Keys to Be Successful in Business Marketing

Business marketing is when a business markets and sells its goods and services to other businesses or organizations. These other organizations may resell these goods and services or use them in their own business to support their operations. Business marketing is often called as industrial marketing or business-to-business (B2B) marketing.The perfect example of Business to business marketing is the automobile industry. Automobile companies buy various spare parts such as tires, batteries, electronics and door locks which are manufactured independently by other businesses and sold directly to automobile manufacturers to assemble automobiles.Even the Service industry is also engaged in large number of business to business transactions. For example Companies specializing in housekeeping provide services exclusively to other organizations, rather than individual consumers.Business-to-customer marketing is when a business markets and sells its goods and services to retail consumers for personal use. While most companies that sell directly to consumers can be referred to as B2C companies. The business-to-consumer as a business model differs significantly from the business-to-business model, which refers to transaction between two or more businesses.Business market (B2B) vs. Consumer marketing (B2C)B2C marketing differs from B2B marketing in a number of key ways. A Business market has very few customers as compared to a consumer market which has large numbers of customers. A business market usually sells a customized product where as a consumer market sells a homogenous product. A Business to business transaction is a huge value transaction as purchase quantity is very high where as business to consumer transaction is a small value transaction. Price can be negotiated in business markets where as price is usually fixed in consumer market. Business markets have lengthy and complex selling process with multiple decision makers but in consumer market buying decision are simple and are made by individuals.Keys to success in Business markets are:1) Value creation & Customer satisfactionBusiness begins with value creation. It is the prime objective of the business to create and deliver value in an efficient manner which will ultimately lead to profits. Value leads to customer satisfaction. Customer experience is an integral part of B2B marketing. The customer experience is the key brand differentiator, even more than the price and product.2) Social media marketingSocial media marketing is when a company uses social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter to market its product or services. Social media marketing is one of the best and efficient platforms for marketers. Most social media platforms have built-in data analytics tools which enable companies to track the progress, success, and engagement of ad campaigns. Companies address a range of stakeholders through social media marketing including current and potential customers.3) Mobile marketingMobile marketing is a digital marketing strategy whose aim is reaching a target audience on their Smartphone, tablets, and other mobile devices through email, SMS and multimedia messages.Smartphone usage has increased multiple times during the last few years, app usage has also highly increased. Therefore, mobile marketers have increasingly taken advantage of Smartphone apps as a marketing resource. Marketers aim to optimize the visibility of an app in a store, which will maximize the number of downloads. This practice is called App Store Optimization (ASO).4) Multimedia Content MarketingMarketing using Multimedia content attracts more customers. B2B marketers are widely adopting this trend. The primary driver is the desire to make content more engaging, compelling, and shareable than just the traditional modes. The most common forms of visual content include 360-degree videos.5) Effective Personal selling & Executive BrandingDistribution channel is the path through which the product reaches the final customer. Personal selling is the most preferred form of distribution and promotion used by B2B marketers The sellers promote the product through their attitude, appearance and specialist product knowledge. Executive Branding is when an executive showcases his professional strengths as a way to attract the customers. Executive branding is also known as reputation management. Especially in B2B environments, executive branding is now considered a necessity. Senior management must create and develop their personal brand image to attract new customers.

3 Affordable SEO Services Which Your Small Business Requires

As a small business owner, you may have realized the importance of SEO services in order to tap into the millions of online users who are looking for your products or services. Whether you have a business website or an e-commerce one, SEO services are a must for giving your website the visibility it needs to bring your business to the attention of potential online customers. After all, if you are invisible to your customers, they will be unable to buy from you and they may go to a competitor who has paid proper attention to search engine optimization for his/her website. If you are not using SEO services for your website yet, find a SEO company today so that you can make your website an effective marketing tool for your business. There are many companies providing affordable SEO services, out of which you need to select the one that suits your requirements perfectly.However, your role doesn’t end at just finding an appropriate SEO company. You need to ensure that you are getting the right SEO services for your business website, which will give maximum benefit to your business. Make sure that your SEO Company offers you the following SEO services, no matter which package you go for:

Keyword Research
Major companies offer this SEO service, as it is a crucial part of any website optimization campaign. Keyword research is the first step experienced SEO companies take in starting your SEO campaign. This includes researching on all the keywords applicable for your products and services as well as analysis of the keywords major competitors are using for their website optimization. Only after a thorough research of keywords will the SEO Company be able to figure out which keywords are being used to search for your products and services. Once the keywords are determined, a compelling copy needs to be written including these keywords, so that search engines are able to cache your site into the relevant category. Keyword research is hence the key SEO service which starts the website optimization process for your SEO campaign.

