Having constant access to new information and current health news is an exciting part of modern life. But recently there have been a number of email hoaxes and internet scams that have resulted in a more cautious public when it comes to finding out the latest in health bulletins. Your best bet when searching for medical information online is a website that does not attempt to sell anything and does not require a paid membership to view the contents.Emails are still the number one source for medical misinformation. A rather disturbing email hoax that made the rounds recently told people that they were getting a virus from boxes mailed from a specific company. The company received endless calls asking about the “virus” and there were a number of people that not only called but asked where their boxes were, stating that they were clients of the company and willing to risk the imaginary virus in order to get the nonexistent box.Another unreliable source for current health news is any internet site that sells a product that is supposed to cure whatever terrible disease that the same site is stating is an epidemic. First the scam artists discuss in urgent tones a life threatening illness and then they claim that best cure is the medicine or equipment they are selling. Any medical information site that tries to scare you into buying something is not a good source of information.Some sites actually ask for money before they give you answers. Membership fees, answer fees, or access fees are all names for basically charging you for information that should be publicly available to all. Most medical information is available via search engines but it can be a bit laborious slogging through all the search engine results. It’s great to have one site that you can do a search on for a specific topic or just review current health news, but not if the purpose of the site is to make money off of you. There are several high quality websites that you can access that provide excellent medical information and news without charging you.Be sure and be cautious when looking for up to date medical news and information. Find a reliable website that does not charge you, and make sure that you take all email notifications with more than a grain of salt.
Ten Great Uses For Payday Loans
If you are in need of quick cash for a short-term loan to get you through to your next payday, then a payday loan may be right for you. These are different than long-term loans, which are usually needed for large purchases, such as a car or a home improvement project. Instead, these are short-term loans, or payday loans, which are designed to help individuals when their next paycheck just can’t come quickly enough.The majority of payday loans range from $100 to $500, and most payday loans have a short timeline, usually less than two weeks.Payday loans are used for a variety of household and personal expenses, and they are ideal for those individuals that may not have available credit or other means of acquiring cash for the short-term.The following list details the most common reasons individuals seek payday loans:1. Groceries – There are a few things that we simply cannot live without; groceries are one of them. Have you ever paid all of your monthly bills only to find out that you didn’t leave enough for basic, household items and food? If so, then a short-term payday loan may be right for you.2. Gas Money – With the rising cost of gasoline, many hardworking individuals have experienced a hard time paying their bills and putting gas in their cars. The bottom line for most people is that no gas equates to no job. We all need to put fuel in our vehicles so that we can get back and forth between work, pick our children up from school, and run errands, for example.3. School Lunch Money – You don’t get paid until next week and you find out that your children’s lunch money is due tomorrow! What do you do? If credit is a problem and your bank account is tapped, you may want to consider a payday loan to provide your children with money for their school lunches.4. Utilities -If your gas or electric bill is due and you don’t have a paycheck coming until next week, you may want to consider a payday loan to pay your utility bill and make sure that you don’t lose your utility service because of non-payment. This will also keep your credit report free of late payment marks.5. Car Payment – Just like gas money, you need your car to get you back and forth from work, among other things, and you can’t afford to have it taken away because of non-payment. Because of this, you may want to consider a payday loan to cover your car loan until your next paycheck.6. Rent – Don’t let your landlord continue harass you for your rent money when you know you won’t have it for a couple weeks. Instead, get your landlord off your back by taking out a short-term payday loan to cover your rent.7. Car Repair – If your car isn’t running, it isn’t doing you much good. If you car needs repairs and you simply don’t have the cash to cover it, you may want to seek a payday loan to get your car up and running.8. Medical Emergency – Medical co-pays, deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses related to a medical emergency are certainly a must when dealing with a serious situation. A payday loan will help to pay these expenses until you receive your next paycheck.9. Personal Goods – Personal goods, such as toiletries, medications and diapers, are often not thought of as necessary, except when you are without them! Payday loans are a great way to provide you with extra cash to cover these incidentals until your next paycheck.10. Household Goods – What do you do if your refrigerator breaks and you don’t get paid until next week? A payday loan can come in very useful in these types of tight financial situations.When you have an emergency or basic needs that must be fulfilled, a payday loan is a great way to manage your expenses before your next paycheck is cut.
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.