold, the 50-day test will be a success. That said, I wouldn’t rule out the $330 to $340 level being hit. That’s where NFLX’s 100-day moving average is, as well as a previous breakout level. Assuming the losses stick, investors’ best bet might be to let the stock settle for a few days and see how it looks then.

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It will also be interesting to see how it impacts tech on Tuesday, and in particular FANG — Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL).

Evaluating Netflix Earnings

Investors couldn’t value Netflix with traditional metrics, as its story has never been about earnings or free-cash flow. By the way, the latter of those two figures came in negative (as expected), more than $500 million below breakeven. Netflix is spending roughly 50% of its revenue on content this year and isn’t putting the brakes on anytime soon.

No, this isn’t a profit story or even a revenue story right now. It’s all about subscribers. NFLX has crushed this metric for the last four quarters, leading to its meteoric rise. It’s what allowed it to pass Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) in market cap and made it one of the most captivating FANG stocks.

For the second-quarter, Netflix added just 670,000 new subscribers in the U.S., below its prior guide of 1.2 million. Internationally, its 4.47 million subscribers added came up short of its guide for 5 million.

One bad quarter of subscriber growth can be overlooked, but its third-quarter guide has investors really hitting the “sell” button. The company expects to add 5 million total subscribers (domestic and international), 1 million short of analysts’ estimates and less than its second-quarter results.

So what’s the takeaway here? The market isn’t going to like Netflix earnings report and as of now anyway, the stock appears to have lost its mojo. Investors looking for a long-term buying opportunity may find this as their chance, but let’s allow the dust to settle first and see where support comes into play. I want to see how it trades on Tuesday as well. It will also be interesting to see if investors start to migrate back to DIS stock.

Bret Kenwell is the manager and author of Future Blue Chips and is on Twitter @BretKenwell. Bret Kenwell held no position in any stock mentioned. 

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Is Falling Short Interest in Banks a Good Sign Ahead of Earnings?

The financial sector was a major part of the Great Recession, and it has been a major part of the recovery and raging bull market since then. Generally speaking, the major financial institutions in the United States are a good barometer of the current state of U.S. markets.

So when short sellers make a play against these major banks, they are effectively betting for a downturn. Conversely, when they back off they might be expecting a surge. Granted, some plays are directly against individual companies, like we saw with Wells Fargo early in 2017.

The June 29 short interest data have been compared with the previous figures, and short interest in these selected big bank stocks was lower.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) saw its short interest fall to 111.83 million shares. The previous level was 112.25 million. Shares were last seen trading at $28.84, in a 52-week range of $22.75 to $33.05.

The number of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) shares short fell to 18.63 million from the previous level of 21.94 million. Shares recently traded at $106.36, in a 52-week range of $88.08 to $119.33.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) short interest decreased to 17.43 million from the previous level of 18.49 million. Shares were trading at $68.181, in a 52-week range of $64.38 to $80.70.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) short interest dropped to 35.95 million shares from the previous reading of 40.62 million. Shares were trading at $55.80, within a 52-week range of $49.27 to $66.31.

Short interest in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) decreased to 4.23 million shares from the previous 4.51 million. The stock recently traded at $226.58, within a 52-week range of $214.64 to $275.31.

Morgan Stanley��s (NYSE: MS) short interest for this settlement date was 9.43 million shares, down from the previous 10.07 million. Shares were changing hands at $47.96 in a 52-week range of $43.84 to $59.38.

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Brokerages Anticipate Select Medical Holdings Co. (SEM) Will Post Earnings of $0.36 Per Share

Wall Street analysts expect that Select Medical Holdings Co. (NYSE:SEM) will post $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks reports. Two analysts have provided estimates for Select Medical’s earnings. The lowest EPS estimate is $0.33 and the highest is $0.38. Select Medical posted earnings per share of $0.32 in the same quarter last year, which would indicate a positive year over year growth rate of 12.5%. The business is expected to issue its next earnings report after the market closes on Thursday, August 2nd.

On average, analysts expect that Select Medical will report full year earnings of $1.05 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $1.03 to $1.08. For the next fiscal year, analysts forecast that the company will report earnings of $1.27 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $1.22 to $1.30. Zacks Investment Research’s EPS averages are an average based on a survey of research firms that that provide coverage for Select Medical.

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Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 3rd. The health services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.03. Select Medical had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 15.19%. The company had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.21 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SEM. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Select Medical from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. ValuEngine cut shares of Select Medical from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.63.

