Smart contracts are real game changers, but they are not all the same.

Agreements are at the foundation of many interactions everyday, whether it’s with your employer, your mortgage agreement, or maybe a guarantee on a new expensive TV. The use of smart contracts can mean that all of these agreements are coded and set up to automatically work — without any needed third-party verification.

Here are some of the top smart contract cryptocurrencies to watch, in no exact order.

1. Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum was the first crypto to have smart contract functionality. Because of this, it powers most applications. According to dApps, around 80% of DeFi applications are on the Ethereum network.

Unfortunately, it is also a victim of its own successes. The network is very congested, has a big carbon footprint, and developers are complaining about high transaction fees. It is a bit like an old engine turning out fumes as it goes uphill. Ethereum also does not work well with other blockchains.

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Eth2 — an upgrade which is planned to solve many of these issues — is coming soon, but it won’t be done until 2022 at the soonest.

2. Solana (SOL)

Solana is among the fastest cryptos out there right now, with a speed of 50,000 transactions each second (TPS). To put this in perspective, the Ethereum network works at 15 up to 45 TPS, although it will get faster after Eth2. The average fee with Solana is just a fraction of one cent.

It uses something known as “proof of history” to process a transaction faster. Without getting very technical, using timestamps inside its transaction records means it does not waste computing resources by checking transactions that were already processed.

Solana has around 400 projects running on its platform, including the very quickly growing stablecoin USDC. This coin runs on both Solana and Ethereum.

3. Polkadot (DOT)

Solana is known for its speed, but Polkadot is known for its interoperability (which means how well it works with other systems). This is the crypto that works by the coffee machine and talks to everybody else.

Polkadot uses parachains which run parallel to its main blockchain and help it to work on transactions faster. Smart contracts go on the parachains, and not the main blockchain.

Author: Scott Dowdy

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The gold market is continuing to stay under pressure and under the crucial psychological levels of $1,800 per ounce even as the United States housing sector cools down in line with anticipations, according to the new data from the NAR (National Association of Realtors).

Wednesday, the NAR reported that existing home sales went down by 2% to a sales number of 5.88 million homes in Aug., which is down from July’s sales rate of 5.99 million properties. However, the fall of in home sales was something that met the expectations of economists.

The report noted that this was the second month of consecutive decreases in home sales. Annually the sales rate is lower by 1.5% when compared to Aug. 2020.

The gold market is not witnessing any bullish movement from the fall in existing property sales. Dec. gold futures last exchanged hands at $1,774.10 per ounce, down 0.23% for the day.

Lawrence Yun, who is NAR’s chief economist, says that sales were lower as housing prices increased last month and inventories kept declining.

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“Although there was a lowering in home sells, possible buyers are out there and they are searching, but much more reserved about their financial abilities, and simply waiting for better inventory,” he said.

Looking at the home prices, the NAR stated that the median price for all types of housing in August was $356,700, which is higher by 14.9% from 2020.

Meanwhile the supply of property is continuing to go down. The report stated that the inventory of homes for last month came to around 1.29 million units, which represented a 2.6-month supply.

The pressure on Gold and the uncertainty about real estate is yet another sign of Americans’ uneasiness about the economy. With growing inflation for common goods and services like groceries, gas, and rent, people are becoming reluctant to spend money on larger purchases. More than that, the trend is causing increasing distrust among investors and Washington decision makers as the nation’s currency is further eroded by large scale spending programs.

Author: Blake Ambrose

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Sometimes you do not have a choice but to retire with debt, especially when an illness or losing your job forces you to leave work earlier than you had planned. If you are on a tight budget during retirement, you might not be able to meet all your obligations — and perhaps you are worried how this will change your monthly Social Security payments. Keep reading to find out how unpaid debt might affect your benefits.

Could your Social Security get garnished for debt?

Yes, your benefits can get garnished for unpaid debts, but only if certain conditions are met. Basically, what would would cause Social Security to keep your benefits are close to the ones that would trigger the IRS to keep your tax refund. Essentially, if you owe money to the government or you have been ordered by a court to give money in a family law or criminal case, Social Security might garnish your payments.

Here are some scenarios where delinquent debt might result in getting smaller Social Security payments:

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You are behind on your student loans. Social Security might withhold up to 15% of your benefit if you are behind on student loans. However, the first $750 per month of benefits can not be taken.

You owe back taxes. The IRS might garnish up to 15% of your benefits if your taxes are delinquent. But unlike with student loans, your first $750 is not protected.

You have been ordered to give alimony or child support. If you are behind on court-ordered alimony or child support, up to 50% of your benefits might get garnished if you support a spouse or child who is not the subject of a court order. Otherwise, as much as 60% of your benefits can get garnished. If you are over 12 weeks behind, another additional 5% might be seized.

