It's 2018. Why are women still giving their husbands control of the finances?

Women are more educated, accomplished and empowered than ever before. But when it comes to married women investing and managing their money, it feels like we're stuck in the 1950s.

A new report from UBS found that 56% of married women leave investment and long-term financial planning decisions to their husbands, and 85% of women who defer to their husbands believe their spouses know more about financial matters.

It's not just older generations. Millennial women are more likely to leave investment decisions to their husbands than any other age group, based on the report, which included surveys with nearly 1,700 married couples, including heterosexual and same-sex couples.

Here's why these numbers are a concern: Women are living longer than men. The average life expectancy for a woman is five years more than a man's, and the divorce rate among couples 50 and older has just about doubled since the 1990s. These two forces mean that eight out of 10 women will end up alone and solely responsible for their financial well-being, said Jane Schwartzberg, head of client segments for UBS Wealth Management USA.

"It's a big problem because we're not going to be prepared for what inevitably is going to come," she said.

Nearly 60% of widows and divorcees said they wish they had been more involved in the financial planning decisions, with 56% of women discovering hidden debt, inadequate savings or overly conservative or aggressive investments that affected their lifestyle and retirement goals.

Nearly all the surveyed widows and divorcees advised younger women to get more involved in their long-term finances now, the report found.

So why aren't women getting the message? It's not as if they aren't touching money at all. In fact, married women are completely comfortable and savvy handling the bulk of the day-to-day finances of the household. But when it comes to planning for retirement or investment, they are either uninterested or believe their husbands are better equipped, the report found.

Gender roles are certainly hard to shake, with men traditionally handling the long-term financial planning decisions instead of their wives. Men also tend to make more money than women, and in this report, 70% of the men were the breadwinners. But of the female breadwinners in the report, 43% said they leave financial decisions to their husbands.

Lack of confidence is also a big factor.

The report found that in heterosexual marriages, both men and women are convinced that men are better equipped to invest, understand financial topics and make long-term financial decisions.

"The belief that men somehow can do this better and know better is totally unsubstantiated," said Schwartzberg.

Women also need to know that you don't need to be an expert to handle retirement and investment decisions.

To meaningfully engage in your finances, you just need to be able to answer straight forward questions such as who are the people that matter most to you and what do you want to accomplish in life, Schwartzberg said.

The perpetuation of men controlling investment and money decisions is likely to continue. The report also found that 69% of fathers and 52% of mothers with children under 21 said they were fine with their daughters' future spouses handling long-term financial planning.

"That means to me they don't understand the cost. They don't understand that a critical component of living in an equal way and with equal choices and equal freedoms, equal opportunities is having a seat at the table financially," said Schwartzberg.

What It Takes To Be Healthy And Mobile At 100+

&l;p&g;More and more people are living to be 100 these days, and even longer. When you meet these oldsters, they are often in wheelchairs, or impaired in visible ways. With such advanced age, that&s;s what we expect. But then there are those who make it that far in life and are still independent and able to manage quite well for themselves. What accounts for the difference?

You can ask Ida Keeling, an exceptional 102 year old track star. She started running at 67, at the encouragement of her daughter. Ida had suffered the devastating loss of two sons to drug-related violence and she was deeply depressed. Running helped her feel better and after that first 5K run, she kept running and hasn&s;t stopped since. And it&s;s more than running that keeps her healthy. She has a regimen she follows daily. It includes lots of vegetables, cereal, fruit and protein shakes. She doesn&s;t eat too much in the way of desserts, which are mostly applesauce and sometimes pie. And there&s;s that daily shot of cognac. She has been interviewed extensively, as a 102 year old record setter in the 60 meter dash and the 100 meter run is certainly a phenomenon. Her words are wise and sound like what most doctors would tell you to do: keep active every day. She does what she needs to do, she says not what she wants to do. She recounts in an interview with Parade, in February, 2018, that &q;running is a good way to feel better mentally and physically.&q; She says &q;I have my bike, my mat and my weights and I use them. I like to keep moving.&q; She has arthritis and aches and pains but she keeps it up regardless. She has written a book, Can&s;t Nothing Bring Me Down: Chasing Myself in the Race Against Time, detailing the hard life she has lived and the struggles she has overcome. What an inspiration!&a;nbsp;&l;img class=&q;alignright size-medium wp-image-7856&q; src=&q;http://blogs-images.forbes.com/carolynrosenblatt/files/2018/05/ida-289x300.jpg?width=960&q; alt=&q;&q; data-height=&q;300&q; data-width=&q;289&q;&g;