In other Select Medical news, VP Robert G. Breighner, Jr. sold 3,428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.03, for a total value of $61,806.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 31,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $569,549.67. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Robert A. Ortenzio sold 100,276 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.53, for a total transaction of $1,858,114.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 7,225,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,895,649.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 640,931 shares of company stock valued at $11,901,380. 19.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SEM. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Select Medical in the 4th quarter worth $650,000. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in Select Medical by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 179,100 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,161,000 after buying an additional 4,600 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Select Medical by 225.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 179,943 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,176,000 after buying an additional 124,720 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Select Medical by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 242,898 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,287,000 after buying an additional 31,749 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in Select Medical by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 13,836,694 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $244,216,000 after buying an additional 408,230 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.70% of the company’s stock.

Select Medical traded up $0.15, reaching $18.85, during trading on Monday, MarketBeat reports. 312,337 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 526,936. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60. Select Medical has a 52-week low of $14.80 and a 52-week high of $19.77. The stock has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.34.

Select Medical Company Profile

Select Medical Holdings Corporation, through its subsidiary, Select Medical Corporation, operates acute care hospitals (LTCHs), inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs), outpatient rehabilitation clinics, and occupational medicine centers in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Long Term Acute Care, Inpatient Rehabilitation, Outpatient Rehabilitation, and Concentra.

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Research Analysts Issue Forecasts for General Motors’ Q2 2018 Earnings (GM)

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) – Investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group issued their Q2 2018 earnings estimates for General Motors in a report issued on Thursday, July 5th. Jefferies Financial Group analyst P. Houchois expects that the auto manufacturer will earn $1.83 per share for the quarter.

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Several other research analysts also recently commented on GM. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of General Motors from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 28th. ValuEngine downgraded shares of General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 21st. Citigroup reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of General Motors in a research note on Friday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price target (down previously from $56.00) on shares of General Motors in a research note on Tuesday, March 13th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of General Motors in a research note on Friday, June 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. The company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.45.

General Motors opened at $39.47 on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.64. General Motors has a 12 month low of $34.50 and a 12 month high of $46.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 26th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $36.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.67 billion. General Motors had a negative net margin of 3.76% and a positive return on equity of 23.03%. The firm’s revenue was down 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS.

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of General Motors by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 78,008,491 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,834,827,000 after buying an additional 1,086,199 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of General Motors by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 24,874,605 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $903,943,000 after buying an additional 3,005,964 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of General Motors by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 11,199,985 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $407,007,000 after buying an additional 404,722 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Motors by 78.1% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,810,691 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $279,170,000 after buying an additional 2,986,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Motors by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,909,082 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $242,213,000 after buying an additional 616,703 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.30% of the company’s stock.

In other General Motors news, EVP Alan S. Batey sold 215,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.01, for a total transaction of $9,276,611.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 84,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,638,387.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 7th. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.96%.

General Motors Company Profile

General Motors Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, builds, and sells cars, trucks, crossovers, and automobile parts worldwide. The company operates through GM North America, GM International, and GM Financial segments. It markets its vehicles primarily under the Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Holden, Baojun, Jiefang, and Wuling brand names.

Dine Brands Global (DIN) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Investment Research

Dine Brands Global (NYSE:DIN) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

According to Zacks, “Dine Brands Global, Inc. is a full-service dining company. It operates and franchises restaurants under both the Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar and IHOP brands. The company’s Applebee’s restaurants offer casual food, drinks, casual dining, and table services and IHOP restaurants provide full table services, and food and beverage offerings. Dine Brands Global, Inc. formerly known as Dine Equity Inc., is headquartered in Glendale, California. “

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Separately, Maxim Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Dine Brands Global in a report on Tuesday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. The stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.00.

Shares of Dine Brands Global opened at $74.36 on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of -6.30. Dine Brands Global has a 1 year low of $36.71 and a 1 year high of $82.62. The firm has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.92 and a beta of 0.08.

Dine Brands Global (NYSE:DIN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $188.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $155.46 million. Dine Brands Global had a negative return on equity of 91.75% and a negative net margin of 51.53%. The company’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. equities analysts expect that Dine Brands Global will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

In other news, Director Gilbert T. Ray sold 17,868 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total transaction of $1,356,181.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $569,250. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Larry Alan Kay sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.19, for a total value of $30,876.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $632,880.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.75% of the company’s stock.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DIN. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Dine Brands Global by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 170,224 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $8,636,000 after purchasing an additional 16,535 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Dine Brands Global during the fourth quarter valued at $301,000. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Dine Brands Global by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 65,593 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,328,000 after purchasing an additional 10,108 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Dine Brands Global by 223.1% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 30,233 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 20,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Dine Brands Global by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 42,910 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,177,000 after purchasing an additional 5,055 shares during the last quarter. 97.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Dine Brands Global Company Profile

Dine Brands Global, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns, franchises, operates, and rents full-service restaurants in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: Franchise Operations, Rental Operations, Company Restaurant Operations, and Financing Operations. The company owns and franchises two restaurant concepts, including Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar (Applebee's) in the bar and grill segment of the casual dining category of the restaurant industry; and International House of Pancakes (IHOP) in the family dining category of the restaurant industry.

