By Sandra L. Strauss

There is a widely held view that the United States was founded as a Christian nation, and that our laws and policies should be shaped by Christian values. Not all Christians agree that our nation was founded as a Christian nation and will defend that viewpoint by citing the Founding Fathers, Enlightenment theory, and theological arguments.

However, lets go with the view that we were founded as a Christian nation, and therefore should be shaped by Christian values.

But what are Christian values? Its obvious that there is significant disagreement among Christians over just what that means. It strikes me that as Christians, we should go to the source Jesus. What did Jesus say? Or what would Jesus do? What were the rules that guided the early Christian community that rose in the wake of Jesus life, death, and resurrection?

First, it should be noted that Jesus was born, lived his life, and died as a Jewish person living in a Jewish society under the oppressive rule of the Roman Empire, so what he said and did is not exclusive to Christians but it did shape those who became our early Christian forebears.

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And where do we find what we need to know about the man we choose to follow as Christians living 2000 plus years later? While there are lesser known writings by historians of that timelike Josephusour primary source as Christians is the Bible, and in particular, the New Testament, which documents the life of Jesus and the early church.

What did Jesus say? Heres just a few things: (1) Love your neighbor as yourself; (2) Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; (3) Whatever you didfor one of theleast of thesebrothers and sisters of mine, you did for me; (4) The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve; (5) In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; (6) From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded. Theres more, but what did Jesus do? Did his actions back up his words?

Jesus healed those who suffered from lifelong ailments. He fed hungry throngs when they didnt have access to food in the wilderness. He broke bread with the least desirable elements of his society when no one else would do so.

He lifted up and protected women, challenging those who were about to stone a woman accused of adultery, and interacting with the woman at the well. He touched and hugged lepersconsidered unclean in the Jewish society in which he lived.

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His followers obviously took his words and actions to heart, and they lived accordingly, as we learn from these words in Acts 2: All who believed were together and had all things in common;they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceedsto all, as any had need. They lived in a mindset of abundance, rather than scarcity, based on all the promises that God has made to us, and that Jesus modeled.

We live in strange times, and its hard to know what lies ahead. Fear can provoke a scarcity mindset, leading us to circle the wagons and act to protect ourselves.

However, trusting in God, and following the Christ who showed us how to live, we can overcome the fear and understand that there is more than enough for everyoneand that when all have what they need, we are all healthier, happier, and safer.

Whether or not you believe that the United States was founded as a Christian nation, this might be a good time to consider and work toward a system that reflects the Christian values illustrated above many of which are shared across a range of traditions and among people of good will. Too many people have been left behind, and we have it within our power to end preventable suffering.

There is more than enough to provide food, housing, healthcare, education, and so many other essentials for everyone to live with dignity if we are willing to share and willing to work to create the political will to make it happen. We can do this, even in a time of pandemic and in fact, maybe this is the perfect time to begin.

The Rev. Sandra L. Strauss is the director of Advocacy & Ecumenical Outreach for the Pennsylvania Council of Churches. For more information regarding the Council, pleaseCLICK HERE. Her work appears occasionally on the Capital-Stars Commentary Page.

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We say America is a 'Christian nation.' Here's what that would look like if we really meant it | Opinion - Pennsylvania Capital-Star

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GEORGE BALL | Amarillo Globe-News

Home gardening occupies a serene corner of the clamorous, go-go American business landscape. Youre unlikely to find the gardening sector grabbing headlines and leading off news broadcasts. Usually, the loudest buzz in gardening comes from bees gathering pollen.

The year 2020 is a whole other story. Within six months, the home garden industry saw a quantum leap in sales and new customers, with revenues magically levitating 60%, a seismic event in a tranquil nonindustrial industry.

Magic has been in short supply this year. For nine months, the COVID-19 virus has upturned our lives. Our viral foeinvisible, intangible, indifferenthas caused dire levels of illness and lives disrupted and lost. Looming winter lockdowns darken our world. Its all bad.

Is there light at the end of the tunnel? Gaze meditatively and you will soon see a kaleidoscope of vivid colors, natural beauty and ripe produce. Freshly perfumed air wafts through the cold. How can you bring this dreamscape to life? Ask one of our countrys 50 million devoted and dedicated gardenerswho will lead you to the Beulah Land in your own backyard.

Indeed, just when everything seems to be contracting, the garden is expanding. The 2020 gardening boom will reshape not just the horticulture crowd but American society at largea natural counterforce to the light speed technological web that ensnares us, as we surrender two-thirds of our time to staring at glowing screens where nothing grows.

In contrast, towns, civic life, technology, and cultureall the features of our lives we hold deararose from the cultivation of plants. The way we garden today is scarcely different from how the first gardeners went about their work about 12,000 years ago. Nothing is new under the sun.

