d fortune

Many high-yielding dividend stocks slumped as interest rates rose in 2022 and 2023. Those higher rates lifted the yields of CDs and T-bills above 5%, so many income investors shifted their cash from stocks toward those safer fixed-income investments. However, the Federal Reserve finally cut its benchmark rate twice in 2024 as inflation cooled. Those reductions, along with expectations for future cuts, drove many investors back toward dividend stocks again as fixed-income yields declined. Real estate investment trusts ( REITs ) -- which buy properties, rent them out, and split the rental income with their investors -- are attracting more attention in this market because they're required to pay out at least 90% of their taxable income as dividends to maintain a favorable tax rate. As a result, they usually pay much higher yields than traditional dividend stocks. One such high-yielding REIT is EPR Properties ( EPR -0.28% ) , which rents its properties to amusement parks, movie theaters, ski resorts, and other experiential and educational businesses in the U.S. and Canada. It's paid continuous dividends since its public debut in 1997, it switched from quarterly to monthly payments in 2013, and it pays a hefty forward yield of 7.5%. Let's see if it's the right time to buy, sell, or hold this resilient REIT. How stable is EPR's portfolio? EPR is a triple net lease REIT, which means its tenants are responsible for covering all of a property's real estate taxes, insurance, and maintenance fees. It owns 352 properties and serves more than 200 tenants in 44 states and Canada. But in the first nine months of 2024, it generated 45% of its revenue from just four tenants -- Topgolf (14.3%), AMC Theaters (13.6%), Regal Cinemas (11.1%), and Cinemark (6.3%). EPR's heavy dependence on the declining movie theater market is a sore spot. Only 852 million movie tickets were sold in the U.S. in 2023, representing a 46% drop from the peak of 1.85 billion tickets in 2002, and that decline could continue for the foreseeable future. Streaming video platforms, cheaper big screen TVs, and soaring ticket prices have all driven more people to watch movies at home. But despite those challenges, EPR still maintained an occupancy rate of 99% at the end of the third quarter of 2024. It accomplished that by selling its vacant theaters, gaining more non-theater experiential tenants, and expanding its smaller portfolio of education properties. In 2020, EPR's funds from operations as adjusted (FFOAA) per share plunged 74% as the pandemic crushed its tenants. But its FFOAA rose 116% in 2021, 52% in 2022, and 10% in 2023 as those headwinds waned and it restructured its portfolio. It expects that figure to rise 3% in 2024 and 3%-4% annually. How does EPR stack up against similar REITs? At $45 per share, EPR trades at just 9 times last year's FFOAA. That makes it a lot cheaper than comparable triple net lease REITs like Vici Properties and Realty Income , which both trade at 14 times their trailing adjusted FFO per share. Vici and Realty also pay lower forward yields of 5.4% and 5.5%, respectively. But EPR also serves a messier mix of tenants than Vici, which focuses on the casino and resorts markets, and Realty Income, which mainly rents its properties to recession-resistant retailers. EPR also doesn't lock its tenants into multi-decade, inflation-linked contracts like Vici (which still has an occupancy rate of 100%). Instead, EPR's average lease lasts roughly 12 years with gradual rent increases every five years. EPR has also underperformed Vici and Realty Income over the past six years. Even after including reinvested dividends, EPR generated a negative total return of 8% as Vici and Realty generated positive total returns of 106% and 24%, respectively. Is it time to buy, sell, or hold EPR Properties? Past performance is an unreliable indicator of future gains, but EPR's weaker returns likely reflect the concerns regarding its movie theater tenants as well as the exposure of its other experiential tenants to slower consumer spending and other economic headwinds. EPR is still a fairly safe stock to buy and hold right now if you expect it to maintain its high occupancy rates as it prunes its portfolio. But I think Vici and Realty Income -- which I personally own -- are better long-term income plays even though they pay lower yields.Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has confirmed a fracas down the St James' Park tunnel led to assistant manager Jason Tindall's bizarre red card. The Magpies ran out 3-0 victors over Aston Villa at St. James' Park in what was their fourth straight win ins all competitions. Despite the comfortable scoreline, it was an incredibly fiery contest throughout. Referee Anthony Taylor blew for a whopping 25 fouls over the course of the game but only issued three yellow cards. However, it was the two red cards that were undoubtedly the biggest talking points from the Toon. The first belonged to Villa striker Jhon Duran, who was shown a straight red in the 32nd minute for a challenge on Fabian Schar . Duran and Schar tussled for a long ball but the Newcastle defender fell to the ground as he made a clearance following a slight shove from the former. As Schar fell to the turf, Duran's left foot slipped and the studs on his right foot momentarily landed on the Newcastle man's back. Duran looked to quickly remove his foot and apologised to the referee as soon as he stood up. But Taylor was in no mood for remorse and brandished a red card. Duran was irate as he walked off the field and sent a water bottle flying. However, managers from both sides felt Taylor's decision to send Duran off was the wrong one. "For me, not [a red card]," Villa boss Unai Emery said. "It is completely not. I can accept it if another team asks for a red card. But use and confirm VAR please. Now the punishment is three matches. "His reaction after was with the player being sorry. Then we can try to analyse if he kicked him or not. I don't think he kicked him purposely. Please use VAR." Emery also confirmed Villa will appeal Duran's red card and attempt to get his three-game suspension rescinded. Howe understands Emery's frustrations, saying: "I thought it was maybe harsh, that was my gut feel. "I was a little surprised the red card came out." The Duran red card proved to be the spark that lit the fuse, as tensions between the two managerial teams reached boiling point. Shortly after Duran's departure, Tindall had Emery fuming when he put his finger to his lips as if to silence the Villa boss without even casting a sideways glance at the Spaniard. The drama continued to unfold at half time when the teams headed back to the dressing rooms. According to multiple reports, a scuffle involving around 20 people from both teams, including Tindall and Villa analyst Victor Manas, kicked off. When asked if a 20-man brawl transpired, Howe confirmed it. "I don't think that's far off," Howe said. "These things always start out I don't think with the intention of it happening in the way that it did. "There was probably 17 or 18 people trying to calm it down, but what it looks like is there are more people involved. "No one wants to see that, it's not at all how I want my players or staff to be, but sometimes you have to stand up to what you think is right and protect each other. "It was frustration spilling out from the first half, but of course we're all standing up for ourselves in that moment, protecting ourselves." Tindall did not return to the dugout for the second half as Newcastle confirmed on their social media he had been sent off. But the loss of Howe's right-hand man for the second half mattered little, as goals from Alexander Isak and Joelinton capped off a strong performance, kickstarted by a divine curling effort from Anthony Gordon. The win lifted Newcastle to fifth in the table on 29 points. As for Villa, they slipped to ninth but are just one point behind the Magpies.d fortune 。