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For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

Disney's Movie Studios Are On Fire

Movie-goers can be a fickle bunch and, in some ways filmmakers are no better off than they were decades ago despite their best efforts to create films that resonate with audiences. That said, Disney's (NYSE:DIS) quartet of movie studios -- Pixar, Lucasfilm, Marvel, and Disney -- have had incredible success in recent years.

This year alone, three of the company's movie releases have broken an increasing number of records with no signs of slowing.

In spite of its sheer dominance of the industry lately, investors seem reluctant to give the movie purveyor its due. With that in mind, let's look at the highlights and low points of each studio division in recent years and what this success has done overall for the company's financial results.

Image source: Getty Images.

Walt Disney Animation Studios & Walt Disney Pictures

There was a time when it seemed Disney's animated fare could do no wrong. For the decade beginning in 1989, the studio pumped out one classic after another, with fan favorites like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King. Disney fell on hard times during the first decade of the new millennium, producing forgettable fare like�The Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and Chicken Little.

Since 2010, however, Disney seems to have gotten its mojo back, generating such box office smashes as Frozen and Zootopia, which each garnered more than $1 billion in worldwide box office revenue. It also produced the likes of Big Hero 6, Moana, and Tangled. All told, Disney animation has generated $5.4 billion over the last decade, averaging $544 million per film.�

Disney has also had a successful string of live action remakes that began with 2010's Alice in Wonderland�and included last year's Beauty and the Beast, both of which crested over $1 billion in global ticket sales.�These eight films have generated $5.5 billion, and averaged $687 million per movie.�

Pixar

Pixar saw a rare misstep in 2015 with The Good Dinosaur, but that uncharacteristic miss was given a pass, with successes like Coco, Finding Dory, Inside Out, and Brave. In all, the movies under the Pixar banner have generated more than $12 billion in worldwide box office revenue, averaging more than $600 million in ticket sales each.�

The studio's most recent success was that of Incredibles 2, which just broke the opening weekend box office record for an animated feature, smashing Finding Dory's record set two years ago. With $182 million in ticket sales, it also took the No. 8 spot for all-time opening weekends.

Marvel-ous

Marvel Studios had already established itself as a force to be reckoned with when Disney announced it would acquire the comic book company in late 2009. The release of Iron Man the year before broke the mold for movies inspired by comic books, and set off a decade-long run that culminated with Black Panther achieving the highest ever domestic box office, with nearly $700 million in ticket sales, while Avengers: Infinity War climbed the charts with the fourth-highest worldwide box office, recently topping $2 billion. Marvel movies have seen unparalleled success, generating nearly $17 billion in box office revenue over the past decade, with an average of $888 million per entry.�

Not every Marvel entry was a chartbuster, though. The Incredible Hulk and Captain America: The First Avenger, which introduced the titular characters, only booked $263 million and $371 million, respectively.

Lucasfilm and Star Wars

Since Disney acquired Lucasfilm in late 2012, the latest films in the Star Wars saga have killed at the box office -- but not all were created equal. The first installment, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, capitalized on 20 years of pent up demand generating more than $2 billion in worldwide box office revenue -- and surging to No. 3 in all-time ticket sales. The latest entry, Solo: A Star Wars Story, has struggled to resonate with fans, taking in just $341 million at the ticket counter, thus far.

The four Star Wars films produced to date under Disney tutelage have generated $4.8 billion in box office, for a $1.2 billion average per film.

What has all this meant to the bottom line?

Revenue from Disney's Studio segment has remained fairly constant as a percentage of the company's total sales -- growing from $6.35 billion in 2011 to $8.38 billion in 2017. At the same time, its operating income has soared, growing from 7% of the total in 2011 to 16% in 2017, and quadrupling from $618 million to $2.4 billion. That growth is likely to continue this year, with more than $4 billion in ticket sales less than halfway through the year.

Data source: Disney's financial results. Chart by author.

While investors remain focused on the company's stagnant media segment, they're failing to give sufficient weight to Disney's growing, and wildly successful, film business.�

The company still has several potential box office hits waiting in the wings, with Ant-Man and the Wasp set to debut next month, a live-action reimaging of Christopher Robin of Winnie the Pooh fame, Wreck-It Ralph 2, and Mary Poppins Returns.

