3 Reasons Why Netflix Inc. is Passing the Popcorn

Netflix  (NASDAQ: NFLX  )  is no longer a pushover when it comes to original shows, and now it's hoping to do the same thing with full-length features. 

When Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend hits theater audiences next summer it will also simultaneously be available on Netflix's streaming platform. The sequel to Ang Lee's critically acclaimed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon will have some of the original movie's stars, but it won't have Lee in the directing chair. It also won't have traditional multiplex support.

One wouldn't expect exhibitors to rally around a movie that is available at home for no additional cost to Netflix's more than 50 million streaming accounts. The theatrical release next August is limited to IMAX (NYSE: IMAX  ) and its more than 800 supersized screens worldwide. It won't be the last time that we see this happen, as Netflix and IMAX are teaming up for "several major films" that will be financially backed by Netflix.

Why is Netflix doing this? Won't it upset studio partners and multiplex operators? Will the math work (these movies aren't cheap)? Let's offer up a few possible reasons for this tie-up.

1. Netflix told you this was coming
This isn't a surprise to anyone paying attention. Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos turned heads last October in a keynote speech to the 2013 Film Independent Forum.

Why not premiere movies on Netflix, the same day that they're opening in theaters? And not little movies. There's a lot of people and a lot of ways to do that. Why not big movies?

The comment about "little movies" could have been a knock on Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN  ) , which has provided financing for low-budget indie fare in the past. Either way, it was a clear indication that this is where Netflix was heading. 

2. There's value in prolific features
Netflix has embraced the initially derisive "rerun TV" tag that some have used to portray the streaming platform as a final resting place for old shows. That might be true, but Netflix knows that there's money to be made and subscribers to retain by offering binge streaming of several seasons of a particular show. This birthed the original programming movement that has delivered the goods through House of Cards, Orange Is the New Black, and other Netflix exclusives. 

However, Netflix knows that movies are also a big deal. There's a reason why folks are willing to pay an average of $8.15 per ticket to see a flick at the theater. Despite being a much costlier production per minute of eventual content, there are times when a group of people fire up Netflix and don't want to have to worry about everybody being on the same episode of a certain show. A movie solves that dilemma, giving viewers a complete meal in roughly two hours.

3. First-run movies can open the door on pay-per-view
Netflix streaming subscribers are paying just $7.99 -- $8.99 for new users -- a month. That has always seemed like a pretty good deal, and it's why Netflix has been able to quickly surpass 50 million subs worldwide.

It works. Revenue moved 37% higher in its latest quarter, with profitability more than doubling.

What do you think will happen to the value proposition of a Netflix subscription once the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon sequel hits IMAX screens next August? After all, a ticket to that sensory experience will cost more than an entire month of Netflix.

Netflix knows that it has some degree of pricing elasticity. It kicked in a springtime rate increase for new members and still managed to grow its installed base nicely. Could we someday reach a time when Netflix can charge for some of these new releases -- at least in their initial run -- in addition to the subscription? Amazon already does this, and it has a larger catalog of pay titles than those it makes available to Amazon Prime members at no additional cost. 

Netflix apparently won't charge customers extra next summer. However, that will be an option if these screenings prove successful. 

Your cable company is scared, but you can get rich
You know cable's going away. But do you know how to profit? There's $2.2 trillion out there to be had. Currently, cable grabs a big piece of it. That won't last. And when cable falters, three companies are poised to benefit. Click here for their names. Hint: One of them is not Netflix.

Experts Expect U.S. Economy to Continue Steady Recovery

Mel Evans/APNew home construction is seen as a laggard among forecasters. Economists see steady growth but remain mixed on their outlook for the health of different segments of the U.S. economy. Investments by businesses and government, as well as international trade activity, will grow at a faster rate than previously forecast, according to a survey released Monday by the National Association for Business Economics. However, consumer spending and investments in homes will be lower than previously predicted because of Americans' lagging wage growth and trouble obtaining loans. The predictions come in a quarterly survey of 46 forecasters that was conducted between Aug. 25 and Sept. 9. Following an unusually high degree of volatility in the first half of the year, the group expects the pace of economic growth to steady, with gross domestic production forecast to grow at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 3 percent in the third and fourth quarters of 2014 and throughout 2015.

The Single Biggest Risk in Retirement -- and How to Avoid It

The path to a comfortable retirement is fraught with peril, but none so great as volatility. Image: Wikimedia Commons user Ondrej Zvacek.