So for the rest of us, those who may be not so motivated to get off the couch, there is plenty to be learned from Ida Keeling. Clearly one does not have to set records in track to stay mobile late in life. However, one does have to keep moving. She uses a bike, which can be stationary for anyone, and set up at home. She gets on her exercise mat, does pushups, and uses her weights to keep from losing muscle mass. It seems to be working very well for her and presumably anyone could do the simple things she adds to her life, even without running. Some doctors advocate the use of stretch exercise bands, which give resistance when you pull on them with your arms or legs. They&s;re as good as weights, the doctors say, and certainly cheaper and easier to transport.

As for the difference between the mobile centenarians and those who aren&s;t able to walk at earlier points in their lives, an overall healthy lifestyle like Ms. Keeling&s;s is key. Genetics is not the only factor responsible for how we age. Research tells us that genetics are only about 30% of how we fare late in life. The rest is about the basics: thoughtful nutrition and eating what&s;s good for you, avoiding what&s;s not good for you. Managing your stress and as in Ida&s;s case, serious depression, with exercise. It can work for anyone. And including movement in your daily routine. This does not mean just a mindless stroll around the block once in awhile. It means a conscious effort to make time for some kind of exercise in your life most days. Perhaps we are all in a race against time. For me, learning from a 102 year old is a fine way to be in that race.

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Predicting The Markets Is Tough But Worthy Task

&l;p&g;&l;img class=&q;dam-image getty size-large wp-image-959623612&q; src=&q;https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/dam/imageserve/959623612/960x0.jpg?fit=scale&q; data-height=&q;638&q; data-width=&q;960&q;&g; Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty Images)

Trying to predict the markets is a near-impossible task and those who attempt to do so almost always fail. Many investors who persist in attempting to untangle the many conflicting events and investor opinions, including the sophisticated players who earn a living investing in the stock market, readily admit that trying to accurately forecast market behavior is mostly a fool&a;rsquo;s game.

The stock market is, indeed, very difficult to diagnose because it is a conglomeration of human behavior influenced by world and local events. To put it simply, investors trying to forecast or beat the markets have to be attuned to the consistencies and inconsistencies of human nature.

The stock market, for the most part, is driven by humans and human judgment, fraught with inconsistencies and conflicting thoughts. But that hasn&a;rsquo;t stopped hordes of investors from making big bets on what they believe the market will perform at any given time.

&a;ldquo;The trick is to learn from the hits and misses of the forecasting process .&a;hellip; and first and foremost, current analysis requires a thorough grounding in the economic and financial data,&a;rdquo; says Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research, who recently published the book, &a;ldquo;Predicting The Markets, A Professional Autobiography.&a;rdquo; The research firm provides global investment strategy and asset allocation analyses and recommendations. It also publishes for clients a daily report on its observations on what&a;rsquo;s happening in the stock, bond and commodity markets, as well as what&a;rsquo;s currently significant in various currencies.

If there is a Wall Street pro who is supremely qualified to make sense of the markets and who is particularly prescient as a successful investor and prognosticator of where they are likely to be heading, it is Yardeni. His career has spanned an extraordinary secular bull market in stocks, punctuated by plenty of nasty corrections and severe, wicked bear markets along the way.

