Cruise Ship Entertainment Smackdown – Who Wins and Why

I read a recent story by Gene Sloan on USAToday.com website about cruise ship entertainment, and who had the best. The three ships compared were Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Epic, and Disney Cruise Lines Disney Dream. These are the all new ships that set sail in the past six months. They’re all competing for your cruise vacation business.Norwegian’s Epic boasts some impressive entertainment, including Blue Man Group and a dinner show under the big top, Cirque Dreams & Dinner. Royal Caribbean has a Broadway show, Chicago: The Musical, that remains faithful to the original, and their open-air Aqua Theater show, OceanAria, a highly-choreographed water show featuring high divers and a 17-foot deep pool, the deepest at sea. Disney Dream has a trio of Broadway-style musicals, including Disney’s Believe, with appearances from well-known Disney characters. They also have animated characters in their kids clubs that converse with children, and a ship-wide detective game hosted by Goofy. Disney’s Buccaneer Blast is a fireworks display (the only cruiseline to feature fireworks at sea).These new ships bring shipboard entertainment to a whole new level. I’ve been on cruise vacations, and have seen some very good entertainment while onboard. It’s part of the charm of a cruise…I can be wined and dined without having to worry about parking or the weather outside. I can eat dinner, and then make my way to the theater early enough to get a good seat. With these new shows available, I can now make my reservations in advance, and be assured a seat. I can be wowed by Broadway production shows…or feats of daring by high-diving entertainers. Young children can be entertained by family-friendly stage shows, or play detective with Goofy.Whether it be the most spectacular production show, most kid-friendly entertainment, most eye-popping entertainment, or the biggest party at sea, in the end, we all win. We win because we have a choice. We don’t have to watch the same show we’ve seen in the past. The old Broadway Revue shows are now put on notice…entertain us…step your entertainment up a notch, or we’ll go where the shows are. We’ve seen the best, and will accept nothing less. A client of mine recently returned from a cruise vacation aboard the Celebrity Solstice. He raved about the food, the service, the ship, it’s amenities, the spas and restaurants. He was excited…until he told me about the entertainment. He said he was extremely disappointed with Celebrity…and had seen better high school musicals. Ouch…that hurts. Celebrity will need to invest in their entertainment budget if they want to attract repeat clients, as second rate entertainment doesn’t cut it with consumers. There are too many other cruise lines out there competing for your business, and the bar has been raised. Expect to come home from your cruise on these new ships entertained and wanting more.Patti Maxwell
Galavant Travel