I want you to imagine two different scenarios with me. For the first, let's assume you're 40 years old and want to retire by age 65. Here are two different views of what market returns could look like over the next quarter-century

We'll oversimplify for the sake of this article and say that you start with $100 invested and add $100 every year. In the end, which scenario would you rather have?

Knowing that you won't be touching that money until you retire, you would likely choose the volatile returns. Your nest egg would be over twice as large.

What if you were in retirement?
Now let's take a different view. Let's say the market's returns -- both steady and volatile -- will be the same as they were in the above scenario. The only difference is that now you've reached age 65, and you need the money to last you until age 90.

We'll say you were a diligent saver and have amassed $1 million. In the first year, you'll withdraw 4% of your nest egg for living expenses, and then adjust that number by 3% per year to keep up with inflation.

Remember, the market returns are exactly the same as above. Which scenario do you choose now?

It's almost mind-boggling how differently these two situations play out -- to the point that you might believe I've made a serious error with my math. But I assure you this is correct. If you opt for volatile returns in retirement, you'll end up broke by age 90!

How in the world can we explain this?

The difference between volatility and risk
I could talk until I'm blue in the face about the difference between risk and volatility, and I still probably wouldn't be able to emphasize it enough.

When you are working, you are in the accumulation phase of your investing life. Volatility not only doesn't hurt you, but can actually juice your returns. That's because you are a net buyer of stocks. So long as you aren't selling when the market goes down, volatility is absolutely not a risk to you.

However, once you hit retirement, the scenario flips. You are now in the distribution phase of your investing life, and market volatility is not your friend. In fact, it's an enormous risk. That's because you are a net seller of stocks. So even when stocks are low, you still have to sell some of your holdings to live off them. And that's the absolute worst time to be forced to sell.

You will never recover the money you lost by selling out. And if those downwardly volatile years occur at the beginning of your retirement, it's a blow from which you might never recover.

How to avoid volatility in retirement
Hopefully, this makes it clear that as you enter retirement, controlling for volatility is important. In many ways, once you retire, you become a quasi-short-term investor; you know you'll be selling some stocks every year.

Fortunately, there are several ways to mitigate the effects of volatility.

One of the most tried-and-true approaches is to shift your holdings from stocks to bonds. Though the payout over the long run is lower, the returns from bonds are generally positive after inflation and are much less volatile than stocks.

But that doesn't mean you need to abandon stocks altogether. A portion of your holdings should be dedicated to solid, dividend-paying blue-chip stocks like Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO  ) , Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG  ) , and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ  ) . These three companies all pay dividends yielding more than 2.8% and have betas under 0.54, meaning they are far less volatile than the overall market. These three are also considered noncyclical holdings, which means that people tend to buy their products -- beverages, soaps and shampoos, and Band-Aids, for example -- no matter the economic climate.

Investors nearing and in retirement need to make sure their holdings are diverse enough -- not only between stocks and bonds, but also within the types of stocks they hold -- to ensure they limit overexposure to highly volatile assets such as commodities and speculative plays.

In the end, that approach will help you enjoy your retirement in comfort, rather than spending the last years of your life worrying about where your next paycheck might come from.

How to get even more income during retirement
Social Security plays a key role in your financial security, but it's not the only way to boost your retirement income. In our brand-new free report, our retirement experts give their insight on a simple strategy to take advantage of a little-known IRS rule that can help ensure a more comfortable retirement for you and your family. Click here to get your copy today.

Retirement Reality Bites: It's Time To Bite Back

I am a Certified Financial Planner(TM) and President of Financial Life Focus, LLC, a Fee-Only Independent Registered Investment Advisory firm in Livingston, New Jersey. I began my career over 30 years ago as an accountant, focusing on tax, audit, financial accounting and forensic accounting. In the mid '80s, I shifted my attention to personal financial planning, tax planning, investment strategy and wealth management. I have embraced a Financial Life Planning approach in my work with clients, having customized if for my practice after participating in training with Money Quotient(TM) and the Kinder Institute. Life planning goes beyond numbers. It's not just about making money and investing money, but about using the money to fulfill your dreams. Inspired by the impact this approach has had on my life and that of my clients, I wrote a book for other advisors - The Business of Life: An "Inside-Out" Approach to Building a More Successful Financial Planning Practice (published November 2010).

Contact Michael F. Kay

The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

Heady Times as M&A Speculation Floats Brewers

Who knew that consolidation speculation in the beer industry could be sung to the tune of the Butthole Surfers’ “Pepper.” SABMiller (SBMRY) wants to buy Heineken (HEINY). Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) might want to buy SABMiller. And Molson Coors Brewing (TAP) might scoop up the leftovers.