Upgrades in your Website
Your SEO Company needs to check your business website thoroughly in order to ensure that it is in compliance with the rules of major search engines. The SEO services you avail of should hence include an in-depth analysis of your website. The SEO firm can then decide what SEO tools to use to optimize the site at the backend. In case upgrades in your website are required, the SEO company can work accordingly. The company can then add new pages or sub domains which are required to improve your site’s rankings.

SEO Reports
The main reason you are hiring SEO services is to get targeted traffic to your website. But how do you analyze whether that goal has been achieved or not? SEO reports is the answer to that question. Your SEO Company should be able to provide you with important SEO reports like keyword rankings and website traffic reports in order to prove the success of the website optimization campaign. Some SEO companies promise to increase traffic but end up only bringing in spam traffic; to avoid this, you should ask your SEO company for relevant reports as part of the SEO service you are hiring.
While you are looking to hire these 3 SEO services, also observe the methods the SEO Company is using to achieve rankings in search engines. Black Hat SEO techniques may bring in quick results but in the long run may harm your website ranking, with the possibility of being blacklisted totally by search engines. Make sure that your website optimization campaign avoids any such techniques.

Business Intelligence, The Key To Company Success

Business Intelligence (BI) is the ability to transform data into information and information into knowledge, so as to optimize the business decision-making process. A set of strategies and tools focused on knowledge creation and management through the analysis of existing data from an organization or business.From the point of view of information technology, we can say that BI is a set of methodologies, applications and technologies that allow a business to the group and transform the data obtained from structured information systems to do analysis and information generation and improving the process decision-making of the business. It covers both current understanding of the functioning of the business as well as an anticipation of future events, in order to provide a body of knowledge to support business decisions.Referring to business intelligence, we can differentiate the concepts of data, information and knowledge. Data is something that is vague, for example, the number 10, while the information is more accurate, such as April sales were 10. Finally, knowledge is obtained by analyzing the information.Data are the minimum semantic unit and are the primary elements of information. These alone are irrelevant to the decision-making process. A phone number or a name of a person are examples of data.The data can come from external or internal company sources, can be objective or subjective, qualitative or quantitative.Moreover, the information can be defined as a set of processed data, which are relevant and have a purpose and context. The information is useful for decision-making, as it allows reducing uncertainty. The data is transformed into information to add value.The information is capable of changing the way the receiver perceives something, impacting on their value judgments and behaviors.Information = Data + Context (value added) + Utility (reduce uncertainty)Knowledge can be defined as a mixture of experience, values, information and know-how, that form a framework to incorporate new experiences. The knowledge derived from the information and information from data. In order that information becomes knowledge is necessary to perform actions such as:· Comparison with other elements.· Prediction of consequences.· Searching for connections.· Talk with other carriers of information.By gaining knowledge of the business once the information is captured from all areas in the business, you can set strategies and define what are the strengths and weaknesses of the business.Business Intelligence is the broader concept of the use of intelligence in organizations. This has emerged from the contributions of the various areas of information such as market intelligence, competitive intelligence and business intelligence.Market Intelligence corresponds to the strategic management discipline within companies that allow a more deeply know of the market and the company’s performance within it, through a constant flow of information.Competitive Intelligence is defined as the process of collecting and analyzing information on the activities of competitors, so as to support the achievement of the goals of the business. Through a continuous flow of information, allows a business to know what the competitors are doing in the commercial, financial, and