3 Months Left

…..till 2020

 Hong Kong’s ‘Occupy Central’ protests against extradition to Mainland China. India removes the special status of Jammu and Kashmir’s independent rule, heightening military presence and tensions with Pakistan. Nigeria’s xenophobic attacks on foreigner’s effect business. Israel 2nd election this year leaves a weakened Netanyahu and an empowered Gantz. Boris Johnson replaces Theresa May as British PM, with agenda to push a No Deal Brexit on Oct. 31. Canadian PM tries to get re-elected with multiple scandals looming overhead.

Aramco is attacked, as tensions heat up between Iran, US and Saudi Arabia in the Middle East. The U.S. release oil Strategic Petroleum Reserve and push for pipeline expansion throughout U.S.

Big tech companies face Anti-Trust Monopoly ruling by 50 U.S. Attorney Generals (AGs), Uber and Lyft hit with union regulations in California, 40,000(+) GM Union Worker strike demands balance in pay v. profit distribution with corporate. Juul CEO steps down amid vaping illness backlash.

Business

Ø  T-Mobile –and Sprint sell assets to Dish Network to prior to merger being reviewed by Anti-Trust dept.

Ø  Boeing – drops 25% since Q1, but still high. The FAA faced congress to discuss 737 warning signs.

Ø  New Media Investment Group – merger of Gatehouse and Gannett solidifies 1/6 of US Newspaper media.

Ø  Johnson & Johnson – pays out 572M in Opioid Class Action in OK, stock rises as suit was for 17B.

Ø  Forever 21 – Large retail tenant preparing for bankruptcy

Ø  Gold – jumps to 1,500 (20%) with considers of a peak in discussion, and other calling for $10,000.

Ø  Oil – despite drop 8-10% on markets, Saudi Crown prince envisions $300 barrel future if war broke out.

Political and Infotainment Highlights

Amazon rainforest burns and clear cutting policies (up 39%) of Bolsonaro draws scorn from Global Leadership, The Bahamas are devastated from Hurricane Dorian, Thailand faces worst drought in a decade, and water is visible low in India (Chennai) & Qatar, Indonesia will move capital city from Jakarta, which is sinking. U.S. continues to suffer from series of mass shooting incidents.

Old tapes of Reagan speaking with Nixon reveal racist comments on African delegates. Dallas PD kill Tony Timpa during arrest, ex-NYPD Pantaleo fired for lying during Eric Garner murder trial.

Trump leaves high water media marks, with attacks on 4 congress woman of colour to “go back to where they came from”, crafting an Israeli ban on 2. A thought to purchase Greenland (+ 50,000 citizens) from Denmark. He fired his National Security Adviser John Bolton, a day after he resigned. Mueller spoke to Congress, leaving everyone confused. As Democrats push for impeachment, with latest grounds tied to undue influence on Ukrainian president.

Forecast

Invest in yourself

As Warren Buffet, holds money for future business acquisitions, others read into this position to hold their money from the market. The idea being if you are cash rich, one can buy low on a bearish market. There are methods to bet against the market or place a put, but one can use cash to provide more productive outputs and build varying passive income streams.

Passive Income requires either an investment upfront or your time on a project, and then over time continues to generate a form of income in the background with a little maintenance. Beyond a divested portfolio, there is a value in having divested income steams to create capital.

Robert Kiyosaki is a champion for passive income streams, he even notes one can generate tax breaks to offset traditional taxes observed by employment income and capital gains. Despite his braggadocios positions on debt generation and gaming the system to get rich, he does have an intent to encourage financial literacy. 

In short, we should all look at varying income streams to support our economic strength.

Passive Income Opportunities

• Social Media Platforms

  • Create Content, and Promote Products with connections to an Amazon platform.

• Purchase Real Estate and become a Landlord

  • When earning the rent, return it into buying localized connected plots of real estate.

• Selling Stock Photos or Digital Files

  • As you drop Travel Photos and Food Porn on Instagram, post to a monetize site as well.

• Localized Business Partner or Contractor relationships

  • A developed hobby or industry connection may provide opportunity to engage on a side business as an independent.

• Lending through Apps

  • By giving someone a hand up, you can also benefit from the returns.