Reuters

Credit Suisse’s Sanjeet Aujla assesses the winners and losers in a market ripe for takeovers:

Heineken last night clarified earlier Bloomberg reports that it recently turned down an approach from SABMiller, stating the Heineken family’s intention to preserve the heritage and identity of Heineken as an independent company. However, the suggestion of another wave of industry consolidation should continue to support the sector in the near term. As we recently published, we believe SABMiller can continue to create value as a standalone entity, both organically and as an acquirer. We suggested Molson Coors as a potential target, however a deal with Heineken could also have been a good fit.

1) If Anheuser Busch Inbev’s intention is to acquire SABMiller, will this draw them out? Does this put SAB in play? – Molson Coors is a beneficiary in this scenario as the natural acquirer of SAB’s share in the MillerCoors JV (to satisfy anti-trust hurdles). 2) If Anheuser Busch Inbev has no future with SABMiller, will it return cash to its shareholders as its balance sheet de-levers in the form of a higher payout ratio and share buyback, or look outside of the beer category for future deals? 3) We see low probability of Carlsberg (CABGY) being a target at this stage given political events in Russia (note SAB has exposure to Russia through its 24% stake in Efes), but could benefit in certain consolidation scenarios through acquiring businesses under anti-trust scrutiny.

Shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev have gained 3,3% to $114.56 at 3:30 p.m. today, while Molson Coors has risen 5.6% to $75.84, SABMiller have jumped 9% to $60.53, Heineken has advanced 1.6% to $39 and Altria is up 2.6% at $44.28.

The biggest winner in all this, however? It could be Altria (MO), which jas gained 2.6% to $44.28 for simply owning a bit more than a quarter of SAB Miller’s shares.

Michael Bloomberg Returning to Lead Namesake Media Firm

Scott Roth, Invision/APFormer New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg NEW YORK -- Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg is returning to lead the financial data and news company he founded in 1981 but left to serve three terms in City Hall. The company, Bloomberg LP, said Wednesday that current CEO Daniel Doctoroff will step down at the end of the year. Doctoroff was a deputy mayor under Bloomberg. His departure makes way for Bloomberg to take back the helm of the company, of which he still owns more than 85 percent. The 72-year-old Bloomberg handed the reins of America's largest city to Bill de Blasio on Jan. 1. In a statement, Bloomberg said he never intended to return to his company after 12 years as mayor. But after reacquainting with its operations, he said, he couldn't resist its lure. "I have gotten very involved in the company again and that led to Dan coming to me recently to say he thought it would be best for him to turn the leadership of the company back to me," said Bloomberg, whose company has grown to employ more than 15,000 people in 73 countries and has made him a billionaire. Doctoroff joined Bloomberg LP in 2008 and became CEO in July 2011. Before that he served six years as Bloomberg's deputy mayor for economic development. He said he had no job lined up but in the short term would focus on his not-for-profit interests. Bloomberg, whose fortune Forbes estimates at $33.2 billion, credited Doctoroff with guiding the company through the financial crisis of 2008 and the deep recession that followed. Bloomberg LP is privately held and isn't obliged to divulge financial information, but it said Wednesday that its revenue grew to more than $9 billion this year from $5.4 billion in 2007. Its subscribers have grown to 321,000 from 273,000, it said, while it added more than 500 reporters and editors.

Digital tip jar coming to a coffee shop near you

Susye Greenwood, a customer at New York's Fresco, tips $1 for her server via a swipe of her card in the DipJar. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) The tip jar at coffee shops is often an embarrassment for the kind of people who pay for everything with their credit cards and rarely have small change on hand.

The electronic DipJar, a device that accepts credit and debit cards for $1 tips, is here to help the cashless.

DipJar, a startup based in New York and Boston, has been testing the devices at 20 locations in New York over the last two years. It is now ready to expand into as many as 200 locations after a cash infusion from investors of $420,000.

"We intended to do a short trial, but once they were on the countertops the stores didn't want to give them back," said DipJar co-founder and CEO Ryder Kessler.

At Fresco Gelateria, a New York coffee shop, it means an extra $15 to $20 a week for barista Samantha Kulch.

So far, the cash tip jar still brings in much more -- $15 to $20 per day -- for her.

"People definitely use the cash jar more," she said. "People marvel at the DipJar more than they use it."