Sean Kirst: In Buffalo and Syracuse, two architects gave gift of light and wonder to generationsWhat a year it was for the stock market in 2024. The ripped higher by more than 27% as the bull market continued for a second year. A large share of those gains came from the "Magnificent Seven" stocks, some of the world's largest tech and companies. These mega-cap companies have market caps ranging from $1.5 trillion to $3.8 trillion, so a positive move for any of these stocks can have an outsized impact on the broader index. Almost all of the Magnificent Seven enjoyed big gains in 2024. With the Magnificent Seven morphing into the Fateful Eight, can these stocks carry the market again in 2025? The Magnificent Seven plus one analyst Michael Hartnett coined the term Magnificent Seven in 2023, grouping several stocks that demonstrated dominance from the financial, market, and technological innovation perspectives. Here's how the Magnificent Seven stocks performed this year through Dec. 25: data by Every stock in the Magnificent Seven outperformed the broader market except , and the average performance of the Magnificent Seven was close to 69%. This is a big deal because the Magnificent Seven accounts for roughly a third of the value of the market-cap weighted S&P 500 and more than 50% of the value of the . Recently, the podcast, hosted by Wall Street veterans Dan Nathan, Guy Adami, Danny Moses, and Liz Young Thomas, coined a new name for a group of key tech giants: Their "Fateful Eight" starts with the Magnificent Seven, but adds chipmaking and software giant . Broadcom's market cap recently surpassed $1 trillion, and the stock is up by more than 45% in the past month. What can we expect from the Fateful Eight in 2025? After an epic year, here are forward earnings ratios for the Fateful Eight companies: data by These are pretty lofty valuations, with breaking away from the pack and and looking more reasonable. In light of that, many market watchers question whether the major indexes will perform well next year, given that these eight companies make up so much of their value. Still, most Wall Street analysts expect the market to continue to perform well in 2025, though not as well as it did over the last two years. With the market up by about 57% over the last two years, it seems improbable that it could replicate such a strong performance for a third consecutive year. However, leading up to the dot-com crash, the market soared for five straight years in the late 1990s, and the tailwinds from AI seem powerful given how big the potential markets are and how impactful AI is expected to be in our daily lives. I think inflation and Treasury yields will play large roles in the performance of these stocks next year. With the 10-year Treasury yield close to 4.6% (as of Dec. 26), investors are certainly concerned about the prospect of inflation reigniting in 2025. The Federal Reserve is projecting only two interest rate cuts in 2025, down from four cuts it previously anticipated. In addition, some worry about the impact that President-elect Donald Trump's policies will have on the economy. That said, better data from the labor market or the Consumer Price Index, which would put more interest rate cuts in play without the prospect of a recession, could lift stocks, particularly those in the tech sector that trade better in a "risk-on" environment. Other market strategists think the Fateful Eight will become defensive plays due to the uncertainty ahead. I expect the market to experience turbulence in 2025. However, I don't expect Broadcom's inclusion in the Fateful Eight will have a significant impact on the group, and I don't expect the Fateful Eight to outperform the Magnificent Seven in 2025 considering the stocks have elevated valuations, tougher earnings comps, and economic challenges from renewed inflation or a potential recession. These stocks may still end 2025 at higher levels than they trade at now, but I wouldn't expect them to deliver booming results like those they put up in 2024.