Take a look at where the Dow Jones industrial average has been since Yardeni started his Wall Street career in 1978 &a;mdash; and where he landed through January 2017 as a stock market analyst: When he started working at the brokerage firm E.F. Hutton in 1978, the Dow had been trading at around 1,000. Then on Oct. 11, 1982, the Dow industrials finally climbed above 1,000. And by Nov. 21, 1995, the Dow had jumped five-fold, to 5,000.

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By Aug. 25, 2017, the Dow had zoomed to 20,000 &a;mdash; a 20-fold climb since Yardeni started his career on the Street. And by Nov. 30, 2017, the Dow closed well above that level, to 24,000. Today (May 24, 2018), the Dow industrial average is trading at around 24,800.

Yardeni stayed bullish most of the time during all those 40 years. &a;ldquo;I remained bullish during all the corrections. And I was bearish when the tech and housing bubbles burst. However, I saw both selloffs as buying opportunities, as selloffs within a secular bull market,&a;rdquo; said Yardeni.

His career also blossomed during those years. Yardeni received a Ph.D in economics from Yale University in 1976, after completing his undergraduate studies in international relations (magna cum laude) from Cornell University in 1968. On Wall Street, Yardeni pursued an active and productive career, becoming Chief Economist at Oak Industries, Prudential Equity Group, and Prudential Bank&a;rsquo;s US equities division in New York City. He also served as Chief Economist at investment firms CJ Lawrence, Prudential-Bach Securities, and EF Hutton.

Yardeni also taught at Columbia Business School and became an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, s position that&a;rsquo;s much sought after. He also held enviable positions at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the US Treasury Department in Washington DC.

In his book, Yardeni shares his professional insight into predicting the economy and financial markets. Here&a;rsquo;s how he described the jigsaw puzzle that could be compared with the stock market: Instead of being able to change the pieces you need to solve a jigsaw puzzle, the stock market is a more dynamic game in that the &q;picture changes as new puzzle pieces are constantly thrown on the table.&a;rdquo; The puzzle pieces consists mostly of economic news, including current events and data releases, which surely is a live streaming series of activities.

&a;ldquo;The job of a Wall Street economist and investment strategist is always interesting because we, along with investors and traders, are constantly monitoring the news events that might be relevant to the financial markets,&q; notes Yardeni. All financial markets, he points out, are affected by the business cycle and inflation, and they are all affected by interest rates. So in predicting the markets, they necessarily have to be part of the process of deciphering the puzzle.

So where is the stock market headed next? There are only two variables to predict, argues Yardeni: Earnings and the price-earnings ratio. &a;ldquo;They are not so easy to get right, given the myriad of factors collectively determine them,&a;rdquo; he cautions. The tougher of the two to divine is valuation as it is more subjective. But the earnings variable is determined by such factors as economic growth, inflation, and interest rates.

Valuation is affected by those same factors, but it is also subject to hard-to-assess psychological influences that affect investor behavior, such as confidence, fear and greed. And there is also the problem of investors having to assess earnings expectations and how much they are willing to pay for them.

What makes market forecasting even much more difficult is that so many variables align and often compete with one another at certain times. Yardeni goes through these various variables and enlightens investors about how they are important to pay attention to.

He thinks the essential issues and sets of events to be mindful of are &a;ldquo;Globalization and Geopolitics, Demography and Growth, Technology, Inflation and Productivity, Central Banks and Cryptopcurrencies, and Science and Prosperity.&a;rdquo;

So what does Yardeni foresees ahead? His principal predictions: &q;I predict that prosperity will prevail in our interconnected global economy long into the future. If so, then so should the bull market in stocks, as it has over the past 40 years.

Yardeni&a;rsquo;s 595-page finely written book is an amazing read for its wide-ranging perspective and insightful analyses of one of the most convoluted financial subjects to understand, much less elucidate on how the capitalist world functions, and succeeds.