Disney's movie studios have been on fire in recent years, and there's no indication that will change any time soon.

Insider Selling: Twilio Inc (TWLO) CFO Sells 15,641 Shares of Stock

Twilio Inc (NYSE:TWLO) CFO Lee Kirkpatrick sold 15,641 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.13, for a total value of $924,852.33. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Lee Kirkpatrick also recently made the following trade(s):

Get Twilio alerts: On Friday, May 18th, Lee Kirkpatrick sold 12,000 shares of Twilio stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.94, for a total value of $659,280.00. On Tuesday, May 15th, Lee Kirkpatrick sold 1,618 shares of Twilio stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.96, for a total value of $82,453.28. On Tuesday, April 17th, Lee Kirkpatrick sold 12,000 shares of Twilio stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.83, for a total value of $489,960.00.

Shares of Twilio traded down $1.81, reaching $59.80, during trading on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,075,500 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,213,985. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -76.67 and a beta of -0.27. Twilio Inc has a 1-year low of $23.25 and a 1-year high of $62.34.

Twilio (NYSE:TWLO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 8th. The technology company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $129.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $115.92 million. Twilio had a negative return on equity of 21.88% and a negative net margin of 16.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 47.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.04) EPS. equities research analysts forecast that Twilio Inc will post -0.8 EPS for the current year.

TWLO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Twilio to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 13th. Zacks Investment Research cut Twilio from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. Vetr cut Twilio from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $42.47 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt began coverage on Twilio in a research report on Wednesday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Dougherty & Co began coverage on Twilio in a research report on Tuesday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $43.90.

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Twilio by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,408,663 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $168,323,000 after acquiring an additional 317,128 shares during the last quarter. Technology Crossover Management IX Ltd. purchased a new position in Twilio in the 4th quarter worth $47,599,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Twilio by 20.7% in the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,808,340 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $69,042,000 after acquiring an additional 310,270 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Twilio by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,650,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,961,000 after acquiring an additional 352,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raging Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Twilio in the 4th quarter worth $22,420,000. Institutional investors own 62.11% of the company’s stock.

Twilio Company Profile

Twilio Inc provides a cloud communications platform that enables developers to build, scale, and operate communications within software applications in the United States and internationally. The company's programmable communications cloud provides a set of application programming interfaces that enable developers to embed voice, messaging, and video capabilities into their applications.

FTSE 100 drops as U.S.-China trade fight intensifies

U.K. stocks dropped Tuesday, with trade tensions between the world��s two largest economies escalating after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered his administration to look for further tariffs on $200 billion in imported goods from China.

How markets are moving

The FTSE 100 index UKX, -0.53% �lost 0.8% to 7,573.72, on track for a third straight decline. The basic materials group fell by the most, and the consumer goods group was the only sector to advance. On Monday, the London benchmark slipped less than 0.1%.

The pound GBPUSD, -0.5436% �slipped to $1.3188, breaking below $1.3200 for the first time since November 2017, according to FactSet data. Sterling traded at $1.3245 late Monday in New York.

What��s driving markets

Stocks in the U.K. and the broader European equity market SXXP, -0.77% � moved sharply lower after Asian equities sold off. The Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, -3.78% �slid 3.8%, and the Shenzhen index 399106, -5.77% � tanked 5.8% in Asian trade, with losses coming after Trump threatened more tariffs on more Chinese goods. U.S. stock futures YMU8, -1.41% ESU8, -1.14% � were under heavy pressure before Wall Street��s open, with Dow futures down more than 350 points.

��Further action must be taken to encourage China to change its unfair practices, open its market to United States goods, and accept a more balanced trade relationship,�� Trump said in a statement late Monday.

Beijing, meanwhile, is threatening to impose tariffs on another batch of U.S. products if the Trump administration follows through with a second round of levies, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

China had previously announced plans for retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods worth $34 billion, including soybeans, whiskey and electric cars.

What are strategists saying?

��So far the trade war has been confined to trade. The fear, however, is that it may spill over into the financial world. Specifically, China could start selling off some of its massive holdings of Treasury bonds. The country owns some $1.18 trillion of Treasuries, or 30% of all foreign official holdings of Treasuries, which is not to mention their holdings of agency bonds and others,�� said Marshall Gittler, chief strategist at ACLS Global, in a note.

��Of course, to some degree it would be shooting themselves in the foot to sell these bonds aggressively, because once the market realized what was happening, bond prices would plunge. However, U.S. mortgage rates would soar as a result, and China might feel the pain was worth it to make middle-class U.S. voters sit up and take notice,�� Gittler said.