UPI provided credit access to poor, fuelled growth: StudyPennsylvania House Democratic leaders issued the following statement Sunday evening following the news that former President Jimmy Carter had died at age 100. “President Carter dedicated his life to serving the American people, from his time as a submariner in the nuclear navy to fighting for equality and civil rights as a Georgia state senator and then as governor. “As president, he guided the nation past the dark memory of Watergate. Here in Pennsylvania, he was a steady, calming voice during the Three Mile Island crisis. Always an engineer, he was among the first to identify and advance renewable energy policies that, had they been maintained, could have changed the world we live in today. ALSO READ: Jimmy Carter, the 39th U.S. president, has died at 100 ALSO READ: Remembering Jimmy Carter: see photos of his trips to Pennsylvania “After his presidency, he became a world leader once again in the arena of human rights and democracy, for which he was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, and for decades, he was the face—and the man swinging the hammer—for Habitat for Humanity. “Please join us in keeping former President Carter’s loved ones in your prayers as our nation mourns together.” Read more political news Remembering Jimmy Carter: see photos of his trips to Pennsylvania Kansas once required voters to prove citizenship. That didn’t work out so well Pursuing Liz Cheney is nothing more than seeking a Jan. 6 scapegoat | Column

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BEIJING (Reuters) – Huawei cut the prices of a variety of high-end devices, including mobile phones, by up to 3,000 yuan ($411) over the weekend on one of China’s leading e-commerce platforms, it said in a post on its official Weibo social media account on Sunday. In a JD.com “Super Brand Day” promotion running from Saturday evening through to midnight on Sunday, Huawei offered discounts on its smartphones, headphones, watches and tablets, the post showed. ($1 = 7.2980 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Joe Cash; Editing by Kim Coghill) Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content. var ytflag = 0;var myListener = function() {document.removeEventListener('mousemove', myListener, false);lazyloadmyframes();};document.addEventListener('mousemove', myListener, false);window.addEventListener('scroll', function() {if (ytflag == 0) {lazyloadmyframes();ytflag = 1;}});function lazyloadmyframes() {var ytv = document.getElementsByClassName("klazyiframe");for (var i = 0; i < ytv.length; i++) {ytv[i].src = ytv[i].getAttribute('data-src');}} Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );Is Dragon Ball Daima Preparing to Introduce a New Janemba?JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s attorney general has ordered police to open an investigation into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife on suspicion of harassing political opponents and witnesses in the Israeli leader’s corruption trial. The Israeli Justice Ministry made the announcement in a terse message late Thursday., saying the investigation would focus on the findings of a recent report by the “Uvda” investigative program into Sara Netanyahu. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.

