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Full Court Finance

Ben Rains takes on the weeks top trending stories in the sports industry
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Now displaying: December, 2016
Dec 29, 2016

In a special edition of Zacks Friday Finish Line, Content Writer Ryan McQueeney and Editor Maddy Johnson are joined by Andrew Chanin, the CEO of PureFunds.

PureFunds is a New York City-based research firm that serves as the sponsor of 8 different thematic ETFs, including funds that focus on big data, cyber security, and health and medical technology.

Together, we discussed the PureFunds Drone Economy Strategy ETF (IFLY), the first ETF to focus on the emerging commercial drone market. It provides a way for investing in this omnipresent technology segment.

Andrew gave insight into the differences between commercial drones and drones used for military purposes, and what types of industries are looking to benefit from drone technology. We also discussed which companies are leading the market, and which are giants in the drone business.

Catch up on parts one and two of our interview with Andrew, were we discuss Purefunds’ GAMR and IPAY ETFs, on the Zacks Friday Finish Line SoundCloud homepage.

Stocks that Aren't in the News…Yet

You are invited to download the full, up-to-the-minute list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" free of charge. Many of these companies are almost unheard of by the general public and just starting to get noticed by Wall Street. They have been pinpointed by the Zacks system that nearly tripled the market from 1988 through 2015, with a stellar average gain of +26% per year. See these high-potential stocks now >>

Dec 16, 2016

On today’s episode of the Zacks Friday Finish Line podcast, Content Writer Ryan McQueeney and Editor Maddy Johnson take on this week’s biggest story: the latest Federal Reserve interest rate hike.

The hosts kicked off the show with another look at oil prices. Oil hit $54 a barrel for the first time in over a year and a half on Monday as investors reacted to the news that several non-OPEC nations, including Russia, will be joining the cartel in cutting their production.

Find out more here: Here's Why Oil Prices Are Soaring

Maddy and Ryan also talked about President-elect Donald Trump’s technology summit, which featured appearances from executives from Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOGL), Facebook (FB), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), and many more industry leaders.

Check out more about the meeting: Tech and Trump: Can They Find Common Ground in New York?

Finally, the hosts talked about the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates again this week. On Wednesday, the Fed announced that it is raising the benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point higher, from the current range of 0.25% to 0.50% to the range of 0.50% to 0.75%.

Maddy and Ryan talked about what the rate hike means for the state of the economy, and the hosts also welcomed Kirk Du Plessis, the founder of Option Alpha, to discuss the performance of the stock market both before and after previous rate hike cycles.

Here’s our full coverage on rate hikes: Federal Reserve Raises Interest Rates to Between 0.50%-0.75% & How Do Fed Interest Rate Hikes Affect Stock Performance?

As always, thanks for checking out this week’s episode of the Zacks Friday Finish Line, and make sure to check back next week for even more news from the investment and financial world!

Stocks that Aren't in the News. Yet.

You are invited to download the full, up-to-the-minute list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" free of charge. Many of these companies are almost unheard of by the general public and just starting to get noticed by Wall Street. They have been pinpointed by the Zacks system that nearly tripled the market from 1988 through 2015 with a stellar average gain of +26% per year. See these high-potential stocks free >>

Dec 9, 2016

On today’s episode of the Zacks Friday Finish Line podcast, Content Writer Ryan McQueeney and Editor Maddy Johnson take on this week’s biggest story: Donald Trump’s latest round of deals and promises.

The hosts kicked the show off with a look at Starbuck (SBUX). The company appears to be doubling down on its premium offerings and has pledged a significant expansion of its “Roastery” and “Reserve” concepts. Co-founder Howard Schultz will be stepping down from his role as his CEO to focus on promoting the new brands.

Find out more here: Starbucks News: $10 Coffee, Its Next Five Years, Princi is a Go

Next up was the news that Apple’s (AAPL) Apple Music streaming service has hit 20 million paying subscribers. In just a year and a half, Apple has accumulated nearly half the number of subscribers that Spotify has in about eight years. We’ve truly reached a key moment for the music streaming industry.

More details here: Apple Music Achieves 20 Million Paying Subscribers

Maddy and Ryan also touched on a few earnings reports from this week, including Lululemon (LULU), Costco (COST), and Dave and Buster’s (PLAY), which sparked a discussion on why the arcade-restaurant concept has performed so well this year.

More on Dave and Buster’s: Dave & Buster's Just Hit a New 52-Week High

Finally, this week’s top story was more news from President-elect Donald Trump. The perpetual deal maker was at it again this week, this time teaming up with SoftBank (SFTBY) to announce a $50 billion investment in the United States that will potentially create 50,000 new jobs. The announcement sent SoftBank and Sprint (S), which is 82%-owned by SoftBank, soaring this week.

Trump also sent biotech investors into a selling frenzy on Wednesday when he told Time, which just declared him “Person of the Year,” that he would target high drug price hikes.

Find out more on both stories here: SoftBank and Sprint Soaring on Trump-backed Investment Plan & Trump Vows to Slash Drug Prices, Sends Biotech Stocks Lower

As always, thanks for checking out this week’s episode of the Zacks Friday Finish Line, and make sure to check back next week for even more news from the investment and financial world!

Stocks that Aren't in the News. Yet.

You are invited to download the full, up-to-the-minute list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" free of charge. Many of these companies are almost unheard of by the general public and just starting to get noticed by Wall Street. They have been pinpointed by the Zacks system that nearly tripled the market from 1988 through 2015 with a stellar average gain of +26% per year. See these high-potential stocks free >>

 

Dec 2, 2016

On today’s episode of the Zacks Friday Finish Line podcast, Content Writer Ryan McQueeney and Editor Maddy Johnson take on this week’s biggest story: OPEC’s decision to cut oil production for the first time since 2008.

It was a very special episode for Maddy, but the hosts started things out with a bit of sad news involving McDonald’s (MCD). The inventor of the burger chain’s iconic Big Mac sandwich, Michael “Jim” Delligatti, passed away this week at the age of 98. Maddy and Ryan discussed his legacy and the impact he made on one of America’s most famous companies.

Read more here: McDonald's Big Mac Inventor Jim Delligatti Has Died at 98

Next the hosts moved to the latest news from Samsung (SSNLF). After the disastrous recall of its exploding Galaxy Note 7 phone, Samsung is under heavy pressure from activist investors, and the company announced plans this week for possible corporate restructuring.

Check out all the details here: Future Uncertain For Samsung As Company Considers Split

After this, Maddy and Ryan touched on Ulta Beauty’s (ULTA) latest earnings report. Ulta has been one of this year’s most talked-about stocks, and the company continued its impressive run with a double-beat on the back of some solid growth figures.

Go here for all the details on the report: Ulta Gains on Strong Q3 Earnings, Holiday Forecast

Finally, the hosts discussed OPEC’s decision to cut oil production by 1 million barrels a day. The cut represents the end of a “pump-at-will” policy that sent global oil prices spiraling downward. Prices are back above $50 a barrel, but as Maddy and Ryan point out, the future is still unclear.

Find out more here: OPEC Has Finally Agreed to Cut Output, Sending Oil Up 7%

As always, thanks for checking out this week’s episode of the Zacks Friday Finish Line, and make sure to check back next week for even more news from the investment and financial world!

Stocks that Aren't in the News. Yet.

You are invited to download the full, up-to-the-minute list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" free of charge. Many of these companies are almost unheard of by the general public and just starting to get noticed by Wall Street. They have been pinpointed by the Zacks system that nearly tripled the market from 1988 through 2015 with a stellar average gain of +26% per year. See these high-potential stocks free >>

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