Read: Trump��s constant threats, reversals spur investors to see him as the boy who cried ��Wolf!��

Stock movers

Mining stocks were dragged lower, as analysts have said a trade war could lead to reduced demand for industrial and precious metals, and China is the world��s largest buyer of copper.

Shares of copper producer Antofagasta PLC ANTO, -1.62% �fell 1.8%, iron ore producers BHP Billiton PLC BLT, -2.66% �and Rio Tinto PLC RIO, -2.98% �shed 2.8% and 2.5%, respectively.

Mining stocks make up 87% of the basic materials sector on the FTSE 100, and that sector carries a more than 9% weighting on the benchmark, according to FactSet data.

Off the FTSE 100, shares of Debenhams PLC DEB, -7.19% �slid 7.2%. On Tuesday, the department-store chain warned that it expects fiscal 2018 pretax profit to miss expectations as it faces increased competitor discounting and weakness in key markets.

Carla Mozee

Carla Moz茅e is a reporter for MarketWatch, based in London. Follow her on Twitter @MWMozee.

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Comment Related Topics United Kingdom London Stock Exchange London Markets Bank of England Europe European Markets Quote References UKX -40.18 -0.53% GBPUSD -0.0072 -0.5436% SXXP -2.97 -0.77% SHCOMP -114.08 -3.78% 399106 -97.60 -5.77% YMU8 -353.00 -1.41% ESU8 -31.75 -1.14% ANTO -16.50 -1.62% BLT -44.60 -2.66% RIO -127.00 -2.98% DEB -1.41 -7.19% Show all references MarketWatch Partner Center Most Popular Trump reportedly told Apple that tariffs against China would spare iPhones Chinese stocks end at 2-year low, Apple suppliers sink on trade-war worries ��Black swan�� author defends Tesla after actress posts video of car fire My new wife wanted to live with me for free, even though she had $800,000 in the bank��so I asked her to move out This is what the U.S. military��s ��Space Force�� could look like Community Guidelines �� FAQs $(function () { if (typeof dianomiUnitCallback !== 'undefined') { var dianomiCallback = new dianomiUnitCallback('belowarticle', 2582, 'dianomiBelowArticle', 'dianomi__list', 'padding:10px'); dianomiCallback.initialize('dianom

5 Reasons Retirees Should Love Florida and 1 Reason They Won't

Older Americans have some pretty big decisions to make as they age.

For example, deciding when to file for Social Security benefits is often at or near the top of the list. Due to the fact that Social Security benefits grow over time, beginning at age 62 and ending at age 70, and keeping all other variables such as work and earnings history constant, a retired worker claiming benefits at age 70 could earn as much as 76% more a month than a retired worker claiming benefits as soon as possible (age 62). Of course, waiting until age 70 to file for benefits simply doesn't make sense for all retirees. It's a personal choice that's dictated by personal, financial, and health-related variables.

Image source: Getty Images.

Similarly, seniors have to make smart decisions when it comes to Medicare. Choosing the right prescription drug plan (known as Part D) or perhaps going off the traditional grid and purchasing a Medicare Advantage plan (known as Part C), could prove crucial to saving thousands, or tens of thousands of dollars, during retirement.

But often overlooked among these key decisions is the need to choose a state to retire in that offers benefits to senior citizens. One such state that's a common destination for older Americans is The Sunshine State, Florida. Whereas the median age per state in America is 37.9, as of 2016, Florida is the fifth highest at 42.1 years of age.�

Five reasons retirees gravitate to Florida

What makes Florida so special for retirees? Let's have a look.

1. No state income tax

One of the top selling points for retirees, or folks of any age, is the fact that Florida is one of seven states (along with Washington, Alaska, Nevada, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Texas) that has no state income tax. For retirees without a lot of money saved but are still in good health and plan to keep working, Florida is a smart destination for avoiding in-state income taxes. The state does have a 6% levied sales tax rate and an average combined tax rate of 6.8%, but this isn't particularly high relative to the rest of the country.

Image source: Getty Images.

2. Retirement income is exempt (including Social Security)

Because Florida has no state income tax, this also means that retirement income is exempt from state taxation. Any money you receive from Individual Retirement Accounts, private and public pensions, 401(k)s, and Social Security, is completely free of in-state taxation. Florida is one of 37 states that currently does not tax Social Security benefits.

A word to the wise: You may still have federal income-tax liability on some of these forms of retirement income, even if Florida isn't taking a red cent.�

3. Cost-of-living right around the national average

Another reason to consider Florida is that it's not particularly costly to live there. Using median household income from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey in 2015 and adjusting those figures to account for regional price parity based on calculations from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Money found that Florida had a regional price parity index of 99.5. With 100 being the mark of parity, this suggests that Florida residents are paying an average of 0.5% less than the national average for goods and services. When combined with no state income tax, it's easy to see how retirees can make a dollar stretch in Florida.�

Image source: Getty Images.