It is certainly a thoroughly informative must-read book not only for investors but for those potential Masters of the Universe looking to conquer the challenging world of money and finance.

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Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (RBA) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.17 on June 20th

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE:RBA) (TSE:RBA) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 10th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.17 per share by the business services provider on Wednesday, June 20th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 29th.

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers has raised its dividend by an average of 8.0% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 15 years. Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers has a payout ratio of 79.1% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings decline. Equities analysts expect Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers to earn $1.27 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 53.5%.

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Shares of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers opened at $33.20 on Thursday, according to MarketBeat.com. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers has a 12 month low of $24.08 and a 12 month high of $35.17. The company has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.70.

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE:RBA) (TSE:RBA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 10th. The business services provider reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.01). Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers had a net margin of 10.96% and a return on equity of 12.50%. The business had revenue of $169.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $153.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 36.4% on a year-over-year basis. equities research analysts forecast that Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on RBA shares. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 7th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 1st. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers from $21.50 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. National Bank Financial cut shares of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $37.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 19th. Finally, ValuEngine upgraded shares of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.40.

About Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated, an asset management and disposition company, sells industrial equipment and other durable assets through its unreserved auctions, online marketplaces, listing services, and private brokerage services. The company sells a range of used and unused equipment, including earthmoving equipment, truck trailers, government surplus, oil and gas equipment, and other industrial assets.

How to Lose $23 Billion in a Market That's Surged 61,436%

Making money in a booming Indian mobile-phone market that soared from fewer than 2 million users to more than a billion in less than two decades might have seemed like a no-brainer. Now it’s more like a nightmare with losses for overseas companies rising to at least $23 billion.

“The promise of a market with over one billion potential users is very attractive,” Chris Lane, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, said by email. “Too many licenses, too little spectrum, high taxes and supply-constrained airwave auctions has made this a very expensive market to operate in.”

The $23 billion lost includes impairment charges and losses reported in company filings of global majors from London-based Vodafone Group Plc to Japan’s NTT Docomo Inc. -- all of whom have exited or suffered as hyper competition has hurt the earnings of even the market leader Bharti Airtel Ltd. Expensive spectrum auctions and cancellation of telecom licenses in the wake of a graft probe made it even harder for the companies that piled into a market that as of 2015 included 12 competing operators.

Investor	Losses/Write-Offs	Status
Vodafone Group	$8.7 billion	Merging with Idea Cellular
Maxis Communications	$7 billion	Filed for bankruptcy
Telenor	$4.1 billion	Sold to Bharti Airtel, exited
NTT Docomo	$1.3 billion	Litigated, sold stake back to Tata group, exited
Etisalat	$829 million	Exited
AFK Sistema	$695 million	Merged with Reliance Communications
Axiata Group Bhd	$356 million	Took write-offs, still holding 10.66% in Idea
Total	$23 billion
Sources:	company filings, statements

The entry of India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. in 2016 has proven to be a turning point in consolidation for the market. The upstart stormed in with free voice services for life and initially free data services to lure subscribers, prompting smaller rivals to merge or quit the market altogether.

“I suspect most of these would have eventually failed or been consolidated,” said Lane. “Jio only expedited the process.”

Fatter Slices

Years of consolidation have helped market leaders widen their market share

Source: India's phone regulator TRAI

Vodafone, Idea, Bharti Airtel, Tata and Telenor are combined to reflect agreed-to mergers that have yet to be completed

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— With assistance by Niclas Rolander

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MedEquities Realty Trust (MRT) Director Bluemountain Capital Managemen Sells 20,000 Shares

MedEquities Realty Trust (NYSE:MRT) Director Bluemountain Capital Managemen sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.40, for a total transaction of $208,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Bluemountain Capital Managemen also recently made the following trade(s):