For the Risk Takers (here are some prospects to consider)

With a drop in Market strength mid-July, many hint that this was not a blip but a trend that reveals cash is a good position. Michael Burry has noted equity markets showing a slowdown in trading and a delinking from the central banks to define risk.

• Lightspeed POS Inc. (TSX:LSPD) – a SaaS platform for omni-channel commerce enabling support tool.

• Maxar Tech (TSX:MAXR)- Space Tech. co. based in Colorado

• DHX Media (TSX:DHX) – Children’s Media co. with rights to Peanuts, and a strong YouTube presence.

In peacetime, global 21st century tech’s rise through Mobile, Internet of Things (IoT), and the Shared Economy have raised questions on privacy concern and overreach.

A concern the world should have is what wartime will look like?

It’s obvious Chinese and Western relations struggle around this point, as tech leadership is shrouded in political games and posturing, as each side tries to establish a lead – and the Chinese backed Huawei is positioning the lead for a roll out. The real concern is who will dominate 5G, and more to that - what exactly is 5G?

5th Generation New Radio (5G NR, or simply 5G) is the next phase of cellular technology, touted as NextGen and designed to be the primary connector for future machines. Using millimeter waves and MIMO Antennas with closer connections to link an additional million devices per square kilometer. Thru Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) increased mobile service & Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC) uninterrupted connectivity for machines operating within the IoT ecosystem. The results of Massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC) provide higher scalability and increased battery lifetime.

The FCC, EU and others have opened up new frequency bandwidths to prepare for new tech, and new utilization. The delays to full national roll outs are tied to the costs to dig Fiber Optics and the set up needed for key tower sites.

In Germany – Vodafone / Ericcson activated 5G base stations in Düsseldorf, July 2019, with Deutsche Telecom (DT) (owner of T-Mobile) advising they will release 5G Antennas in 20 cities in the next 18 months, it is noted they are utilizing Huawei technology to support their roll out.

In the U.K., 02 (owned by Telefonica) who won and purchased 40 MHz in the 3.4 GHz spectrum last year for 354M USD, has confirmed their plans to have 5G up and running by October 2019 in 5 UK cities.

In the U.S., Telecom giants struggle to cover national requirements, but focus on key cities. With Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) in 3.5 GHz band, gain the interests of Amazon and Google who look at this as an opportunity to bypass traditional Wireless Network Operators and their IoT products tying back into the Companies own cloud platforms. It is easily noted, 5G is the first wireless generation being built to use the cloud.

In China, state development programs have begun releases in rural communities to showcase the ability to become up and running, and support the appetite to lead on this technological front. This will connect their citizens, build interconnectivity and in turn linked to a well-developed and soon to be showcased military presence on the global stage.

 3 Pillars of Network Transformation through 5G

1. Software Defined Networking (SDN) – programmable switches configured through a protocol proprietary platforms (like OpenFlow)

2. Virtualization of the Network

3. Mobile Edge Computing, resulting in transformation of the radio access network (RAN) and Core Network by enabling critical functions and applications to be run closer to the user and the source of the data.

Sports & Combat

Inspiring to Change the Narrative

                 As the youth rally around highlights, where Kyle ‘Bugha’ Giersdorf takes home 3M in Fornite World Cup (Epic Games), of Jorge Masvidal taking out Ben Askren in the fastest KO in UFC history in 5 seconds, and 19 year old Bianca Andreescu’s surprise U.S. Open win.

The elder sports community watched the NFL announce its partnership with Roc Nation led by Jay-Z with a goal to Inspire Change.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was clear the drive is to unite the League with the Players Coalition, by meeting them on the grounds to enhance support programs and break down barriers for impoverished communities. There are 3 pillars of the program, Education and Economic Advancement, Police and Community Relations, and Criminal Justice Reform.

Roc Nation will push the campaign through lines of apparel and setting up events, with the selection and curation of the Super Bowl Half Time Show (2020 will be Shakira and J-Lo). Some interpret Jay-Z’s long game is to become an owner and this is a good method to get himself to the table.