organizational aspects.Finally, Business Intelligence refers to the set of tools to extract business experience. A set of systems to delineate dynamic customer base, such as sales trends, niche value, customer churn, profitability segments.Intelligence tools are based on the use of information systems that bring together data from production processes, information relating to the business and economic data.Using the techniques to extract, transform and load (ETL), data extracts from different sources, are purified and prepared for a load them into a data repository.This toolkit has the following features:• Access to information. The data are the primary source of this process. Systems have to ensure user access to data regardless of the source of these.• Support the decision making process. Beyond the presentation of information, users need access to analysis tools, and select the data that interest them.• Orientation to the end user. Independent expertise of users, these systems, must provide facilities that allow users to use these tools.Business intelligence acts as a strategic factor for a business to build competitive advantage, by providing privileged information to respond to business problems: entering new markets, product promotions or offers, eliminating islands of information, control finances, cost optimization, production planning, customer profiling analysis, profitability of a particular product.The main business intelligence products that exist in the market are:• Balanced Scorecards (BSC) are tools to establish and monitor the objectives of the business and its different areas or units.• Systems Decision Support (DSS) corresponds to interactive information systems that help companies make decisions, using data and models to solve unstructured or semi-structured decision. Supports decision making by generating a systematic evaluation of different alternatives or scenarios for decision.• Executive Information Systems (EIS), are systems that provide top executives easy access to internal and external information that is relevant to their critical success factors. The Executive Information Systems support the decision making process of senior executives of an organization, presenting relevant information and using visual aids and easy to interpret, in order to keep them informed.In reference to the origin of the data, existing components are: Datamart and Datawarehouse.A Datamart is a departmental database, especially in storing the data that is specific to the business area. It is characterized by having an optimal data structure, to analyze information from all perspectives that affect the department.Moreover, a data warehouse is a corporate database, characterized by integrating and debug information from one or more sources in order to allow analysis from many perspectives.On the other hand, a Business Intelligence solution establishes a cycle from the following activities:• Observe: what happens?• Understand: Why is it?• Predict: what will happen?• Collaborate: what actions you should take the team?• Decide: which way forward?Why is it so important Business Intelligence?For a business to be successful, it is very important the ability to make accurate and quick business decisions. Traditional information systems tend to be inflexible structures, making it difficult to adapt to the data capture processes of the business, and rapid generation of information for decision-making.To overcome the limitations of these systems, business intelligence relies on a set of tools that facilitate the processes of extraction, purification, analysis and storage of data, with appropriate speed in order to support the decision making process of the business.We cannot say that BI products are better than traditional applications, but they are developed for a different purpose, and therefore are more efficient for the decision-making process.Business Intelligence solutions enable companies to:• Process requirements quickly, intelligently and efficiently.• Respond quickly and efficiently to changing conditions affecting the company.• Establish information as the main asset of the business.• Transform business data in intuitive graphical reports that can be analyzed quickly and easily.Intelligence is the Key to Success. The Business Intelligence systems are now available to everyone. The well-designed BI applications can offer employees the ability to make better business decisions quickly, understand the various “information assets” in their business and how they interact.We conclude that the key to thriving in a competitive marketplace is staying ahead of the competition. Making sound business decisions based on accurate and current information takes more than intuition. A Business Intelligence system thus becomes a determining factor for the success of the business.