4. The homestead exemption

In terms of property tax rates, Florida ranks toward the middle of the country. However, there's a sizable deduction available for lower-income seniors over the age of 65 who've resided in the state for a considerable amount of time. As noted by Kiplinger, Florida residents with household income not exceeding $28,841 (as of 2017), and who've maintained permanent residence at an in-state location for at least 25 years, may qualify for an extra homestead exemption of up to $50,000 from some city and county governments. Also, any widow or widower who's a Florida resident can claim an additional $500 exemption.

5. The weather (duh!)

Lastly, retirees choose Florida because of its temperate climate. After all, it's called The Sunshine State for a reason. With very mild winters and generally warm summers, Florida presents with a climate that most senior citizens can appreciate.

The one reason retirees won't like Florida

Of course, there are no perfect states to retire in, even if no income tax, no tax on retirement benefits, an average cost-of-living, a homestead exemption, and ample sunshine sound great. The biggest issue retirees could run into in Florida, assuming they purchase property, is homeowner insurance costs.

One of the downsides of being in a temperate tropical climate is the potential to be hit by hurricanes. According to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, hurricanes have made landfall in Florida 117 times. By comparison, the next-closest states are Texas and Louisiana at a respective 64 and 54 landfalls (keep in mind that hurricanes can make multiple landfalls).�Because of its propensity to be hit by damaging storms, homeowners insurance costs a veritable arm and leg in Florida.

Image source: Getty Images.

Insurance.com notes that insuring a $200,000 dwelling with a $1,000 deductible and $100,000 liability costs an average of $1,228 per year nationally. In Florida, though, the average annual rate, assuming the coverage listed above, is $3,575 a year, or nearly triple the national average. Ouch!�

Are high insurance costs enough to dissuade you from considering Florida as a state to retire in? That's up to you to decide.

SafeCoin (SFE) Reaches Market Cap of $0.00

SafeCoin (CURRENCY:SFE) traded 6.5% higher against the US dollar during the 1 day period ending at 7:00 AM Eastern on May 28th. In the last seven days, SafeCoin has traded up 19% against the US dollar. SafeCoin has a market capitalization of $0.00 and approximately $0.00 worth of SafeCoin was traded on exchanges in the last day. One SafeCoin coin can now be purchased for $0.0001 or 0.00000001 BTC on popular cryptocurrency exchanges.

Here is how other cryptocurrencies have performed in the last day:

Get SafeCoin alerts: Aeternity (AE) traded 4.7% lower against the dollar and now trades at $3.03 or 0.00041872 BTC. Hshare (HSR) traded down 4.1% against the dollar and now trades at $6.87 or 0.00094996 BTC. PeepCoin (PCN) traded up 8.4% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0007 or 0.00000010 BTC. NevaCoin (NEVA) traded 5.7% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0650 or 0.00000899 BTC. CryptoWorldX Token (CWXT) traded down 1.4% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0004 or 0.00000006 BTC. Axiom (AXIOM) traded flat against the dollar and now trades at $0.0099 or 0.00000137 BTC.

SafeCoin Profile

SafeCoin (SFE) uses the hashing algorithm. Its genesis date was May 25th, 2016.

SafeCoin Coin Trading

SafeCoin can be purchased on the following cryptocurrency exchanges: . It is usually not presently possible to buy alternative cryptocurrencies such as SafeCoin directly using U.S. dollars. Investors seeking to acquire SafeCoin should first buy Ethereum or Bitcoin using an exchange that deals in U.S. dollars such as Coinbase, GDAX or Gemini. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Ethereum or Bitcoin to buy SafeCoin using one of the exchanges listed above.

Market Update: IT stocks gain led by Infosys, KPIT Tech; Tata Motors fall 7%, hits fresh 52-week low

The market was trading on a positive note on Thursday morning, with the Nifty up 23�points at 10,453 and the Sensex�gaining 120 points at 34,465.

Nifty IT was up over 1.5 percent led by KPIT Tech, Infosys, HCL Tech, Tata Consultancy Services and Tech Mahindra.

Oil & gas stocks were weak with HPCL, ONGC and BPCL down 2-3 percent while GAIL India and Indian Oil Corporation fell 1 percent each. Reliance Industries was however up half a percent in the morning trade.