For Ilias Iliopoulos, co-owner of Fresco, it's a time saver. The company does the task of divvying up tips among the workers, saving him about an hour's worth of work every week.

Iliopoulos said he's had the DipJar for a year and it brings in $150 to $200 per month. He said that DipJar skims 6% off the tips.

Iliopoulos said there's one glitch the company should work out: the DipJar doesn't make a sound when customers dip their card, so they can't tell whether the transactions went through.

Susye Greenwood, a photographer, discovered this when she used the DipJar during a recent visit to Fresco.

"I wasn't clear on whether it worked," she said, wondering whether she should dip her card a second time.

But Kessler insisted that the DipJar does, in fact, make a noise.

"It's just hard to hear amongst the ambient sounds of coffee grinding, music, air conditioning and chatter," she said. "That's a big flaw that we're fixing: amping up the change-clinking configuration in the next unit."

The new models, will also feature lights that will go off to confirm that a transaction went through.

Who's getting rich off the stock market?

Only 49% of Americans own stocks. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) The United States is enjoying one of the best stock market surges in its history. But the phenomenal gains in recent years are going mostly to white, college-educated individuals who are already pretty well off.

Only 49% of Americans have any money in stocks at all, according to the latest data from the Federal Reserve. That figure includes everyone invested in retirement funds (think pensions and 401(k) plans) as well as those who take the time to buy specific stocks such as Apple (AAPL, Tech30), Ford (F) and Facebook (FB, Tech30).

"Part of the reason there is so much discussion about income inequality is there is a group of people who participated in the stock market over a period where it nearly tripled, and there's another group of people that didn't," said Mark Grinblatt, a professor of finance at UCLA's Anderson School of Management.

Even among the half of America that has money in the market, there are disparities. The top 10% of American households have roughly $282,000 each in the market, if you take the median value of their holdings.

Compare that to the middle class, which has a median value of a mere $14,000 a household.

The reality is the more money you put into the market, the more you stand to gain (or lose).

Putting a dollar into the popular S&P 500 index that tracks the largest companies traded on U.S. stock exchanges in March 2009 would leave you with $3 today. That's a nice 200% return, but obviously if you had invested $1 million in the market over the same time period, you would now have $3 million.

The stock market has been especially ! kind to Caucasians and college graduates.

White households typically have about three times the amount of money invested that non-white families have, according to the Fed data. That's held true since the 1990s when the market shot up during the dotcom era.

Education also plays a major role. Only 35% of households headed up by someone with a high school diploma have any money in the market. Compare that to homes led by someone with a college degree -- 72% of them have investments in equities.

Professor Grinblatt has shown through research that people with higher IQs are more likely to put money into stocks.

"Even among two siblings from the same family, the sibling who has the higher IQ is more likely to participate in the stock market," he told CNNMoney.

On the one hand, some of these disparities should be expected. Rich people have more money lying around in savings that they can invest than those who are struggling to pay their bills. But the issues go deeper than that.

Even among Americans who are working and likely to have savings, they aren't always choosing to invest.

In its latest survey, the Employee Benefit Research Institute found that only 64% of workers save for retirement or have a spouse that does so.

"It's much easier for the average American to buy a smartphone that commit to a retirement plan," says Dan Greenshields, CEO of Capitol One ShareBuilder.

In 2007, stock ownership peaked at just over 53% of American households owning any equity investments. The financial meltdown and housing crisis hurt peoples' pocketbooks, but it also shook their faith in the sys! tem.

!

There are calls for more education about money matters to try to close some of the stock market investing gap.

"If we give individuals responsibility for their own retirement savings, we have to make sure that they first of all save enough and that they know how to invest," said Annamaria Lusardi, a professor at George Washington University who specializes in financial literacy.

"We need to start in K-12 schools," Lusardi added. "Any year we delay by not adding financial education is one more generation out out of high school without the skills and knowledge they need."

Don’t Fear the Fed: S&P 500 Hits New High; Dow Industrials Back Above 17,000

Don’t look now but the S&P 500 has hit a new high–again.

REUTERS

The S&P 500 gained 0.3% to 1,992.37 today, its highest close ever. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, rose 0.4% to 17,039.56–putting itself back on the right side of 17,000. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.1% to 4,532.10 and the small-company Russell 2000 finished up 0.2% at 1,160.12.