Using Ram Centric ERP to Define ERP Software Alternative

Call it ram centric ERP, ram centric computing, seamless workflow, workflow ERP, seamless workflow ERP, seamlessly integrated accounting system, or unERP, all of the descriptions fit.Regardless of what we call it, it represents the most commanding change in information systems in the past 40 years. Businesses can now have the simplest, most powerful seamlessly integrated ERP system ever to be offered in the North American marketplace. Unmatched for its corporate consolidation characteristics, this ram centric ERP seamlessly consolidates all of a company’s data as well as the management team that runs it. Everyone works from the same data so everyone is on the same page. Ironically, the features that so nicely consolidate the entire company also promote geographic expansion and operational diversity like no other ERP system has ever done before.Promoting pristine data capture, the recording of every transaction captures the who, what, when and where of every thing that happens, the complete set of data characteristics required to analyze virtually anything you will ever need or will ever want to know about your business.The following list forms a brief summation of the primary items of interest. As you read through the list, we encourage you to stop and think for a moment about each item. Think about what each item might do for your company. Think about the time saved, the ease of use afforded by each item, and the savings afforded by each. Many of the items listed will be new to you. As a result some of the items will also appear meaningless, but only because it is new descriptive of new concepts in ERP system design and processing methodology. The impact of each and every one of these items is significant and the sum of all is nothing short of colossal.We have grouped them into four categories. Please think attentively about each heading as you read each line on the list of items associated with it1. The factors we eliminated that the ERP and Information systems industry takes for granteda. Integration services
b. Annual and or bi-annual modular updates
c. Long and/or otherwise excessive installation times
d. Source files for internally created data transactions
e. History files for internally created data transactions
f. Successive/multiple screens for data entry of a single record
g. Annual, general systematic data removal2. The factors we have reduced well below the industry’s standard.a. Implementation and Operational Complexity
b. The Numbers of detail files required for semi-static summary files may be as low as just three in total – inventory, general ledger and payroll YTD.
c. Update programs to move corporate transaction data from source to active files as we have come to know them have all but disappeared and then in only rare circumstances
d. The number of update programs to move data details from active to history files has been highly reduced because the entire concept of traditional history files is eliminated
e. The numbers of programs required to update summary database files such as general ledger, inventory and employee payroll is reduced to just one.3. The factors we have raised well above the industry’s standard.a. Data quality
b. Simplicity
c. Ease of use
d. Use of multi-use and multi-function procedures and processes
e. Consistency in corporate database structure
f. Consistency in data maintenance methodologies
g. Universal consistency in screen design and drop down boxes
h. Utilization of disk space
i. User training
j. Flexibility of vertical applications (all in a single database)4. The factors we have created that the industry has never before offered.a. Single point consolidation
b. Emanation
c. Soft Step Diversification
d. Unlimited accounting ledger definition
e. Natural workflow
f. Natural workflow plug in
g. Ram Centric data access
h. Ram Centric user tools
i. Ageless data storage
j. Dynamic user mapping
k. User independent, bi-directional horizontal, and vertical tracking audit trails
l. User assist help-yourself help textThis may be an uncommon way to define ERP software but obviously, iNfinite Answers is an alternative product and service, an alternative to typical off-the-shelf accounting modules and an alternative to typical ERP systems. iNfinite Answers is designed to drive for efficiency, productivity and innovation in service companies, fabricators, light process or job cost manufacturing and all manner of construction. Due to its highly generic nature and ability to rapidly adapt to new environments and uses, many more niches will be discovered.Several pages have been written about many of these topics and are presented in our public access web site. The benefits of each item are frequently shared by other items. In fact, some items cannot exist without others but the most significant of all is where we started at the first of this presentation.define ERP software

Building a Business Online Requires You

Anyone can start a business online, but building a profitable online business is another story. You have your product or service. You know it’s good. You want to let the world know it’s good so that you can start raking in the rewards for this great product or service that you are offering. But how do you move from having a product to having a profitable internet business?Your new online business needs exactly what a real-world business needs – advertising and customers. Having a great product and or a hot niche is great, but the most important consideration for being successful and building a profitable business online is your marketing and advertising.Think about it through the example of selling in the offline world. How does that local grocery store let customers know that the food items that they have are on sale? Well, they send out flyers to customers. They advertise on television. They advertise on the radio. They do this all in an effort to let prospective customers know what they have because they know they’ll want it. Having a business online requires the same dedication to advertising.The practice and theory in finding customers is the same for a business online only the advertising process takes a little learning on the part of the businessperson. On the internet you need to advertise your business and generate traffic that will visit your sites on a regular basis. You need to not only create great content to entice and keep the customers you find coming back to purchase your products time and time again, but you need to advertise and promote yourself as well.The days of internet anonymity are over. You need to get your name out there so that people that are doing a search online come up with your name first in their searches. You need to create a following of customers that know, like and trust you outside your business. The only way to do this is by creating and advertising your personal brand alongside your business and products. Your potential customers want to trust the people they purchase products from and they want to know your name.So how do you do all of this? Buy marketing not only your product but yourself as well. Building a profitable online business is really building and promoting two products at the same time – the business that earns you profit and your own personal brand. The same traffic creation and business building tasks you use to advertise and promote your business should be used to build your own personal brand as well.The person behind the online business is just as important as the products you sell. Take the time to build your own personal brand and advertise that persona just as much as you advertise and promote your new business online. You’ll be surprised to discover that new customers flock to you and purchase time and time again because your business has something special – it has you.