Nifty Auto was lower by 1.5 percent dragged by Tata Motors which fell over 7 percent while Bharat Forge shed 3 percent. Apollo Tyres, Motherson Sumi Systems and TVS Motor Company were the other losers.

related news Shalimar Paints hits 52-week low as Q4 loss widens to Rs 16 cr; approves rights issue of Rs 300 cr MEP Infrastructure gains 7% on raising FPI investment limit, strong Q4 numbers

The top gainers among Nifty constituents were Infosys, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services and HDFC.

The most actively traded stocks on the NSE were Tata Motors and Jet Airways which dipped 7-9 percent while PC Jeweller, Vedanta and State Bank of India were the other active stocks.

Some of the top gainers on BSE were Kaveri Seed Company, Eros International Media, Sobha, L&T Infotech and Sharda Crop.

The top losers on BSE were Jet Airways, GE T&D, PC Jeweller, Tata Motors and Tata Motors DVR.

Britannia Industries, KPIT Technologies, NELCO and Welspun Enterprises were some of the stocks that hit fresh 52-week highs in morning trade.

On the other hand, 85 stocks hit a new 52-week low. These include ABB, ACC, Adani Power, Bharat Heavy Electricals, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Capital First, Castrol India, Ceat, Century Textiles, Chennai Petro, HPCL, IDFC Bank, Power Finance Corporation, Tata Motors, UltraTech Cement and Vakrangee among others.

The breadth of the market favoured declines, with 716 stocks advancing, 854 declining and 463 remaining unchanged. On BSE,�884 stocks advanced,�905 declined and 100 remained unchanged.

Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd

Retail trouble? Not based on Kohl's earnings

Kohl's on Tuesday reported first-quarter earnings that beat expectations on the top and bottom lines, boosted by its focus on driving foot traffic and more tightly controlling the goods it sells in its stores.

"We are very pleased with our strong start to fiscal 2018 as we continued to focus on our priorities of driving traffic and operational excellence," said Michelle Gass, Kohl's incoming CEO.

Shares of Kohl's were up more than 5% in premarket trading.

Here's how the company did compared with what Wall Street expected:

Earnings: 64 cents per share vs. 50 cents per share forecast by Thomson ReutersRevenue: $4.21 billion vs. $3.95 billion forecast by Thomson ReutersSame-store sales growth: 3.6% vs. 2.7% forecast by Thomson Reuters

The retailer last year began a partnership with Amazon to sell the online retailer's smart home products and accept its returns. Kohl's also announced a partnership with discount grocer Aldi to lease the vacant space left behind by its downsized stores. It plans more such partnerships down the road.

Unlike other department stores, Kohl's has benefited from having its stores located away from malls, where the number of shoppers is declining.

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The retailer reported same-store sales growth of 3.6% for the first quarter, beating expectations of 2.7%.

Meantime, Kohl's efforts to more efficiently order and stock the goods in its stores also continue to pay off. Two years ago, Kohl's launched a five-year plan to improve its inventory management, in aims of minimizing the costs of discounts and unbought goods.

"We exceeded the high end of our margin expectations through continued focus on inventory management," Gass said.

Kohl's for the quarter reported net income of $75 million, or 45 cents a share, higher than the $66 million, or 39 cents a share, it reported a year ago.

Excluding $500 million in debt Kohl's paid down the past quarter, the company earned $107 million, or 64 cents a share, marking a 62% jump over the same quarter a year prior.

Sales rose 3.5% to $4.21 billion over the same quarter a year prior. That was higher than the $3.95 billion, analysts were expecting.

Kohl's raised its earnings forecast for the year, and now expects earnings of $5.05 to $5.50 per share, compared with previous expectations of $4.95 to $5.45 per share. Including the impact of debt payment, to earn between $4.86 and $5.31 per share a year ago.

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Several large retail companies, including Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, and Macy's, are making a direct appeal to President Donald Trump not to impose tariffs on goods imported from China. Aleksandra Michalska reports. Video provided by Reuters Newslook

This Sears Holdings Deal With Amazon.com Isn't Enough

Sears Holdings (NASDAQ:SHLD) latest partnership with Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) is the kind of smart, strategic thinking that could have saved the retailer had it been implemented five or 10 years ago. But today, it simply serves as a reminder of what could have been.

Sears recently announced that it will serve as the official installer for tires purchased on the e-commerce site, which Sears said was a first for a brick-and-mortar retailer. After making a tire purchase -- which includes Sears' DieHard tires, which it began selling two years ago -- customers can select an appointment time to have the tires installed and balanced. A Sears Auto Center representative will then contact the customer to confirm the appointment.

Sears Auto Centers are one of the retailer's few remaining valuable assets. Image source: Getty Images.

It's another smart deal that Chairman and CEO Eddie Lampert has made. Along with selling Kenmore appliances and DieHard products on Amazon, Lampert has arranged for the brands to be sold at different retailers around the world and to extend the brands to new products like gas grills and flashlights, respectively. He even rebranded at least one auto center under the DieHard brand.