Stocks got a boost from strong economic data today. U.S. jobless claims fell to 298,000 last week, beating forecasts for 302,000, while existing home sales rose 2.4% in July. Then there was the Philadelphia Fed index, a gauge of economic activity in the Philadelphia region, which rose to its highest level since March 2011. Pierpont Securities’ Stephen Stanley ponders the “extreme” rise:

…I don't usually write about Philly Fed, but the results were so extreme that I though it warranted a mention.  The headline gauge accelerated in August to +28.0, a third straight monthly rise and the highest level since March 2011.  That's the good news.  The bad news is that every major subindex was down substantially (the headline index is based on a separate question and is more of a sentiment gauge, whereas the other indicators are based on respondents' own businesses' performance).  For example, the new orders and shipments measures, both at +34.2 in July, plunged to +14.7 and +16.5 respectively, while the employment barometer went from +12.2 to +9.1.  The good news is that the prices paid and prices received gauges also moderated.  Only the inventories index rose.  As with the headline index, (again, basically a sentiment gauge), the expectations measures point to widespread optimism.  The headline expectations barometer soared by 8 points in August to +66.4, the highest reading since June 1992.  The future shipments gauge at +67.4 was also the highest since June 1992.  Expectations with regard to prices (both prices paid and prices received) ratcheted noticeably higher in August.  Interestingly, both hiring and capital spending plans moderated in August despite this ebullient outlook, underscoring a persistent problem for the economy in this expansion.

RBC’s Robert Sluymer and Anna Drotman see another pullback in stocks coming by early September:

Short-term/daily momentum indicators, tracking 2-4+ week directional swings, were helpful to identify oversold market lows in early August. Those indicators are likely to move back to overbought territory heading into late-August/early September and set the stage for another correction into mid-late September. By that time, we expect a more durable intermediate-term entry point to be at hand, consistent with a seasonal rebound through Q4.

Rhino Trading’s Michael Block previews Janet Yellen’s speech tomorrow morning in Jackson Hole, Wyoming:

So we got our expected hawkish moment, get ready for the expected dovish moment now, as Janet Yellen speaks in Jackson Hole tomorrow at 10AM ET.  The topic is jobs, and I expect Yellen to talk about slack in the labor market and low wages even as she acknowledges the overall improvement.  In terms of tightening, I expect her to sound less hawkish and committal than those Minutes yesterday.  In other words, Janet Yellen is going to keep and confirm her dovish bent tomorrow.  Everything remains data dependent – we know all of this already.  The most likely outcome of the speech?  The resumed grind higher.  That's it.

That’s better than nothing.

These 6 Top Dividend Stocks Starting To Take Off

After I've published a few articles about safe dividend stocks and stocks with high cash and low debt ratios, I come back to growth.

Growth is good because it grows the value of your assets, too. A growing stock is good, but you can only make money with growth stocks if you pay reasonable prices for them.

The market is highly valuated, that's news from the recent quarters and more than true. With P/E multiples above 20, you need high growth to justify this values.

Today, I've created a screen for you that is based on momentum growth. I've discovered stocks with double-digit earnings and sales growth.

These are my main criteria:

- Market Cap over $10 billion- Positive Dividend Yield- Debt-To-Equity Ratio under 0.5- 5Y Forecasted Earnings Growth over 5%- Quarter over Quarter Sales Growth over 10%- Quarter over Quarter Earnings Growth over 10%- Only US Home Base

Nineteen stocks fulfilled these criteria of which none yield over 2.5 percent in dividend. That's not much but for growth you can waive a small part of your yield.

6 Top Dividend Momentum Stocks are...

#1 BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) has a market capitalization of $55.23 billion. The company employs 11,500 people, generates revenue of $10,180.00 million and has a net income of $2,951.00 million. BlackRock's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $4,167.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 40.93 percent (the operating margin is 37.89 percent and the net profit margin 28.99 percent).

Financial Analysis: The total debt represents 3.32 percent of BlackRock's assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 27.62 percent. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 11.31 percent was realized by BlackRock. Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $18.18. Last fiscal year, BlackRock paid $6.72 in the form of dividends to shareholders.

Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 18.30, the P/S ratio is 5.43 and the P/B ratio is finally 2.12. The dividend yiel

With Sale of Appliances Unit, GE Exits Consumer Market

Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesGeneral Electric appliances at a Lowe's store in Torrance, California. NEW YORK -- General Electric (GE), a household name for more than a century in part for making households easier to run, is leaving the home. The company is selling the division that invented the toaster in 1905 and now sells refrigerators, stoves and laundry machines. GE has increasingly focused on building industrial machines such as aircraft engines, locomotives, gas-fired turbines and medical imaging equipment -- much bigger and more complex than washers, and more profitable. "They are no longer going to be a consumer company," says Andrew Inkpen, a professor at the Thunderbird School of Global Management who has written extensively about GE. GE, based in Fairfield, Connecticut, announced Monday the sale of its appliance division to the Swedish appliance-maker Electrolux for $3.3 billion. Electrolux will still sell appliances under the GE brand in attempt to leverage the company's long history. GE has sold devices to people for its entire 122-year history, starting with the light bulb, which was invented by company founder Thomas Edison. The lighting division will stay, but it's just a tiny part of GE. Now GE will sell its products almost exclusively to other companies. The company is hoping to return to favor among investors with higher, more consistent and more predictable profits. GE is the only remaining member of the Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI), first calculated in 1896, and as recently as 2004 it was the biggest corporation in the world by market value. But GE has frustrated shareholders by underperforming both the Dow and broader stock indexes for much of the last decade. The company has been able to survive by shuffling its portfolio to shed unprofitable divisions or jump into a new, growing sector. And it has never shied away from abandoning historic businesses, like the plastics unit it started in 1912 and sold in 2007. The latest version of GE will make mostly big, complex equipment, some of which it has been making for more than a century, like power generators, and some that is new to GE, like oil and gas drilling equipment. In July the company spun off its consumer credit card business into a new company, Synchrony Financial. In recent years it has sold NBC Universal and its insurance operations and it is gradually shrinking its sprawling financial company, called GE Capital. In June GE agreed to buy the energy and power generation operations of the French engineering company Alstom for $17 billion. And over the last several years it has been acquiring companies to help it become a bigger player in oil and gas drilling equipment. Christopher Glynn, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co., says the company now has the potential to show the strong results it was once famous for, though it still may take some time. "It's still GE, it's still huge," he says. "But this is a viable reset."

New Hire Roundup: Women in ETFs Announces Board Members, Leaders

This week in personnel announcements and new hires, Devon McConnell joined Wells Fargo Advisors; Women in ETFs announced its leadership team and board members; Robert Moats joined Ziegler; and Scivantage welcomed James Corr.

Also, New York Life named Katherine O’Brien to its executive management committee; FNEX named Neal Wolkoff to its board of advisors; and U.S. Bank made a number of personnel appointments.

Women in ETFs Announces Board Members, Leaders

Women in ETFs, which launched in January as the first women’s group for the ETF industry, has announced the appointment of members for its board of directors and its leadership team.

Joanne Hill, head of institutional investment strategy at ProShare Advisors, and Sue Thompson, managing director, head of institutional asset management/RIA at BlackRock, are co-presidents of the board. Linda Zhang, senor PM and head of research at Windhaven Investment Management, is vice president; Susan Ciccarone, chief operating and financial officer at Emerging Global Advisors LLC, is treasurer/finance and operations; and Michelle Mikos, ETF business development director at Invesco PowerShares, is secretary. Other board members are Deborah Fuhr, managing partner at ETFGI LLP; Laura Morrison, SVP, global index and exchange traded products at IntercontinentalExchange/NYSE; Kathleen Moriarty, partner at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP; and Martha King, managing director, head of U.S. financial intermediaries, Vanguard.

Wells Fargo Advisors Welcomes McConnell

Wells Fargo Advisors announced that Devon McConnell has been named head of WFA digital, a newly created operating committee position reporting directly to President Mary Mack. In this role, she will be responsible for leading strategy, development and ongoing management of the company’s mobile and online client platform and the investment strategy for the digital platform as the firm makes its most significant technology investment in the last 10 years.

McConnell most recently held positions of vice president of product and user experience design for AmercianExpress.com and head of digital client strategy at JP Morgan Asset Management. She also worked at Citi, where she served as senior vice president and product director, and at digital design agency Fusebox, as the information architect and account executive for the JPMorgan Chase account.

Moats Joins Zeigler

Robert Moats has joined Zeigler as senior director, head of wealth management and member of the executive committee.

Moats joins with over 30 years of experience from Morgan Stanley and predecessor firms, and began his career at Shearson Lehman Brothers in 1986.

Scivantage Welcomes Corr

Scivantage, a financial services technology provider, has announced that James Corr has joined as executive vice president and chief financial officer.

Corr brings more than 20 years of financial and business management experience. Prior to joining, he spent eight years as the controller, CFO and chief administrative officer at Pershing-affiliated Albridge Solutions. Before Albridge, he held senior financial positions at firms in public accounting and private industry.