How to Shop For a Used Entertainment Center

In today’s modern world, the entertainment center have become a common sight in our homes. Home audio and video equipment give you the home theater experience, but it’s the enter. center that makes the room. Home entertainment centers give you the flexibility of decorating your room in any style you desire. However, as common as entertainment centers are today, they still can cost you a pretty penny. That’s why it just might be wise to search for a used entertainment center.How to Find a Reliable Used Entertainment. center?When shopping for a used entertainment centers, it’s very important to know the numerous kinds of entertainment centers available in the market. Prices of most new models can be very high and beyond the reach of budget-conscious buyers. However, a used entertainment center does come with some possible problems and Issues.Where to LookFor starters, you can look in the classified ads in the paper or online. You’ll be surprised how many people are getting rid of their used entertainment center. And most aren’t getting rid of it because it’s broke or old. For many, they’re moving out of state or into a smaller apartment where the cost and effort to move their entertainment center doesn’t make it a practical move at all. Thrift stores and garage sales are also great places to search. Although there’s no guarantee the corner garage sale will have the ideal used entertainment center for you, it’s still worth a look.What to Look forSurface DamageCheck for any surface damage, scratches, chips, and so forth. You want to make sure that the entertainment center is in decent condition. You also want to remove any tape that may be hiding surface damage. A good inspection before you buy will save you the pain and sorrow of realizing you bought a hunk of junk later.Structural IntegrityThe cabinet should be sturdy and should not wobble when rocked. Check all the drawers, the cabinets, any slide outs and any other components to make sure everything is working and nothing is cracked. Doors should fit well and should not have any visible gaps. They should open easily and should not squeak or rub. Also, be sure to check out all the options that are available for doors in the EC before you purchase one.Aesthetic AppealDon’t get a used EC that is way too big for your place or might look awkward or ‘out of place’ in your living room. Instead, get something which can fit in your room and can easily get in through your front door, thus eliminating scratches or dents in the process. Just because it’s a deal, doesn’t mean it will compliment your decor. Buying a used entertainment center is no different than buying a used car. You want to inspect it front top to bottom, give it a test drive (a.k.a. slide all the drawers out and open all the doors), and then haggle for the best deal possible.

Marketing a Business Online Through YouTube

You might want to consider using social media marketing tools in the form of YouTube in marketing a business online. The reason for that is because of the huge transition that has happened over the last couple of years in communicating and interacting. It is an accepted fact that as of now there is a huge transition in how people communicate with each other.You would have noticed that letters, postcards and the like are on the wane. What is the change then? Communicating through social media tools is a simple way, not only to interact between friends and family, but also to advertise your business. So, what can you do using YouTube?Well, it allows you to upload clippings, small videos and music videos. As of now a mind boggling 2 billion videos a day are being viewed on a daily basis here. That itself is more than proof that YouTube is the most happening thing in the online marketing community. It must be mentioned here that this article only provides in detail about how marketing a business online is effective through YouTube or social media tools.You can find information on other online marketing methods on the internet. The second part of the article contains information on other online marketing methods. Though it is given very briefly, you will definitely find it useful. It is also worth mentioning that YouTube has not only become the one and only video content sharing website worldwide, but is the most effective advertising tool in the online business community.No matter the company size, one and all have the ability to share unique videos that are informative. YouTube can help your company target a wide range of international audience. Online marketing is all about reaching to far ends where traditional marketing methods can’t excel.So, when you use YouTube as your advertising campaign tool, it can benefit marketing a business online immensely.However, an effective video campaign on YouTube needs some key ingredients:Keywords: There is no doubt that keywords play an important role for viewers to find your video or clippings. YouTube users search videos using keywords depending on their area of interest. It also depends on the products or services that they are on the look out for.So, you must make sure that your video clipping has proper keywords. If it doesn’t then it will most likely not be displayed during search results. Having the right keywords tagged along with the clipping is an important factor while marketing a business online. You obviously want your video to be accessed easily by viewers.Quality of your video: It is another story when you are uploading a video for fun. But, when you are uploading a video on your business, you must display a certain amount of professionalism. You must have the business sense to ensure that your video displays to others that your company is a professional one. Before you load your video, take some time to observe the lighting, sound quality, and the words that are used.Video with some humor: You would have noticed that videos that have good humor tend to make it big on the internet. Sure, your audience expects the video clipping to have informative stuff, but at the same time they like to also be entertained. It can be a very boring experience merely watching a video about a company.You can easily recollect videos that are unique in their humor and have good stuff. Similarly, when your video clipping has some quality humor, your audience would keep coming back to view it and refer it to others too. So, when your video is humorous and worth remembering, then you can be rest assured that the clipping could become a hit on the internet.The best part about marketing a business online is that, the mentioned above methods are extremely useful in helping your website get the ranking that it wants. It is not that one particular method only can help your website increase its website rankings. The mentioned above steps can definitely help you market your business online.You will find the given below tips useful on marketing a business online, especially if you have started a new business and don’t have much knowledge on online marketing methods.Many ways to market your small business: Like we have seen above, the most powerful method to gain popularity on the internet is YouTube or through social media tools. But you also have other method of marketing a business online in the form of search engine optimization, search engine marketing, article marketing, email marketing, and the list goes on.Can compete with large companies: As you have started out recently and are a small firm your immediate goal would be to attract customers of bigger firms. You have to fight it out there using internet marketing methods that are mentioned above. You must have excellent online marketing strategies that can get you the results.You will have to work on your brand awareness. This is a key point for any small business.Finally, remember to have some patience. This is not an overnight procedure. Sure, marketing a business online using social media tools and the like will make a huge difference, but you must realize that it is slow but steady process. You would want to stay out of advertisers who claim to give you immediate results.It is not really possible and in some cases it may even take a year to notice good results. So, have fun while learning marketing a business online.