What You Really Have to Know About Personal Loans

In a country like the UK, the type of loan that can be borrowed from any bank or other lending companies with a clear agreement of how it will be re- paid (preferably at the end of every month) can be described as a personnel loan. If you qualify for one, you should make the effort to pay every month-end as agreed, or else your property may be repossessed. The amount you will be paying monthly to the bank, building society or any other institution that you have gotten the personal loan from should include the interest that was initially agreed. The amount that you are able to borrow mainly depends on whether you are able to pay back comfortably, or may depend on what the lender wishes to lend to you.Personal loans can either be unsecured or secured, and can be used to develop your business, purchase a new car, go for holidays or improve your home. When it comes to personnel loans, you will notice that the increase in financial institutions that are offering this type of loan is causing a lot of finance-related problems in the market. This is not to discourage people from going for personnel loans because every problem has a solution. To be on the safe side you have to be absolutely sure about the institutions that you are borrowing the funds from. This is important when going for a personnel loan because many dubious institutions are willing to take advantage of you if you are not informed.If you have a clean credit history and collateral (such as property or a business) to back you up then you will have no problem when it comes to getting a personnel loan, as long as the personal loan is from an established institution that has a solid record of good loans, conditions, and customer relations. If you badly need a personnel loan, then it is very important for you to first of all understand what personal loans are all about and in case you do not know, then hiring a financial advisor is a wise move. You should also not be afraid to check out different lenders that would be willing to offer personal loans. If you are in an area where you cannot access actual banks or other lending institutions, it is good to know that you can also borrow from them loan online.You should seek out a lending institution that truly caters for your financial and personal needs. Personal loans usually come in handy when you are experiencing an emergency because they are not complicated at all, although it is also good to know that personal loans are usually unsecured. A personnel loan is usually small, with most lenders usually limiting the personal loans that an individual can be issued with to $15,000.If you are interested in taking out short term personnel loans, then you should clearly have your facts right: in this case, the best types of loans are cash loans. There are basically three types of these personal loans which include cash advance loan, cheque loans and deferred deposit cheque. The interest rate of the loans is dictated by the type of cash loans that you are going for.

How to Find the Best Auto Loan Online!

If it is your intention to buy a new car online it is also wise to shop for the best auto loan financing available. The Internet has made it easy to find an auto loan online. There are many sites that can compare rates from multiple lenders who will let you apply for your auto loan online that can help you find the best auto loan for your situation. Whether your credit is good, bad or even non-existent, you can save money by shopping for your auto loan online.You can go to individual dealers to apply, but this is time consuming since you have to apply one at a time and still might not end up getting the best auto loan. By going to a site that can check a variety of lenders, you are more likely to find a car loan online that is perfect for your situation. When you shop for a car loan online, you will get several offers. They will vary in terms of length of loan, payment amount, interest rate, and down payment required. Just find the one that is the best loan for you when all variables are considered and your financing problems are over.Some of the sites that let you apply for an auto loan online work with a specific network of dealers. Once your loan is approved and you have selected the best auto finance deal for you, you would go to a dealership in your area to choose your car. Should they not have a vehicle you want you can always move on to the next dealer who offered you a car loan online. Other sites are basically clearing houses for various groups of lenders. These types of sites will offer you auto financing online that is not tied to any particular dealer. Instead, they will approve you for a set amount that can be used at any dealer subject to certain restrictions, such as the accepted value of a used car. These are often the source for the best auto finance deals.When you apply for a car loan online, be sure to complete the application completely and accurately. Do not give any misleading information about income, length of time at the same job or address, or your current debt level. Just because you are completing your application for auto financing online, this does not mean that they will not verify the information. They will, and if they think you deliberately falsified information, it can hurt your credit rating, which will make it impossible to secure the best auto financing now and possibly for several years to come.If you think your income to debt ratio is such that you cannot qualify for auto financing online or receive favorable terms to obtain the best car loan, find out how you can remedy the situation. If the problem is too many credit cards, try to pay some of them off and maybe close some of them before you apply for your auto loan online. And if the problem is a lack of income, you might try taking on a part time job to help you secure the best car loan terms.Finding an auto loan online is just a matter of a few clicks. Compare all of the offers and then select the best auto financing options for your situation. Soon you’ll be driving in style, with the best deal you found by getting your auto loan online.

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.