Peg Pike Named COO of Brouwer & Janachowski

Peg  Pike, former vice president–fixed income business manager at Wellington Management Co. in Boston, has been named chief operating officer of Brouwer & Janachowski LLC, a Tiburon, California-based wealth management and investment advisory firm.

Earlier, Pike was executive vice president and chief operating officer of Rampart Investment Management Co. During her 24-year career in financial services, she has held vice presidential positions with J.P. Morgan Securities in its Equity Derivatives Group and Global Credit Group and with Fidelity Investments in the Global Risk Management Group. She entered the field with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) as manager in the Change Management Group for Capital Markets.

New York Life Names O’Brien

New York Life has named Katherine O’Brien to its executive management committee. O’Brien is chief human resources officer and reports to Ted Mathas, chairman and CEO.

O’Brien joined in 1995 as a litigator, and has held roles of increasing responsibility. She served as the company’s first chief diversity officer in the human resources department from 2006 to 2008, when she was elected first vice president and deputy general counsel in the office of the general counsel. In 2010, she was elected SVP and chief corporate counsel. She was named chief human resources officer in 2013.

Wolkoff Named to FNEX Advisor Board

FNEX, an "online alternative investment and private securities marketplace," announced that it has named Neal Wolkoff to its newly formed board of advisors.

Wolkoff is currently CEO of Wolkoff Consulting Services, LLC, the current nonexecutive chairman of the board of directors of OTC Markets Group and an independent member of the board of directors of World Gold Trust services. Previously he served as chairman and CEO of the American Stock Exchange. Before that, he held several senior-level officer positions at the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) for over 20 years. He was also the former CEO of ELX Futures Exchange, L.P. and trial attorney at the CFTC Division of Enforcement.

U.S. Bank Wealth Management Adds, Promotes

U.S. Bank Wealth Management announced that it has made a number of additions and promotions at the Private Client Reserve across the country. Matthew DiBlasi has joined as wealth management advisor in Newport Beach, California; Joshua Fleming has joined as a portfolio manager in Palm Beach, Florida; Albert Choi joined as SVP, senior portfolio manager in San Diego; Patrick Woolfe joined as portfolio manager in Chicago; and Mindy McLaughlin was promoted to SVP and senior portfolio manager in Cincinnati.

DeBlasi has been working in the financial services industry for 14 years and joins from ICAP Electronic Broking, LLC in Jersey City, New Jersey, where he served as SVP, fixed income sales and account manager.

Fleming has seven years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining, he was a financial advisor with Wells Fargo Advisors; earlier he was an equity research analyst with Lloyd George Management/BMO.

Choi, with 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, previously served as senior portfolio manager with U.S. Trust Company in Newport Beach. He spent 18 years at U.S. Trust.

Woolfe brings more than 17 years of financial services experience; most recently, he was a vice president and senior investments advisor for PNC Financial Services Group. He also served as a portfolio manager for the Northern Trust Company.

McLaughlin has 25 years of experience in the investment and financial industry, including nine years with the Private Client Reserve. Previously, she worked for Johnson Investment Counsel and Fifth Third Bank.

Samsung’s Generation Next Gizmos Unveiled

Samsung (SSNLF), the mobile gizmo giant again manages to take the market with a storm by launching a bouquet of mobile devices at one go at Europe's annual tech conference in Berlin, IFA. The four new line of products to hit the stands fresh from the Samsung stable are The Galaxy Note 4, Curved Screen Galaxy Note Edge, Gear S and the Virtual Reality Headset Gear VR.

Rumor mills have already gone through the markets about the much-awaited Note 4, and now it has finally arrived along with the other gadgets from the Samsung wonder box. Let us take a closer look at the new dream gadgets that has just emerged from the Pandora's Box of Samsung.

Is Note 4 the next generation of Note 3???

Though Samsung was tight lipped about the exact specs of the Note 4, but it did create a hype in the market about the new features like the LTE category 6, 176g weight, and the most attractive part of it is its slim fit super stylish body which measures just 8.5mm. Samsung has introduced a new and innovative transparent widget that allows the user to have a view of the background while using the widget and a dynamic screen lock which can be personalized. After LG, Samsung has also set in a firm footstep in the HD space with a 5.6 QHD screen sporting a supper AMOLED display. Samsung has also significantly enhanced the touch sensitivity of Note 4 to give

Go Global, But Don’t Go Crazy

DIVIDEND SPOTLIGHT

New Best Buy Pick in Telecommunications

By Richard Stavros

At 7.48%, this U.K.-based communications company is the new Best Buy in my conservative portfolio (which is made up of 10 safety-rated stocks).