Bad Credit Personal Loans – Financial Backup To Face The Bad Times Boldly

Personal needs vary from person to person. Like me you too may desire to make improvements at home or to get married in a lavished style. It is easy to dream but really tough to realize them when you don’t have sufficient funds with you. But, transforming the dreams into reality becomes even more harder when you have a bad credit score. No need to panic or face the embarrassment anymore; bad credit personal loans are here to help you with the cash you need.A credit check works as a benchmark for lenders in determining the creditworthiness of the borrower. People with bad credit score or history are not considered to be reliable or trustworthy, because they may repeat the mistakes they had done in the past which resulted in a bad credit score. If you have a bad credit score, you can easily recognize the troubles involved in getting a loan. Bad credit may pose to be an evil for many of you, stopping you from getting the desired loan.With the changing time and increasing number of bad credit cases, lenders have realized the fact that majority of the people get a bad credit score due to none of their error or mistake. Giving due consideration to this fact has given rise to the popularity of bad credit personal loans.Bad credit personal loans are tailored specifically for the UK people with bad credit history to make it easier for them to realize their dreams with a little financial help. If you are looking for a loan and have a bad credit history, a bad credit personal loan can be the perfect solution helping in meeting the need for funds of diverse group of people.Not only this, a borrower can enjoy the opportunity to choose between a secured and an unsecured bad credit personal loan. Secured bad credit personal loans are recognized as the loans that attach a clause of collateral with it. In simpler words, a borrower has to put a collateral against the loan taken. This loan provides borrowers with an opportunity to make use of the equity stored in their property. A home, a car or even a saving bank account can work as collateral. Homeowners can enjoy the various benefits of the secured loans. The amount of secured bad credit personal loan usually ranges from £5,000 to £75,000. In some special cases, lenders may grant you a loan up to 125% of the value of your property. The repayment term usually ranges from 5 to 25 years depending on the lender you choose and the amount you wish to borrow.Unsecured bad credit personal loans are totally different from secured loans. A borrower is not required to put any security against the loan. This loan is suitable for tenants who do not own a property. Homeowners who do not wish to put their property at risk too can apply for an unsecured bad credit personal loan. Significant feature of unsecured loans is that it gets approved very quickly, as it does not involve the task of valuation of equity value of the borrower’s property. It gives you an opportunity to borrow a loan for up to £25,000. The repayment term of an unsecured loan varies from 6 to 10 years.Whatever loan option you may choose to borrow, secured or unsecured, the main task still remains to be done. You have to search for the best bad credit personal loan that matches your needs and expectations to the best.In the present era where the technology is progressing day by day, Internet can be the best alternative to search the bad credit personal loan that will keep you away from all the hassles that used to exist when only traditional lenders existed in the past. Searching for the loan online give you the complete ease, comfort and a chance to access infinite number of lenders at the same time from the same place. Do a bit of search. Shop around! Collect loan quotes from various lenders and then compare them to find the best loan options.Bad credit poses to be a big threat while borrowing loan in the market. Bad credit personal loans can help you get the funds to meet your needs and desires in the best possible manner. Use the loan wisely. You can use the loan money to improve the credit score by paying off the old debts that will help you in grabbing great loan deals and will secure a debt free future.