You owe court-ordered restitution in a criminal case. Up to 25% of Social Security payments can be seized if you are behind on your restitution payments for a crime you were convicted of committing.

Remember that in all of these circumstances, your Social Security might only get lowered if you are delinquent on payments. Your benefits will not get withheld simply for owing debt. If your Social Security benefits are seized, only your current and future monthly payments will get affected. Social Security will not go after payments retroactively.

Author: Steven Sinclaire

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Many investors may think about sentient robots when tech experts discuss the increasing artificial intelligence (AI) sector. However, smart robots only represent a small amount of the global AI market that is expected to expand at a compound rate (CAGR) of 35.6% from this year to 2026.

A large part of the market revolves around software platforms that aid companies in making data-driven choices, automate routine tasks, streamline their work, and lower costs.

Let’s examine two top AI stocks that will benefit from this huge market expansion.

1. Nvidia

Nvidia is the world’s top maker of GPUs. It controls 83% of the market in Q2 of 2021, according to JPR, while its top rival AMD having the remaining 17%.

Nvidia’s GPUs are usually linked with high-end computer gaming, but it also sells GPUs for data centers that are used for AI and machine learning work.

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Nvidia’s top data center products include its A100 GPU and its DGX A100 system, which combines eight A100 GPUs. All three of the cloud giants — Amazon, Microsoft, and Google — now use Nvidia’s A100 GPUs to support their AI services.

Nvidia also bought the networking equipment company Mellanox last year to further bolster this core business. Nvidia’s data center revenue increased 124% to $6.7 billion, or 40% of its top line, in fiscal year 2021 (which was over in January). Its overall revenue also rose by 53% to reach $16.7 billion.

Analysts expect the company’s earnings and revenue to rise 65% and 54%, respectively, this year, as it moves more GPUs.

2. Palantir

Palantir is a data mining company that has two main platforms: Gotham for their government customers and Foundry for its enterprise customers.

Palantir’s products collect data from different sources, process it using AI algorithms, and help organizations make better decisions. The United States military uses Gotham to plan its missions, while the CIA — who is one of the company’s earliest investors — uses the platform to gather information. Palantir leverages this hardened reputation to bring in enterprise customers such as Rio Tinto and BP to its platform.

Palantir’s revenue increased 47% to $1.1 billion last year, and it expects its revenue to expand by at least 30% yearly from 2021 to 2025. This ambitious forecast means it could generate over $4 billion in revenue in 2025. Palantir is not profitable yet, but its operating margins and adjusted gross are increasing and suggest its platforms are still impressing executives.

Author: Scott Dowdy

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The U.S. Treasury Dept. has said on Tuesday that it will sanction a cryptocurrency platform for its alleged role in the laundering of ransoms for cyberattacks.

It marks the first action like this taken against a cryptocurrency exchange and comes after a line of cyberattacks hit several sectors and even threatened United States government agencies. The Treasury said ransomware payments went to over $400 million last year alone, over four times that of 2019.

Ransomware is a form of cyberattack where actors often remove access to crucial programs and data to then demand they get payment, usually in the form of bitcoin, to unlock this data.

The agency’s Office of Foreign Assets Control will go for the cryptocurrency platform Suex for having a role in helping transactions for ransomware hackers.

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While the Treasury emphasized that most virtual currency actions are legal, technologies helping these payments can be used by bad actors. Crypto transactions are decentralized and can be more difficult to trace than those done through normal financial institutions. The dept. said that in Suex’s case, it helped illegal activity “for their own gain.”

The dept accused Suex “of helping transactions involving illicit money from at least eight ransomware hacks.” It also stated that over 40% of the company’s history is “linked with illicit actors.”

The new designation will make it much more difficult for Suex to do business with American entities. United States citizens are usually banned from doing transactions with financial institutions that take part in certain actions and they could themselves face enforcement actions if they ignore these restrictions.

In addition to the new ruling against Suex, the dept. clarified its guidance for companies on how to deal with ransomware hacks. The guidance “strongly encourages companies to report these events and cooperate with police as soon as possible,” according to a media release, and continues to recommend not paying ransoms.

The advisory also mentions that American entities could get penalized for sending these funds to a sanctioned group, even if they are unaware of this fact, like in the case of sending a ransom. Still, the guidance states that OFAC would consider a firm’s cooperation during a ransomware attack in determining the ending consequences.

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In the low interest rate climate of today, retirees are searching for income from their portfolios are turning to stock dividends. That can be dangerous, since dividends are not guaranteed payments, and dividends that are too high usually end up as yield traps where the income then evaporates.