After entering Aleppo, Syrian insurgents advance to a nearby province in a major setback for Assad

This may seem an exaggeration, but there is an ongoing isolation pandemic. The current wave of loneliness, along with the decreasing number of family members; and even the growth of pet care businesses are signs of this problem. As a parent and teacher, I see this growing problem among my sons' peers and in my classrooms. While we seem to be growing more connected to things (internet, devices and services), we are disconnecting with people. This lack of personal connection is starting more at a younger age and deepening through generations with significant negative social impact on society and individuals. To prevent future personal and societal problems, families, schools and workplaces need to encourage and foster personal connections through meaningful friendship. Reading and understanding books becomes harder. Students with few friends or siblings will have issues with books from Charles Dickens, Enid Blyton, or even the Wimpy Kid series; all focus on relationships. These books have been regularly used to teach the love of reading, building imagination and understanding society. The ability to get a deeper meaning or relate to the author's message is lost. This deeper understanding becomes even harder with business text, which requires reading at different levels to apply concepts innovatively or address new conditions. Understanding how various people use words is an essential skill, ideally with foundations built when learning to talk at home. The quality of friendships is vital in addressing social ills. More quality friends reduce the need for social media and the documented associated extremes. Physical interaction gives the same dopamine hit that social media provides but in better dosage and longer duration. By focusing on quality friends, depression and other social ills can be reduced as people share their feelings, grow, and interact in a positive manner. For students, having genuine friends helps with studying and learning from schoolwork. There are more exchanges and explanations of ideas in a positive environment. Research supports that talking with others builds stronger relationships than text messages. Thus, for students, more trustworthy contacts help them develop as individuals. I see many university students struggle in class because they have few people they call friends. Students struggle with mental health problems because the structure that existed before and provided help is not there. Parents assume that students are connecting because of online interactions, but that cheap substitute for real friendship is not working. More friends means less dependence on one person; hence, relationships are better. Young adults have fewer people to interact with, resulting in intense interactions. Thus, there are more strains or demands on fewer relationships. For example, if someone has one friend, they discuss ten items with their one friend, requiring much of that one friend's time and energy. Therefore, the friend may start limiting interaction as the relationship requires a lot of energy and the person talking feels less fulfilled. Two unhappy people. However, if someone has five friends, then they can discuss two items with each other; and so the friends are happy to interact more because the relationship requires less energy. Ironically, by having more friends, individuals develop better relationships. The principle applies even at the workplace because if someone can relate to a wider number of people in the office, they can get more done and contribute to better productivity. Workplaces have always seen the need for friendship at work, though it may not be referred to as such. In offices, teamwork, openness, and psychological safety are terms that have similar meaning to authentic human interaction. Work-from-home advocates prioritise interacting with people at home, whereas return-to-office advocates prioritise interacting with people in the office. However, generational problems and the lack of interpersonal experiences, real and perceived, highlight the difficulty of communicating various needs and desires by the individual. It comes as no surprise that communication is one of if not the most valuable skills for the workplace. Companies have to spend time developing workers' abilities in talking with each other because that particular skill may not have been fully developed at home or in school. Having real friends helps individuals and society by reducing loneliness and business inefficiencies caused by employees' mental distractions. A sense of belonging starts with family interactions followed by schools and grows into society. Mariano Miguel Carrera, PhD, is a lecturer at the International College at King Mongkut's University of Technology, North Bangkok.CoreCivic, Geo Group Rally By Double Digits Since Election Day: Why Trump Boosts Private Prison Stocks

After entering Aleppo, Syrian insurgents advance to a nearby province in a major setback for Assad

Moving Namibia in the Right DirectionYou could win a getaway to SkyPark at Santa's Village plus a stay at Lake Arrowhead Resort