Getting a Student Auto Loan Online is Hassle Free

Are you tired of going in the bus to school? Maybe you happen to be fed of having to walker to class bad weather? Or perhaps you need a car to get to and from your brand new job that you started. If you happen to be a student that is looking for an easier way to get around there most certainly is an answer! You can easily apply for a student auto loan, even if you have no credit or poor credit. We have programs for first time buyers that are affordable!Vehicle financing can be easily obtained and when you are looking for car loan there are some guidelines that you need to know some basic loan facts. First of all when you are looking for a student car loan you need to be prepared problem arising while applying auto loan. Many people get nervous while applying without being prepared. So be sure that you are well planned ahead so that when you are negotiating the car loan you know exactly how to act in response. When getting to the car loan you will come across the other person involved in the auto finance process, is the auto finance manager.Consider the following issue when you apply for student auto loan. Always asked the question before get student car loan for yourself.Rate of Interest for Auto Loan
Its is very important to know the interest rate while doing a great purchase. Get all information from the dealer about Annual Percentage Rates and ask how to they make figuring rates. Remember many lenders have different rates so its the best to understand how its working so you can compare with many other online lender by apply their free online quote. Which will help you making buy your car loan with best interest rates.Get know about any Auto Loan Penalties and Fees
You should be very careful because many of dealers like to hide fees within the loan. You need to clarify what all the fees are that will be included in the loan and excluded if any. Try to avoid any extra penalty fees the dealer may try to charge for paying off the loan early. As in future it may causes a problem if you refinance later, so try to avoid this.Be careful with external credit insurance
Many car dealers like to create extra income by selling you credit life and credit disability policies. Make sure you get all the details for one of these extras before you agree and compare the policy with others out there.Get a final approval, before you leave, on the finance package
The finance manager can mislead you by telling you the deal is done, then calling you the next day to say the deal fell through. They will of course have another lender that will do the deal at a much higher interest rate, and additional fees. Do not get fell in to this trick, make sure you have a done deal before you leave the lot.There’s only a few select car loan lenders that offer the flexibility of being able to buy a car from anyone that you like. Most financial institutions work directly with the dealers, often only with franchised dealers. However, dealers that will work with you to find any type of make or model for a new or used vehicle that you happen to be looking for. Getting a Student Auto Loans with is not a harsh thing to do. In fact, as outlined above, it’s just simple online application form. Just make certain that you make your payments in full and on time every month and you will be well on your way to owning the car of your dreams!There are few major advantage for getting Student Auto Loans1. Purchasing a new vehicle will help you eliminate all of your headaches when trying to get around.
2. Using an easy approval auto loan to buy a new car would help you build your no credit or bad credit profile into a positive one.
3. Each monthly payment you make on your new car loan will be reported to each and every major credit reporting agency.

S&P 500 Rallies As U.S. Dollar Pulls Back Towards Weekly Lows

Key Insights
The strong pullback in the U.S. dollar provided significant support to stocks.
Treasury yields have pulled back after touching new highs, which served as an additional positive catalyst for S&P 500.
A move above 3730 will push S&P 500 towards the resistance level at 3760.
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Pfizer Rallies After Announcing A Huge Price Hike For Its COVID-19 Vaccines
S&P 500 is currently trying to settle above 3730 as traders’ appetite for risk is growing. The U.S. dollar has recently gained strong downside momentum as the BoJ intervened to stop the rally in USD/JPY. Weaker U.S. dollar is bullish for stocks as it increases profits of multinational companies and makes U.S. equities cheaper for foreign investors.

The leading oil services company Schlumberger is up by 9% after beating analyst estimates on both earnings and revenue. Schlumberger’s peers Baker Hughes and Halliburton have also enjoyed strong support today.

Vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna gained strong upside momentum after Pfizer announced that it will raise the price of its coronavirus vaccine to $110 – $130 per shot.

Biggest losers today include Verizon and Twitter. Verizon is down by 5% despite beating analyst estimates on both earnings and revenue. Subscriber numbers missed estimates, and traders pushed the stock to multi-year lows.

Twitter stock moved towards the $50 level as the U.S. may conduct a security review of Musk’s purchase of the company.

From a big picture point of view, today’s rebound is broad, and most market segments are moving higher. Treasury yields have started to move lower after testing new highs, providing additional support to S&P 500. It looks that some traders are ready to bet that Fed will be less hawkish than previously expected.