With a solid base of over 100 million customers in Europe, they're well positioned to safely expand globally. They're conquering new markets by onboarding millions of customers in India, Turkey, and across Africa.

I continue to watch U.S.-based Verizon (NYSE:VZ); more updates later. I don't currently recommend Spain-based Telefónica (NYSE:TEF), as Robert outlines below.

My Best Buy is without a doubt the safest dividend in telecommunications – find out more here.

FEATURE INCOME ARTICLE

Go Global, But Don't Go Crazy

By Robert Frick

Our credo here at Global Income Edge is you collect the best returns by going global—but by best we also mean relatively safe. Simply chasing the highest yields without weighing risks can land you in some shaky investments.

For example, some single-country, exchange-traded funds have high yields, but you wouldn't want to own most of them because the countries' economies leave a lot to be desired. (These single-country ETFs own stocks that reflect an index of those countries' stock markets.)

Take Spain. Just two years ago its "country yield" of more than 6% was leading the dividend pack. And even when Europe's economy in general, and Spain's in particular, started showing cracks from high debt, many of the country's companies with the highest dividends vowed to keep paying them. In some cases their dividends exceeded their profits.

If you invested in a Spain ETF for dividends back then, you were begging to be gored, like running blindfolded with the bulls at Pamplona. The first big dividend domino to fall was Spain's communications giant, Telefónica, which suspended i! ts dividend two years ago.

Others followed, and while the Spanish stock market has largely recovered from double-digit losses in 2010 and 2011, the dividend payout has shrunk to a 2.82% trailing 12-month yield, as paid by the iShares MSCI Spain Capped ETF.

Other countries with high yields today have much stronger economies than Spain's, but their markets aren't very diversified.

Belgium, for example, often has a high country yield (it's currently 3.63%, based on iShares MSCI-Belgium ETF), but more than one-fifth of the country's stock market value is wrapped up in a single company: AB InBev. InBev, the world's largest beer brewer, has 25% of the global market, and beer will never go out of style. Still, if you're expecting the safety of diversification from a country fund you won't get much from Belgium.

One country, though, pays a high yield and is just our cup of tea.

The United Kingdom's country yield currently tops 6% (as measured by the iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF, symbol: EWU).   What we like about the UK is many of the safety features we use in choosing stocks for our Global Income Edge conservative and aggressive portfolios are baked into the UK stock market.

In fact, two of the nine holdings in our conservative portfolio, GlaxoSmithKline and Vodaphone, are UK-based.

The United Kingdom's economy is large (sixth-largest in the world), stable and well-diversified. Virtually all of its stock market's largest holdings are global in scope, meaning they can tap into emerging countries' growth. It benefits from being a financial intermediary between the East and West and is the second largest financial capital in the world (after the U.S., which, by the way, has a 1.9% dividend yield, based on the Standard & Poor's 500).

We look for low-volatility stocks for our portfolios and the UK is a low-volatility country, being relatively stable compared to Europe and to world markets in general. Mutual fund rating company Morn! ingstar c! alls the ETF a defensive holding based in part on this relatively low volatility and its relatively large portion of consumer defensive stocks.

And the UK is a country with a tradition of companies that pay high dividends, which speaks to the sustainability of an ETF's dividend payout.

Such stability, together with a high yield, comes with a price. And with the UK you shouldn't expect dynamic stock market gains. The ETF's five-year and 10-year average annualized gains are 10% and 6.5% respectively. That's about 2 percentage points less than the average country/region's return over the same period.
But for investors looking for high dividends, high diversification and low volatility, the UK (via iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF) is a buy up to $22.    

A Safer Approach to Global Income

The prospect of investing abroad can be intimidating for many investors. That's why we've made it simple… every single global stock we list is available on a U.S. exchange.

Not only does this guarantee that our stock picks easy to buy, but it also means that we can verify financial data with certainty.

So don't let the word "global" scare you away from the high-yield dividend stocks you need. Earn phenomenal income from the U.S. and abroad… read our list of dividends.

WEEKLY INCOME TRIVIA QUESTION

Q: Is most of the world's seafood caught, or raised commercially?   

Know the answer? Send your response to: GlobalIncomeEdge@yahoo.com — the first correct response will receive a free Global Income Edge T-shirt!

The answer will be provided in next week's issue.