Because of the risks connected to dividends for income, many retirees seek to find dividend-focused ETFs instead of solo stocks to spread those risks out. This move can more easily give a better portfolio, thus removing the impact to any single company’s dividend being cut. With this in mind, these three dividend ETFs might be a retiree’s best friend:

1. Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index ETF

Vanguard’s Dividend Appreciation Index ETF tries to follow the NASDAQ US Select Dividend Achievers Index. Which is an index comprised of companies with a decade of not just paying, but raising their dividends. Having dividend growth over some time is a crucial measure, as it gives one of the few opportunities for your income to grow to fight inflation.

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The ETF’s yield of close to 1.6% might be lower than most dividend lovers would like, but it still beats the overall S&P 500’s 1.3%.

2. iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF

The iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF is linked to the Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index. What’s special about this one is that it not only searches for at least a five-year proven record of increasing dividends, but also a dividend ratio at or under 75% of earnings.

A 75% payout is around the upper limit of the Goldilocks zone for dividends. Except for specialized companies like REITs, when a business gives around this level, it can sap the firm’s flexibility for when things go bad.

Because of this, the iShares ETF adds some robustness that comes from looking for those better-supported dividends among firms with good growth histories. Also, with a yield just over 2%, this ETF manages to beat even 30-year Treasuries in payout amounts.

3. Vanguard Real Estate Index ETF

Real estate has a great history of creating cash for its owners. That history is so foundational that there is actually a special corporation known as an REIT (or real estate investment trust). Companies of this type can deduct their dividends from their taxes if they give at least 90% of their income to their shareholders.

So between this reputation and the unique corporate structure, is there any wonder why the Vanguard Real Estate Index ETF is on this list? With a yield of nearly 2.3% and an asset base with a strong incentive to give cash to its owners, there is a great reason to include it in your portfolio to get a reasonable income stream.

Author: Scott Dowdy

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Sinic Holdings Group Co. has stopped trading after a 87% collapse in its shares this Monday in afternoon trading.

The Shanghai-based Chinese property developer did not give a reason for the halt in trading in Hong Kong, China. The sudden downfall in the past two hours going into the suspension was accompanied by an increase in trading volume that was around 14 times its average in the previous year, according to the Bloomberg-compiled numbers and data points.

The firm has had a 9.5% $246 million bond which is due on October 18 and Fitch Ratings changed its rating to negative in the last week. The Monday share fall has cut its market value to right under $230 million, which is very low for a listed developer in the city. An executive at the firm’s Hong Kong office stated that there is nobody to answer media inquires.

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“It is the same story as is seen everywhere else — investors have concerns about liquidity,” stated Philip Tse, head and leader of China and Hong Kong property research at Bocom International Holdings Co Ltd. “I believe there are most likely margin calls on some of the top shareholders” by looking at the stock price pattern which happened this afternoon.

The move comes as Hong Kong’s property lowered the most since May 2020 during growing investor anxiety about China’s property crackdown and concerns that Beijing could tighten their grip on the city’s real estate sector in its “Common Prosperity” drive.

Risk-off sentiment in global markets was all over this Monday. Junk-rated China bonds went down by as much as 2 cents. The HK dollar fell to the lowest amount this month.

This comes at a time when Americans are increasingly worried about the state of the U.S. economy. With prices going up on common household items such as gas, food and rent. Now, with this very public collapse is China, many investors are worried about a domino affect and how it might reach the American economy given the interconnected nature of Chinese banking with U.S. banks and other financial institutions.

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Adding to your winners, even only $500, can help to juice your returns over the long-term. Companies that benefit from stock appreciation can often stay on that momentum for many years, or maybe even decades.

We asked two investing experts to pick one company that they would add money to today without a second though. They picked Qualcomm and Twilio.

Qualcomm

Apple’s upcoming release of fresh iPhones should bring interest back to the smartphone world and, by extension, to Qualcomm. For all its work to create its own chip, Apple and other smartphone companies are dependent on Qualcomm and its huge portfolio of wireless patents to create their premium devices.

Qualcomm has raked it in from a huge 5G upgrade cycle. Grand View Research predicts a compound annual growth for the sector of 69% through the year 2028, taking the industry’s value to more than $66 billion by then.

The company earned revenue of $24.2 billion for the starting nine months of fiscal 2021. This is a boost of 60% compared with the same time frame in 2020. Earnings increased 179% during the timeframe to $6.2 billion as its overall costs grew at a slower rate.

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For the fourth quarter, the company predicts between $8.4 billion and $9.2 billion for revenue, which is a 5% increase from the year-ago levels. However, the 2020 numbers point to a front-loading of the company’s revenue growth since the company benefited from Apple’s first 5G iPhone along with higher chip sales during the pandemic. This helps the likelihood that revenue will increase and go back to double-digit levels as the pandemic affects the economy less.