Consider the so-called Coming Singularity." Technocrats envision a near-future in which human brains, merging with cybertechnology, develop superintelligences. Machines, however, will concurrently possess super-super intelligences that will get more super by the second.

Some believe this mega paradigm shift will result in the extinction of humanity. I see it as a rebirth, a renaissance when we obsolete homo sapiens will have new free time and space to super-evolve our creative aptitudes and capacities for a Second Enlightenment. Gardens will flourish and nourish lives. Home at last.

Moreover, living in a deep green world brought us here. We co-evolved with the garden, and the garden with usa singular super-hybrid. Plants are the essence of life on earth: the prime resource for animal life, food, shelter and clothingand the key to survival for all eight billion of us. For all our cybernetic and digital intelligence, the coming Singularity has been here a long time. How so?

This proto-Singularity is powered by the super-genius of plants. Scientists in various disciplines are continually studying plants myriad technologies to understand their intricate genes, self-propagation and uncanny communications.

Using only air, sunlight, water, and soil, plants have been relentlessly creating, recreating and varying themselves ad infinitum. Unlike even the most powerful cyborg army, cultivated plants and gardens are altogether both simple and complex, as well as ancient and modern. Happily, you cant turn them off.

Thus, 2020s expansion of new gardeners20 million strongwill fundamentally transform Americas landscape and society. This grassroots movement will be a harmonious and relaxed affair, with participants of every race, ethnicity, income, age, gender, and political slant. Call it the Plural Singularity.

As we wrap up this hapless past year, our gardens are a beacon of new hope. No other place is so many places. Even the simplest garden plot extends home and family life. A garden is a refuge, an outdoor schoolroom, a Shangri-La of bliss, joy and revelation. Its all good.

In your garden, you partner with plants to create a private Eden of color, flavor, scent, nutrition, ineffable beauty, and deep satisfaction. True magic is available at any time, right at homeand you are the magician.

George Ball is chairman of W. Atlee Burpee Company and past president of The American Horticultural Society. herrlueffle@gmail.com

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Ball: The garden at the end of the tunnel - Amarillo.com

2020 was the year the statues came down. Throughout the summer, as demonstrations erupted over the senseless murder of George Floyd and the racist structures that define our social and justice systems, protestors across the world tore down the racist monuments that line our streets, from Confederate soldiers in the Southern United States to imperialist leaders across Europe. As each statue came down, the history behind it made loud and visible, the pervasive ways in which our cityscapes are constructed by and around racism was thrown into sharp relief.

For Lisa Williams, founder of the Edinburgh Caribbean Association and creator of its Black History Walking Tours, recognising the often unspoken histories contained within these monuments is a crucial step towards acknowledging and reckoning with the legacies of colonialism and racial capitalism that continue to this day. There was a man who had been on one of my tours who said, I cannot look at Edinburgh in the same way now. Because when Im walking around The Royal Mile Im now thinking about those young people who were held as enslaved people, Williams considers. People are really shocked by how many Edinburgh men were involved in heading up massacres and genocide: not just Scottish men who were head of the military but actually from Edinburgh itself. Scotlands over-represented on the compensation and list of former enslavers not massively but significantly. Edinburghs over-represented on that list, and the New Town is over-represented on that list.

For Williams, the Black History Walking Tours are a way of unpicking the deliberate erasure not only Scotlands participation in the slave trade and colonialism but also the lives and legacies of the Black and Asian people who were caught in its wake. I dont like it when people turn around and call my tours the slavery tour, Williams says firmly. Theyre not slavery tours.

Instead, the tours and talks that Williams gives work just as much to highlight the construction of historical biases as they do the racist construction of the city-scape. I did a talk about race and the Scottish Enlightenment for the National Library, because when I went into their Enlightenment exhibition earlier on the year, there was barely any mention of the intellectual construction of these pseudo-scientific ideas of race, Williams explains. So I gave a talk, and it shocked the people in the National Library. Because they dont know necessarily about Black intellectual critique, or Black Enlightenment scholars, [or]the significance of, lets say, Islamic scholars coming from somewhere like Timbuktu, extremely well-read and well-respected being enslaved.

In this way, Williams offers a reconfiguration of historical race relations that challenges the very ways in which our understanding of race has been received. If were talking the last 250 or 300 years, people [] just made up these mad ideas, because they decided that they wanted to classify people into brown, yellow, red and white, Williams says. And then that became the standard book that was been built on by another scholar. But people [need to] understand that these ideas were interrogated at the time. Were not putting the present lens on the past. All of these things were highly controversial at the time depending on who and where and what your interests were.