The partnership is wholly motivated to mend ties with the League and key players, which began to sever back in 2016 season when Colin Kaepernick and others began take a knee during the National Anthem to protest racially driven police brutality. The movement grew into a campaign buttressed by political motivations leading all the way up to the President of the U.S. and advertising giants like Nike, requiring fans to take a side and ultimately impacting ratings for the League and sport.

 Despite the positivity of the new partnership, it has appeared to come off as disingenuous with both the NFL and Jay-Z drawing criticism. As the announcement was made on the 3rd anniversary of Kaepernick’s protest, it was a nod to change the narrative but glaringly point’s the attention to the fact that Kaepernick is still not playing in the NFL appears to be blackballed by the League’s owners after being a free agent in 2017.

Internal league concerns aside, the sentiment that the NFL and Roc Nation can rid the country of inequality through ‘selling t-shirts and putting on concerts’ drowns out the 3-dimensional components of the protests and the larger Black Lives Matter movement.

The NFLs attempts to push a rejuvenated message are well intended and also driven to increase the viewership ratings. The past few years have shown depressed interest, which many tie to the politicization of the sport despite the League trying distance themselves from politics. So in this first month and 4 games of the 2019 season, it would appear Ratings are up – particularly for Fox, ESPN but stagnant or lower for CBS and NBC viewers.

Ratings are clearly tied to team performance, healthy athletes and a quality game. The goal of the NFLs soft message is truly to mend ties with the Players Coalition and most important put out an olive branch to the youth who are most active in today’s modern protests.

Will it work, or be received as a gimmick?

Mixtape XIV

Crossing Streams

Who will dominate ‘New Cable’

October 2019, Disney comes to market with the next big thing in Streaming Platforms, and Netflix has been paying attention and planning a big release of original content. Only time will tell who wins the race for capturing the audiences screen time – in the end, we can all expect to be entertained.

Netflix ($13.99CAD/month)

Originals

The Irishman, Dir. Martin Scorsese

Breaking Bad: Movie, Dir. Vince Gilligan

Dolomite is my name, Dir. Craig Brewer

Top Five+ (maybe not the Euphoria Soundtrack, but still good)

1. Thanks 4 Nothing – Mariah the Scientist (One Umbrella)

2. Motivation – Normani (Keep Cool Recording)

3. Like You - Alessia Cara (Def Jam Recording)

4. Doin’ Time – Lana Del Rey (Polydor Records)

5. Higher Love – Whitney Houston remix Kygo (Primary Wave)

6. Violence – Grimes ft. I_o (4AD)

Playlists

• Takeover; Film and TV Favorites – Quentin Tarantino (Spotify)

• Real Journalism – Soulful sounds from all generations

• Digital Journalism – Later than it should be, but the sun will rise

Artscape

the Mœbius strip

Blueberry is too cool….and so was Jean “Mœbius” Giraud (May 8, 1938-March 10, 2012)

Working in the Bandes dessinées (BDs) comic style of France and Belgium, the artwork resonates with realism that can perfectly encapsulate the surreal. Giraud’s work is varied but he is immediately known the collaboration with writer Jean-Michel Charlier in creating the backdrop for the anti-hero Blueberry in the non-traditional American western.

As his career developed, Mœbius worked on storyboards for Aliens, Tron, the Abyss, the Fifth Element and apart of the original productions of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s  ‘Dune’ with others like Salvador Dali, Orson Welles, Mick Jagger and Pink Floyd.

Working with Philippe Durant, Jean-Pierre Dionnet and Bernard Farkas, they were collectively known as "Les Humanoïdes Associés" for publishing Métal Hurlant, which became published in the US by National Lampoon as ‘Heavy Metal’ magazine. The 68-page magazine ran quarterly, up until is 9th issue where it ran monthly and showcased comics, science fiction book and movie articles alongside music and videogame critiques.

Mœbius got his start under Joseph "Jijé" Gillain, the creator of Spirou et Fantasio, who also gave moral support to continue his craft but also took over his the actual work on early projects (e.g. Fort Navajo) when Giraud broke under pressure and left to the Americas as an escape.

In 1988, a foray into Marvel/Epic territory opened up an opportunity to work with Stan Lee on a Silver Surfer Miniseries – Parable and introduced him to a new style of comic production. The series won the 1989 Eisner award for the best limited series and opened up the next stage of his career.