Twilio

Twilio is probably best known as being a messaging service that Uber created using its platform. The capability for drivers and riders to easily privately message each other was important to making a great experience for Uber customers. The company has done a lot more since then. Although messaging is still its core, Twilio has created a new suite of products. It is likely that the market might be underestimating the long-term possibility of this winner. 

The company’s organic growth is coming in at a great 55% y/y for its most recent quarter. On top of the solid growth, investors love that the company has landed customers at a quick pace, and gets them to consistently increase their spending over time.

But the company is not done growing. It has been expanding its total addressable market and increasing its optionality. In 2017, it estimated its market was $45 billion. Today, with more capability and demand increasing for its technology, its 2023 TAM is around $110 billion. The company splits into seven subgroups. The three biggest groups representing $23 billion to $25 billion markets each: email and marketing, APIs, and its data platform. These big addressable markets give Twilio lots of room to expand for many years into the future.

Author: Scott Dowdy

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Despite the pleas for another round of stimulus checks as the delta variant goes through the United States, Washington was cool to the idea of another payment to Americans.

President Biden and Congress’ Dem leaders have moved to other agendas. But some of the nation’s governors have pushed their states to give new stimulus checks. In fact, California just mailed a second round. And, the huge stimulus bill the president signed back in March had $350 billion for states and local governments that might be used for additional direct payments.

Here are the states that are giving relief money, to help citizens cover expenses or pay debt.

States now giving stimulus checks

California

California’s new round of checks has already started with officials telling taxpayers to “look out for checks in your mailbox or in your account.” The country’s most populous state is using its money to make these payments — not federal funds.

The new payments will be $600 to $1,100.

Florida

Florida is planning to give $1,000 checks to teachers and paying first responders — including police, paramedics, EMTs and firefighters — up to $1,000 for their many sacrifices they have been making during the crisis.

New Mexico

New Mexico’s stimulus has devoted $5 million to helping lower-income people who were not eligible for federal stimulus checks. Over 4,000 households in the state got up to $750 in financial assistance.

The state’s Human Services Dept. said in an early Aug. press release that the whole $5 million was not given out, so another round of checks would be given “within the next two months.”

Tennessee

Tennessee’s government passed a bill giving teachers hazard pay for getting through the worst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Lawmakers had originally supported a 2% raise for teachers, but it was ultimately changed with a one-time payment of $1,000. With part-time teachers getting $500.

Texas

While Texas does not have a statewide program for relief payments, some local school areas are giving their employees stimulus checks as retention bonuses.

In the Dallas suburb of Irving, the bonus is up to $2,000. In Denton, teachers will get $500 and a 2% pay boost if they come back to work in the fall.

Author: Scott Dowdy

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Billionaire investor and the founder of Bridgewater Associates, Ray Dalio, has repeated his stance on Bitcoin. For some time, Dalio was a skeptic of Bitcoin but eventually came around to the cryptocurrency because of its characteristics and the inflationary outlook.

During an interview on CNBC, the billionaire spoke about portfolio diversification and warned people about the dangers of holding their profits in the US Dollar. Referencing a phrase that has become very popular “Cash is Trash,” Dalio mentions Bitcoin’s value as a store of value.

As we have previously said, the legendary investors has said that he has a stake in Bitcoin. Dalio has been increasing awareness about inflation and what it could do to the global economy with monetary expansion and more debt.

In this context, cash money turns into an asset that gives a negative yield while at the same time Bitcoin is better for its ability to beat other assets, as it has showed since it was created.

The billionaire said that all other alternatives to cash and traditional assets are “worth consideration”. Meaning that Dalio essentially said that Bitcoin was as a “possibility.”

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Dalio still is betting more on gold than other assets in his portfolio. However, the Bridgewater founder believes regulators might eventually try to stop Bitcoin’s growth if it gets “too successful”.

“It is an incredible accomplishment to buy Bitcoin from where the programming occurred to where it is now after the test of time. I believe in the end, if it is very successful, they will kill Bitcoin. And I believe they will kill it because they have ways to kill it.”

Could Global Governments Kill Bitcoin?

When confronted with the idea that Bitcoin could be used at the government level, as happened in El Salvador, Dalio dismissed the idea. He says the Central American nation cannot create enough of a counterweight to balance China and India’s action against Bitcoin.

The Asian nations have passed legislation attempting to ban all activities connected to Bitcoin and cryptos. China even banned the whole Bitcoin mining sector cause the cryptocurrency to fall. Dalio said:

“We have El Salvador using it and you have China and India blocking it. And you have the U.S. talking about regulation and how it could be controlled.”

Author: Blake Ambrose

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