Get MedEquities Realty Trust alerts: On Monday, May 21st, Bluemountain Capital Managemen sold 57,666 shares of MedEquities Realty Trust stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.33, for a total transaction of $595,689.78. On Wednesday, May 16th, Bluemountain Capital Managemen sold 18,346 shares of MedEquities Realty Trust stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.32, for a total transaction of $189,330.72. On Monday, May 14th, Bluemountain Capital Managemen sold 19,316 shares of MedEquities Realty Trust stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.48, for a total transaction of $202,431.68. On Thursday, May 10th, Bluemountain Capital Managemen sold 64,088 shares of MedEquities Realty Trust stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.51, for a total transaction of $673,564.88. On Tuesday, May 8th, Bluemountain Capital Managemen sold 91,623 shares of MedEquities Realty Trust stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.25, for a total transaction of $939,135.75. On Friday, May 4th, Bluemountain Capital Managemen sold 17,674 shares of MedEquities Realty Trust stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.16, for a total transaction of $179,567.84. On Tuesday, May 1st, Bluemountain Capital Managemen sold 24,739 shares of MedEquities Realty Trust stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.17, for a total transaction of $251,595.63.

MedEquities Realty Trust traded down $0.16, reaching $10.29, during trading on Monday, according to MarketBeat Ratings. 100,300 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 157,112. The company has a market cap of $333.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.03 and a beta of -0.18. MedEquities Realty Trust has a twelve month low of $9.67 and a twelve month high of $13.06.

MedEquities Realty Trust (NYSE:MRT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 10th. The financial services provider reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $16.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.41 million. MedEquities Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.17% and a net margin of 34.63%. analysts predict that MedEquities Realty Trust will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 21st. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.16%. MedEquities Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.68%.

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America increased its holdings in shares of MedEquities Realty Trust by 26.5% in the first quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America now owns 37,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 7,903 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of MedEquities Realty Trust by 52.3% in the first quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 23,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 7,978 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of MedEquities Realty Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $103,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. acquired a new position in shares of MedEquities Realty Trust in the third quarter valued at $118,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in shares of MedEquities Realty Trust by 43.4% in the third quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 35,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 10,700 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.54% of the company’s stock.

MRT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of MedEquities Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. B. Riley set a $13.00 target price on shares of MedEquities Realty Trust and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. ValuEngine downgraded shares of MedEquities Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of MedEquities Realty Trust from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 1st. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of MedEquities Realty Trust from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. The company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.43.

About MedEquities Realty Trust

MedEquities Realty Trust (NYSE: MRT) is a self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust that invests in a diversified mix of healthcare properties and healthcare-related real estate debt investments. The Company's management team has extensive industry experience in acquiring, owning, developing, financing, operating, leasing and monetizing many types of healthcare properties and portfolios.

-$0.01 EPS Expected for Digital Turbine (APPS) This Quarter

Equities analysts predict that Digital Turbine (NASDAQ:APPS) will post ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks reports. Two analysts have issued estimates for Digital Turbine’s earnings. The lowest EPS estimate is ($0.01) and the highest is $0.00. Digital Turbine posted earnings per share of ($0.10) in the same quarter last year, which would suggest a positive year over year growth rate of 90%. The firm is expected to issue its next quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 13th.

On average, analysts expect that Digital Turbine will report full-year earnings of ($0.02) per share for the current year, with EPS estimates ranging from ($0.03) to $0.00. For the next year, analysts forecast that the business will report earnings of $0.07 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $0.03 to $0.12. Zacks Investment Research’s earnings per share calculations are a mean average based on a survey of research firms that cover Digital Turbine.

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A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. ValuEngine lowered shares of Digital Turbine from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Digital Turbine from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of Digital Turbine from $2.50 to $2.80 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $2.01.

