Many people from all over the world come to Cancun and the Riviera Maya in search of business opportunities. It is easy to be dazzled by the splendor of sprawling luxury resorts and white sand beaches that stretch for mile upon mile down the coast, but anyone coming here to prospect for business needs to look beyond this, and at the same time see it for what it really is. The Mexican Caribbean is a tremendous tourism draw and is in the first place in all of Latin America for foreign visitors each year, which translates into billions of Dollars being generated, both in tourist spending and tourism infrastructure, such as hotels and real estate developments, as well as the consumption of goods and services of a city of nearly 1 million inhabitants.The reality here, is that all business is ultimately dependent upon the stream of tourism; there is no manufacturing of any kind nor are any products made, other than some negligible amount of handicrafts. Cancun and the Riviera Maya are voracious consumers of goods and services, but do not generate a product outside of being a major tourist destination with attractive and varied real estate offers. To illustrate this point, there is an ocean container ship that arrives each Thursday in Puerto Morelos (10 miles south of Cancun) loaded with full containers of goods coming from Miami, but it always leaves empty, or nearly so. There is a lot coming in, but virtually nothing being shipped out.Anyone casting an eye on the area for business, needs to know that there are really two main areas that have enduring potential: Tourism/Entertainment and Real Estate and its ancillary services. Once this is clear, then there are many attractive opportunities at hand, and fortunes to be made. Naturally, being a city of nearly a million people, there are also business opportunities in everything from retail commerce to providing any combination of goods and services to the local population. Cancun has good communication infrastructure and is a powerful brand recognized throughout the world. While learning to do business in Mexico can be challenging, there are also many rewards to be reaped for those with intelligence and perseverance.Living on the beach year round may also be a great reason to move here and grow your business. If you are ready to test the waters, an excellent option for short term affordable housing with available business services in the same building is Art Deco Suites. Having a safe and clean place to base yourself while you get your bearings in a new environment is key. Art Deco Suites provides tastefully appointed and completely furnished Suites right in the heart of downtown Cancun and include free wireless broad band internet access, unlimited calling to the US and Canada, as well as a large conference room, and short term furnished office space and bilingual secretarial services by the day.
The Best Way to Break in a Brand New Baseball Glove
The glove is the ultimate defensive weapon of a fielder and although infielder and outfielder gloves are different in size, and the first base glove and catcher mitt is in a league of their own, there are certain basic methods for breaking a new glove in.There are many factors which affect the methods and quickness of breaking a glove in, such as quality of leather, softness and type of leather, web design and what the fielder feels they require in order to maximize its effectiveness.Although every one seems to have a secret formula, or knows someone who has a secret formula for breaking in a glove, we’ll explain the two most common methods in this article.The first method is of to follow the manufactures’ directions and follow their instructions, but for some reason we don’t think, that includes me most of the time, they know what they’re talking about.So we’ll proceed to the next method. The softness of the leather is directly associated with the cost of the glove, as a $500 glove will be much softer than a $100 glove. The reason I mention this is the first thing a player wants to achieve when breaking in a glove, is to create a pocket, which only use will accomplish, but the softness of the leather hastens the procedure.Here is a partial list of products which help soften leather, there are probably more, but these will suffice and are readily available.* Foaming Shave Cream
* Vaseline
* Saddle Soap
* Mink Oil
* Tanners Glove OilOne thing to be conscious of More is not always better, as some players will slop the oil all over the glove which only quickens deterioration and makes a slimy mess. Rather use a soft cloth and wipe small amounts of whatever leather softener you’re using into the leather until it disappears, then wipe off any excess which is not absorbed.Forming the pocket is the next step and there are several methods for accomplishing this. Playing catch, using the glove, is by far the best method to use, but sometimes it may be difficult to locate a throwing partner, which is why I include the following alternatives.* Use the batting cage. As the name indicates the original intended purpose of a batting cage is to help learn to hit, but it’s not the sole reason. There is nothing better than catching 50 – 100 70 mph fastballs to help form a pocket and do it quickly.* There is an old fashioned method, which is also effective in producing a pocket, and that is to work the leather softening agent into the leather, place a baseball (or softball if that’s your sport) into the pocket, fold the glove and tightly tie it together with a shoestring or rubber band. This may sound a little bit like baseball voodoo, but they do make devises specifically for this purpose.Remember, “more is not better” and use of the glove, no matter the grade of leather, will produce the desired results.
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.