S&P 500 Tests Resistance At 3730

S&P 500 has recently managed to get above the 20 EMA and is trying to settle above the resistance at 3730. RSI is in the moderate territory, and there is plenty of room to gain additional upside momentum in case the right catalysts emerge.

If S&P 500 manages to settle above 3730, it will head towards the next resistance level at 3760. A successful test of this level will push S&P 500 towards the next resistance at October highs at 3805. The 50 EMA is located in the nearby, so S&P 500 will likely face strong resistance above the 3800 level.

On the support side, the previous resistance at 3700 will likely serve as the first support level for S&P 500. In case S&P 500 declines below this level, it will move towards the next support level at 3675. A move below 3675 will push S&P 500 towards the support at 3640.

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.

S&P 500 Biotech Giant Vertex Leads 5 Stocks Showing Strength

Your stocks to watch for the week ahead are Cheniere Energy (LNG), S&P 500 biotech giant Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX), Cardinal Health (CAH), Steel Dynamics (STLD) and Genuine Parts (GPC).

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While the market remains in correction, with analysts and investors wary of an economic downturn, these five stocks are worth adding to watchlists. S&P 500 medical giants Vertex and Cardinal Health have been holding up, as health-care related plays tend to do well in down markets.

Steel Dynamics and Genuine Parts are both coming off strong earnings as both the steel and auto parts industries report optimistic outlooks. Meanwhile, Cheniere Energy saw sales boom in the second quarter as demand in Europe for natural gas continues to grow.

Major indexes have been making rally attempts with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 testing weekly support on Friday. With market uncertainty, investors should be ready for follow-through day breakouts and keep an eye on these stocks.

Cheniere Energy, Cardinal Health and VRTX stock are all on IBD Leaderboard.

Cheniere Energy Stock
LNG shares rose 1.1% to 175.79 during Friday’s market trading. On the week, the stock advanced 3.1%, not from highs, bouncing from its 21-day and 10-week lines earlier in the week.

Cheniere Energy has been consolidating since mid-September, but needs another week to forge a proper base, with a potential 182.72 buy point formed on Aug. 10.

Houston-based Cheniere Energy was IBD Stock Of The Day on Thursday, as the largest U.S. producer of liquefied natural gas eyes strong demand in Europe.

Even though natural gas prices are plunging in the U.S. and Europe, investors still see strong LNG demand for Cheniere and others.

The U.K. government confirmed last week that it is in talks for an LNG purchase agreement with a number of companies, including Cheniere.

In the first half of 2021, less than 40% of Cheniere’s cargoes of LNG landed in Europe. That jumped to more than 70% through this year’s second quarter, even as the company ramped up new export capacity. The urgency of Europe’s natural gas shortage only intensified last month. That is when an explosion disabled the Nord Stream 1 pipeline from Russia that had once supplied 40% of the European Union’s natural gas.

In Q2, sales increased 165% to $8 billion and LNG earned $2.90 per share, up from a net loss of $1.30 per share in Q2 2021. The company will report Q3 earnings Nov. 3, with investors seeing booming profits for the next few quarters.

Cheniere Energy has a Composite Rating of 84. It has a 98 Relative Strength Rating, an exclusive IBD Stock Checkup gauge for share price movement with a 1 to 99 score. The rating shows how a stock’s performance over the last 52 weeks holds up against all the other stocks in IBD’s database. The EPS rating is 41.

Vertex Stock
VRTX stock jumped 3.4% to 300 on Friday, rebounding from a test of its 50-day moving average. Shares climbed 2.2% for the week. Vertex stock has formed a tight flat base with an official buy point of 306.05, according to MarketSmith analysis.

The stock has remained consistent over recent weeks, while the relative strength line has trended higher. The RS line tracks a stock’s performance vs. the S&P 500 index.

Vertex Q3 earnings are on due Oct. 27. Analysts see EPS edging up 1% to $3.61 per share with sales increasing 16% to $2.2 billion, according to FactSet.

The Boston-based global biotech company dominates the cystic fibrosis treatment market. Vertex also has other products in late-stage clinical development that target sickle cell disease, Type 1 diabetes and certain genetically caused kidney diseases. That includes a gene-editing partnership with Crispr Therapeutics (CRSP).

