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Another Trade War depresses stocks. Buy some bargains. The Subscription Economy makes handsome Buys also.

The story of IQ

IQ3months

As reported this morning by BusinessInsider:

Chinese Netflix-competitor iQiyi has more than doubled its stock price since going public in the US in March.

The stock is wildly popular with millennial investors on the stock trading app Robinhood.

Follow IQ’s stock price in real-time here.

Shares of iQiyi – the Baidu-owned video service widely seen as the Netflix of China – has more than doubled since its US initial public offering less than three months ago.

As its stock has skyrocketed from $18 at the IPO to $37 on Thursday, the streaming video service has become a darling for millennial investors on the stock trading app Robinhood, whose users skew markedly younger than that of traditional brokerages. The stock is now held by 31,302 Robinhood investors, the site’s data shows, making it the 30th most held stock. It first appeared in the top 100 in late May.

Ten-year-old iQiyi began trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange in March after being spun off by the Chinese search giant Baidu. The offering raised $2.25 billion for the video service, which currently boasts 61 million subscribers. For comparison, Netflix has more than 100 million worldwide, but Chinese regulations have hindered its expansion in the country.

Its success in trading so far has led to optimism on Wall Street. Both Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse have positive ratings for the stock.

The Subscription Economy

My friends are binge-watching Netflix and driving me nuts with their favorites.

I’m just renewing my subscription to Norton Internet Security, when Cramer comes on intoning “It’s a subscription economy.” He’s interviewing the head of ZUO which has done well since it came public a few months ago:

ZUO

Zuo’s head has written a book, available on Amazon (where else):

Subscribed

I downloaded a Kindle version, read a little (then fell asleep). But the author has a point. Fixed costs. Oodles of variable revenues. Even Nike going subscription model with young kids, offering them new shoes as they grow.

The BIG subscription model success is Netflix.

Salesforce (CRM) is huge with subscriptions.

Microsoft is pushing Office users to a subscription model. Many people are buying. (Not me.)

There are other subscription model companies that I’m not in (but maybe should be): Spotify (SPOT), BOX and DOCU (Docusign). Need to do more work this weekend. Finish reading the book.

Don’t forget Audible — a great way of listening to great books in your car or on your iPhone. Drat. Amazon already owns that.

Bitcoin price was manipulated 

Surprise. Surprise. Read more here.

Technical stuff

+ Apple Play in your new car is an acute disappointment. It doesn’t include WAZE — the most useful traveling app. New news: A couple of readers just told me it will be included around September when Apple releases IOS 12.

+ I’m giving up reading paper books. The type is too small and I’ve got to hold the book. Better Kindle on my PC or Audible on my iPhone. Funny isn’t it? Amazon started selling paper books. Now it pushes electronic books — where the margin is (I’m guessing) hugely higher. Boy am I happy Amazon is my biggest holding.

+ In Chrome, click on History twice to go further back.

+ Update your Wi-Fi router or buy a new one. For more, read this important piece, titled “Don’t Overlook the Security of your Wi-Fi.” Click here.

+ MarketWatch says change your DNS to protect your computer from viruses. Better is my four-pronged strategy:

+ Changing DNS is too simplistic. Bad web sites are not the number one cause of bad viruses. Changing is not worth the effort.

+ Better you don’t open email attachments. Don’t go to sites that look iffy, and/or sites recommended by iffy people. Sadly, lots of my friends forward me “iffy” sites.

+ Make sure you have the best virus protection. I prefer Norton — but for no other reason than it’s worked in the past.

+ Buy yourself a second and identical computer. Equip it with all the software you have in your working machine. Switch over to it the moment you are infected. then reformat and start again with your old machine.

+ Keep backups of your working files locally and in the cloud.

Too much time on his hands — the fellow who photoshopped this:

Trumpprom

Funniest story yet

The Trump Foundation’s treasurer didn’t know he was treasurer until investigators told him

Alan Weisselberg seemed to know he was the Trump Organization’s CFO. But he could’ve listed another job on his resume, and he didn’t even know it.

President Trump’s longtime loyalist is also listed as the Donald J. Trump Foundation’s treasurer, which would’ve held him accountable in a new lawsuit filed by the New York attorney general Thursday accusing the nonprofit of illicit spending. But Weisselberg wasn’t aware of his position until a New York state investigator told him, The Washington Post reports.

New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood alleges in the lawsuit that, based on two years of investigation sparked by a Post investigation, the foundation was benefiting the Trump family instead of the public.

But first, Weisselberg told an investigator there wasn’t a policy determining how the nonprofit spent its money, per the Post. The investigator then asked if Weisselberg knew he’s been on the Trump Foundation’s board for over a decade. He didn’t.

Of course, it’s hard to remember being on a board that hasn’t met since 1999.

Federer is playing in the Mercedes Cup

It’s in Stuttgart today and it’s this weekend.

He’s doing well and always a pleasure to watch. Watch how he moves. Watch how he watches the ball. Watch his incredible down-the-line backhand. He’s on The Tennis Channel.

HarryNewton
Harry Newton, who will celebrate Father’s Day weekend without any kids or grandkids. But they’ll Facetime me. Hint. Hint. Don’t email me with being anti-Trump. I think the stories above are funny, not political. Remember, this blog is about making money and having a little fun. In the old days when there were brokers on Wall Street and you paid $500 commissions to buy a handful of IBM, they told you free jokes. Now there are no brokers and I have to deliver the jokes. So, test yourself:

You know you’re a redneck when..

+ The Salvation Army declines your furniture.

+ You have the local taxidermist on speed dial.

+ You come back from the dump with more than you took.

+ Your house doesn’t have curtains, but your truck does.

+ You’ve used your ironing board as a buffet table.

+ You think fast food is hitting a deer at 65.

2 Comments

  1. Scooter says:

    Harry, Thanks for the heads-up on IQ.

  2. Gary S says:

    Waze and Google Maps are coming to Apple CarPlay this September with the iOS version 12 release AND when Waze / Google Maps release updates that works with CarPlay. I use both CarPlay and Waze (separately on my iPhone) so I’m looking forward to Waze being a CarPlay app in Sept.