Articles | Affluential Magazine

Jackson State University Partners With Mark Cuban Foundation To Offer Free AI Boot Camp For High School Students

Jackson State University is expanding access to artificial intelligence education for local high school students through a free AI boot camp designed to prepare young people for a technology-driven future, The Clarion Ledger reports. The historically Black university’s College of Business will host the Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamp this fall for Jackson Public Schools […]

Bypassing China: The $3B Opportunity for Rare Earths

If anyone was expecting U.S.-China tensions over critical minerals to simmer down any time soon, August has already put those thoughts to rest. Key Takeaways: The United States has announced $3 billion in new investments to support a variety of critical minerals and battery projects. These developments further the use case for ex-China rare earths, […]

Retail ETFs: Following the Selective Consumer

Key Takeaways: Consumers remain resilient, but spending is increasingly shifting toward value, convenience, and frequent everyday purchases. Retail ETFs can bridge staples and discretionary exposure. E-commerce is evolving from discretionary shopping toward an everyday retail channel spanning groceries, essentials, and services. The consumer remains resilient, but spending is becoming increasingly selective. Bank of America’s August […]

Open USD & the Repricing of Stablecoin Economics

The consortium behind Open USD is not competing on demand. It is competing on who keeps the reserve income. On 30 June, more than 140 firms including Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, BlackRock, Google, BNY and Coinbase announced Open USD, a dollar stablecoin governed by a new entity called Open Standard.1 Circle fell 17.5% to $62.63 that […]

With S&P 500 Dividend Yield at All-Time Low, Consider This ETF

As Creative Planning Chief Market Strategist Charlie Bilello notes, the dividend yield on the S&P 500 has declined to a paltry 1.04% — a record low. The bright side in that scenario? It means that the index is rising, because stock prices and yields move inversely of one another. Still, from an income perspective, a […]

It Might Be Time to Go Shopping With This Shopify ETF

Shares of Shopify Inc. (SHOP) surged last week after the Canadian e-commerce technology provider delivered an estimate-thumping second-quarter earnings report. That allayed investors’ fears about the company’s purported artificial intelligence (AI) vulnerabilities. The earnings report was just what the doctor ordered for traders using the Direxion Daily SHOP Bull 2X ETF (SHPU) to play the […]

How Active Management Unlocks Income ETFs Amid Volatility

Income ETFs are a huge category in the ETF landscape. Using a variety of derivatives, call strategies, and fixed income allocations, income strategies have thrived. They’ve drawn interest from investors at the start of their investing journey and from those at or near retirement, together. Active income ETFs may be standing out, however, with the […]