Unfortunately, most of these flashes of brilliance have been for naught as sales continue to spiral down out of control. Same-store sales at Sears plunged 18.1% in the fourth quarter and were down an equally dismal 12.2% at Kmart. Now that the retailer seems to be careening toward a bankruptcy filing, none of these deals, including the latest, can stop it.

Amazon gains bricks-and-clicks insights

Amazon.com is the one who benefits the most here. Selling tires online is a tough business if you have nowhere to install them. By partnering with Sears Auto Center, one of the few remaining prized assets left at the retailer, Amazon is able to further bridge the gap between itself and its customers through brick-and-mortar stores, and it doesn't have to build any physical locations.

The service will initially be available at 47 Sears Auto Centers in eight of the top U.S. metropolitan areas, but will eventually be expanded to all 400 or so centers across the country.

There's little downside for Amazon here. It gets a national tire installer without the hassle of dealing with independent installers and it gets to see whether there is an online market for automotive installation services that it can potentially expand.�Lampert is still interested in offloading the auto centers to generate cash and Amazon could be using the opportunity to gauge interest in enhancing its physical store strategy.

Sears gets to delay the inevitable

One can only surmise from the reaction to the news that investors are hoping this means Amazon might one day buy Sears, not just its automotive business. Why else would Sears stock soar more than 20% of the news? But that is a misplaced hope.

Amazon has lots of relationships with brick-and-mortar retailers. Beyond having major brand storefronts on Amazon's site, the e-commerce giant sells its Alexa-powered AI products in Kohl's and customers can process their returns there as well. It also has its Lockers in malls, on college campuses, and in 7-Eleven stores across the country. This is simply paving another avenue of access to its customers.

And it must be noted these are Amazon customers, not Sears customers. While Sears does get some remuneration out of the deal because it charges around $17 per tire for an installation, plus the potential for some ancillary sales from customers hanging out waiting for their tires to be put on, it's Amazon that is making the sale and generating the bulk of the revenue.

Moreover, buying tires online and having them shipped to the retailer still isn't as convenient as going into a local tire service center and purchasing them.

The partnership isn't necessarily a bad one and it continues Lampert's string of smart deals over the past year or so. But Sears is too far gone to be saved. Had this thinking been in place when it could have made a difference, we'd be singing a different tune today, but Sears is a broken brand and cobbling together a bunch of small deals, no matter how strategic they might seem, can't change its direction.

Somewhat Positive News Coverage Somewhat Unlikely to Affect Ciena (CIEN) Share Price

News headlines about Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) have trended somewhat positive this week, Accern Sentiment reports. The research firm identifies positive and negative media coverage by reviewing more than 20 million blog and news sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Ciena earned a daily sentiment score of 0.13 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned news headlines about the communications equipment provider an impact score of 46.1569413852432 out of 100, meaning that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the next few days.

These are some of the headlines that may have effected Accern’s scoring:

Get Ciena alerts: Has the Tide Turned in Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. (BOOT) and Ciena Corporation (CIEN) Stocks? (nmsunews.com) Ciena (CIEN) SVP Sells $50,500.00 in Stock (americanbankingnews.com) Is Ciena Corporation (CIEN) In Search of Flying? (nmsunews.com) Ciena inks deals with Caucasus Online and GlobeNet (telecomlead.com) Ciena’s GeoMesh chosen to enhance submarine networks in Caucasus and Latin America (fibre-systems.com)

Shares of Ciena stock opened at $25.30 on Friday. Ciena has a 12 month low of $19.40 and a 12 month high of $27.98. The company has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 6th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.08. Ciena had a return on equity of 14.10% and a net margin of 27.76%. The business had revenue of $646.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $641.77 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. equities research analysts anticipate that Ciena will post 1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CIEN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on Ciena from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 9th. ValuEngine raised Ciena from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 9th. Jefferies Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Ciena in a report on Wednesday, March 7th. MKM Partners upped their price target on Ciena to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 price target (up previously from $24.00) on shares of Ciena in a report on Wednesday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $30.04.

In other news, SVP Scott Mcfeely sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.95, for a total value of $26,950.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stephen B. Alexander sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.51, for a total value of $63,775.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 90,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,346,927 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.38% of the company’s stock.

Ciena Company Profile

Ciena Corporation provides hardware, software, and services that support the transport, switching, aggregation, service delivery, and management of voice, video, and data traffic on communications networks worldwide. The company's Networking Platforms segment offers hardware networking solutions optimized for the convergence of coherent optical transport, optical transport network switching, and packet switching.