In early August, Vertex reported better-than-expected second-quarter results and raised full-year sales targets.

S&P 500 stock Vertex ranks second in the Medical-Biomed/Biotech industry group. VRTX has a 99 Composite Rating. Its Relative Strength Rating is 94 and its EPS Rating is 99.

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Cardinal Health Stock
CAH stock advanced 3.2% to 73.03 Friday, clearing a 71.22 buy point from a shallow cup-with-handle base and hitting a record high. But volume was light on the breakout. CAH stock leapt 7.3% for the week.

Cardinal Health stock’s relative strength line has also been trending up for months.

The cup-with-handle base is part of a base-on-base pattern, forming just above a cup base cleared on Aug. 11.

Cardinal Health, based in Dublin, Ohio, offers a wide assortment of health care services and medical supplies to hospitals, labs, pharmacies and long-term care facilities. The company reports that it serves around 90% of hospitals and 60,000 pharmacies in the U.S.

S&P 500 stock Cardinal Health will report Q1 2023 earnings on Nov. 4. Analysts forecast earnings falling 26% to 96 cents per share. Sales are expected to increase 10% to $48.3 billion, according to FactSet.

Cardinal Health stock ranks first in the Medical-Wholesale Drug/Supplies industry group, ahead of McKesson (MCK), which is also showing positive action. CAH stock has a 94 Composite Rating out of 99. It has a 97 Relative Strength Rating and an EPS rating of 73.

Steel Dynamics Stock
STLD shares shot up 8.5% to 92.92 on Friday and soared 19% on the week, coming off a Steel Dynamics earnings beat Wednesday night.

Shares blasted above an 88.72 consolidation buy point Friday after clearing a trendline Thursday. STLD stock is 17% above its 50-day line, definitely extended from that key average.

Steel Dynamics’ latest consolidation could be seen as part of a larger base going back six months.

Steel Dynamics topped Q3 earnings views with EPS rising 10% to $5.46 while revenue grew 11% to $5.65 billion. The steel producer’s outlook is optimistic despite weaker flat rolled steel pricing. STLD reports its order activity and backlogs remain solid.

The Fort Wayne, Indiana-based company is among the largest producers of carbon steel products in the U.S. It engages in metal recycling operations along with steel fabrication and produces myriad steel products.

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STLD stock ranks first in the Steel-Producers industry group. STLD stock has a 96 Composite Rating out of 99. It has a 90 Relative Strength Rating, an exclusive IBD Stock Checkup gauge for share-price movement that tops at 99. The rating shows how a stock’s performance over the last 52 weeks holds up against all the other stocks in IBD’s database. The EPS rating is 98.

Genuine Parts Stock
GPC stock gained 2.8% to 162.35 Friday after the company topped earnings views with its Q3 results on Thursday. For the week GPC advanced 5.1% as the stock held its 50-day line and is in a flat base.

GPC has an official 165.09 flat-base buy point after a three-week rally, according to MarketSmith analysis.

The relative strength line for Genuine Parts stock has rallied sharply to highs over the past several months.

On Thursday, the Atlanta-based auto parts company raised its full-year guidance on growth across its automotive and industrial sales.

Genuine Parts earnings per share advanced 19% to $2.23 and revenue grew 18% to $5.675 billion in Q3. GPC’s full-year guidance is now calling for EPS of $8.05-$8.15, up from $7.80-$7.95. The company now forecasts revenue growth of 15%-16%, up from the earlier 12%-14%.

During the Covid pandemic, supply chain constraints caused a major upheaval in the auto industry, sending prices for new and used cars to record levels. This has made consumers more likely to hang on to their existing vehicles for longer, driving mileage higher and boosting demand for auto replacement parts.

Fellow auto stocks O’Reilly Auto Parts (ORLY) and AutoZone (AZO) have also rallied near buy points amid the struggling market. O’Reilly reports on Oct. 26.

IBD ranks Genuine Parts first in the Retail/Wholesale-Auto Parts industry group. GPC stock has a 96 Composite Rating. Its Relative Strength Rating is 94 and it has an EPS Rating of 89.