Shares of APPS traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $1.80. 613,853 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 539,029. Digital Turbine has a 12-month low of $0.94 and a 12-month high of $2.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Unterberg Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Digital Turbine by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Unterberg Capital LLC now owns 1,600,000 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,864,000 after buying an additional 250,000 shares during the last quarter. EAM Investors LLC increased its stake in shares of Digital Turbine by 49.7% in the fourth quarter. EAM Investors LLC now owns 461,156 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $825,000 after buying an additional 153,056 shares during the last quarter. White Pine Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Digital Turbine by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 1,051,025 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,881,000 after buying an additional 61,900 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Digital Turbine by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 945,874 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,693,000 after buying an additional 163,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Digital Turbine by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 447,591 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $801,000 after buying an additional 66,242 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 22.24% of the company’s stock.

Digital Turbine Company Profile

Digital Turbine, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides media and mobile communication solutions for mobile operators, app advertisers, device original equipment manufacturers, and other third parties worldwide. It operates through two segments, Advertising and Content. The Advertising segment offers Ignite, a mobile application management software to control, manage, and monetize the applications that are installed on mobile devices; Discover software, which provides application installation and management, as well as detailed reporting to advertisers and carriers; and mobile user acquisition platform that allows mobile advertisers to engage with right customers for their applications.

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For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

$100 Oil Is One Explosion Away

If you wake up tomorrow and oil prices have spiked to $100 per barrel, here is what will have happened.

You will find out that a long range Burkhan �� 2H missile will have directly hit the Saudi Royal Palace in Riyadh. The reaction to this missile will be swift and severe.

Within the hour Saudi Arabia will have declared war on Iran. And within 24 hours the Saudis will have retaliated through a direct attack on Iran.

Once that happens, all bets are off as to how high oil prices go��

The initial spike to $100 per barrel would just be the beginning. Between them, Iran and Saudi Arabia produce roughly 14 million barrels of oil per day.

There is no way to compensate for any significant percentage of that production being wiped out.

The spiking oil price will decimate the global economy.

Even more concerning will be how the rest of the world gets pulled into this conflict. Israel is already on the brink of war with Iran and will be raring to go. It gets even bigger with Russia (supporting Iran) and the United States on the opposite side of the fence in this region.

I’m disturbed by how quickly this scenario could get out of control. I am far more disturbed by how very realistic the sequence of events are that I’ve just laid out.

The actual firing of the missile won’t be done by an Iranian.

It will be done by a Houthi Rebel based in Yemen who will have been supplied the Burkhan �� 2H by Iran. This is not my theory, we know that the Houthis have these missiles and we also know that they are willing to use them.

Yemen is located directly south of Saudi Arabia. The Saudis are involved there because they want to stop the rising power of Iranian supported Houthis in the region, which already escalated into direct conflict once before in 2015.

The Houthis have already fired Iranian supplied missiles at Riyadh and are now openly targeting key Saudi oil infrastructure (refineries, pipelines, tankers). The graphic below shows the range of the missiles that the Houthis have and it clearly shows that all key Saudi oil infrastructure can be reached.

The Houthis claim to have already hit some of that Saudi oil infrastructure (a refinery) in the summer of 2017. Whether they have or not is impossible to prove since the Saudi Kingdom is very tight lipped about such things.

If the Houthis were to hit something really important, like for example the 5 million barrel per day east-west Saudi pipeline, it would obviously roil the oil market. After all, even the Saudis can’t hide that much supply being taken offline.

The real big picture concern though is what the Saudi response would be. The young, aggressive Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has already threatened to move the “battle” to Iran, in response to previous missile attacks.

And given his previous bold actions both domestically and abroad, I don’t think we should discount those words. It would almost be hard to blame him. With the Iranians shooting missiles through their Houthi proxy at his palace, one can understand why he would want to fire something directly into Iran.

We are one successful Houthi missile away from an oil market disaster. The missile doesn’t need to hit Saudi oil infrastructure. It just needs to hit something that pushes the Crown Prince to retaliate.

Here’s to looking through the windshield,

Jody Chudley
Financial Analyst, The Daily Edge
EdgeFeedback@AgoraFinancial.com