Confronting Scotlands specific history is also crucial in order to complicate the easy, preconceived narratives we have been handed down. Scotland has a very peculiar, unusual context, in that it has been I dont say colonised because I dont agree that it has been colonised, Williams considers. But Scotland has suffered: people knowing that their grandmother was beaten at school for speaking Gaelic, or the loss and banning of certain important cultural symbols like tartan and bagpipes. I encourage people to develop empathy for those who have been through similar experiences at a much more extreme version.

It is this empathy, this rejection of individualistic perspectives, that is central to seeing and coming to terms with the past for what it really was. I think that were lacking in skills of nonviolent communication and dialogue, Williams sighs. I think we are trained by our education system to have debates that we feel we have got to win, and it means were not listening to the other side. All that has got to shift, we need to have empathetic dialogue, and we [need to] move away from even using words like pride and shame.

This is where its difficult in Scotland because people are holding onto their identity, and it is tied up with independence and having to have pride in a nation, Williams continues. I think we need to unpick all that and maybe even do away with it. Its not helpful, and it stops people from investigating and having mature conversations.

Yet for all that is left to do, Williams remains deeply hopeful about the future. Having talked to certain curators and certain institutions over the years, there have been people inside who have been wanting to make change but as an institution, they havent been able to do it. I think the bolder these organizations are, other people will follow, because it gives them permission. This fear about potentially alienating their core audiences is starting to shift quite a bit. And Ive been really pleased by the response, she adds enthusiastically. At the beginning when I set it up, I said, this is about healing. We can only really have healing if we can tell the truth.

Details of the Black History Walks can be found here.

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Interview with Lisa Williams, founder of the Edinburgh Caribbean Association and creator of its Black History Walking Tours - bellacaledonia.org.uk

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Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has signed a nearly $1.9 billion bonding bill passed by the Minnesota Legislature in October. Included in the bill are funds set aside exclusively for investment in Communities of Color.

The state constitution was amended in 1962 to allow the state to take on debt and issue bonds to help pay for construction, upkeep of public buildings and other infrastructure, and review and assemble a package of other projects they want to fund. There have been bonding bills ever since.

The bonding bill always felt like a secret handshake behind closed doors, explained Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan in an MSR phone interview.

It typically leads to hours of debate among lawmakers because of competing interests and pet projects. All bonding bills must have at least a three-fifths majority vote in each chamber81 votes in the House and 41 votes in the Senatein order to pass

The Minneapolis-based Cultural Wellness Center, Jutaposition Arts, and the proposed Baldwin Square theatre, caf and art gallery development project in North Minneapolis are among nine groups that will receive Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) equity funding.

Flanagan conducted a four-stop Local Jobs and Projects Tour on October 29 to highlight the equity funding. We need to reimage what bonding could look like for all Minnesotans, she said. It was important for us that right at the beginning of this process we asked to set aside $30 million specifically for projects led by and for Communities of Color.

Juxtaposition Arts (JXTA) was founded in 1995 as an urban youth creative education organization on Minneapolis North Side. They will receive $1.1 million in state funds, Managing Director Gabrielle Grier told the MSR.

Investing in predominately Black communities is important to the Walz-Flanagan administration, Flanagan said, stressing that it is still unsure what will happen coming out of the pandemic, especially to communities of color.

My hope is that $30 million will turn into $60 million, and so on, said the lieutenant governor. Our job now is to ensure that our communities are centered in policymaking and protecting the investments that have been in communities of color and Indigenous communities.

The state funds will go toward JXTAs current four-year $14 million capital and legacy campaign. Grier said they hope to break ground on a new building next summer.

We are in a moment that we can measure what equity looks like, concluded Flanagan. It took longer to pass [the bonding bill] than it should have. I think the bonding bill is one place where we can start to measure it.

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State bonding bill prioritizes investment in Communities of Color - MSR News Online

There may be more juice left in the fourth quarter.

Ally Invest's Lindsey Bell said she believes the backdrop supports December gains.

"We're positive that it will be a good end to 2020," the firm's chief investment strategist told CNBC's "Trading Nation" on Wednesday.

Bell sees optimism surrounding another coronavirus aid package providing a near-term upside catalyst to stocks. She also cites resilient consumer spending as a driver.

But Bell, a CNBC contributor, acknowledges the gains may be lower than the historical average.

"December is usually the third-best month of the stock market. You usually see the S&P 500 up about 1.5%," she said. "That might be a little more muted this year."

While constructive coronavirus aid developments should help stocks, Bell warns it will also contribute to uncertainty regarding the size and timing.

"It could make investors a little bit nervous," added Bell. "There will be some choppiness."

Near-term, she sees mega-cap technology and high-flying stay-at-home names as most vulnerable.

"Some of those names really did get ahead of themselves," she said. "I don't necessarily believe they're going to fall off a cliff. ... A lot of the product and services that some of these companies offer have become part of our everyday lives."

In this environment, Bell favors dividend aristocrats defined as stocks that have paid and increased dividends for at least 25 years.

"They were up 12% in the month of November," she said. "Not only do they outperform the S&P 500 on a long-term basis, but they do so in a less volatile manner. So, you're building a nice diverse base by having some exposure."

She said she believes divided aristocrats, which include a big portion of economically sensitive industrial and materials stocks, will continue to grab profits as growth recovers. According to Bell, the market is underestimating the bullish impact of the Covid-19 vaccines on the economy and earnings.

"There is a lot to look forward to in 2021," Bell said.

Disclaimer

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It will be a good end to 2020, Ally Invest's top investment strategist says - CNBC

The cannabis market is having a bit of a heyday.

Cannabis stocks as a whole have been on the rise since the U.S. election, with U.S. names such as Trulieve, TerrAscend and Green Thumb Industries climbing alongside Canadian heavyweights including Canopy Growth, Aphria and Village Farms.

But there's an important distinction to be made between U.S. and Canadian pot plays, Tim Seymour, founder and chief investment officer of Seymour Asset Management and the portfolio manager of the Amplify Seymour Cannabis ETF (CNBS), told CNBC's "ETF Edge" this week.

U.S. names have enjoyed healthy gains in 2020, with Trulieve, TerrAscend and Green Thumb all up triple digits. And while the group's moves around the presidential election were "solid, ... overall, cannabis stock trading was confusing at best," Seymour said in a Wednesday interview.

Though the U.S. pot plays rallied heading into the election, Canadian cannabis stocks managed to outperform afterwards. That set up a counterintuitive dynamic: If the election served to highlight the U.S. opportunity, with five states legalizing some form of cannabis use, why were the Canadian plays rallying?

In some ways, it's a function of how the market is structured, Seymour said.

When Canada federally legalized cannabis use in 2018, Canadian pot stocks became "the conduits in which a lot of institutions could access the cannabis market, even if the Canadian [limited partnership]s were not necessarily sitting in the middle of the biggest and most important market in this new high-growth sector," he said.

Now operating legally, those companies were able to list on U.S. exchanges, making the likes of Canopy Growth and Aphria easily accessible to U.S. investors. Shares of U.S.-based players dealing directly with cannabis, however, are listed on Canadian exchanges, and are only bought and sold in the U.S. via the over-the-counter markets.

Additionally, while over-the-counter stocks in many cases "have significant liquidity and are as efficient to trade" as stocks on major exchanges, some institutions and ETFs are limited from investing in that market.

"Picking the best stocks often is about understanding where capital is going," Seymour said. "Investing in cannabis is as much about understanding the fundamentals both bottom-up and top-down as it is really understanding fund flows and understanding the momentum in the market."

Much of that momentum has centered on Canadian colossus Canopy Growth, in which U.S. alcohol giant Constellation Brands has a major stake.

Though it is based in Ontario, Canopy has strong U.S. ties given its relationship with Modelo maker Constellation and its investments in stateside operators Acreage Holdings and TerrAscend, Seymour said.

It also has a "very strong" management team, hence its prominent place in CNBS's portfolio, said Seymour, who added that the key to running a cannabis ETF is active management.

"You want to be investing with someone who's certainly investing in the middle of the sector, is involved in the sector, is meeting with company management teams daily, but also understanding where we can get the best of the markets that we can invest in," Seymour said.

As of Friday, CNBS's top five holdings were GrowGeneration at more than 12.5%, Village Farms at over 12.5%, Canopy Growth at almost 11.5%, Aphria at nearly 11.5% and GW Pharmaceuticals at just under 10.5%. Innovative Industrial Properties, a medical cannabis-focused REIT, was No. 6 at just over 7%.

Not only does active management allow Seymour to look for "ancillary exposure" to the space with names such as Innovative Industrial Properties or hydroponics retailer GrowGeneration, but it allows him to capitalize on the industry's up-and-comers.

"There will be IPOs coming in the next three to six months that will give us more opportunities and we'll be there for them," he said. "Active management in cannabis is critical and I think our ability to really pick from the best of what's around the world is part of why you've seen this ... disparity between the performance of the different cannabis ETFs."

CNBS is up 38.5% year to date as of Friday's close. The ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (MJ), the largest cannabis ETF on the market by assets, is down nearly 8%. The AdvisorShares Pure Cannabis ETF (YOLO), the second largest, is up about 42.5%.

"Ultimately, our view is that we want to be investing in the stocks that we know have not only the best fundamentals, but the ones that have the most exposure to institutions who might be looking to invest in the sector," Seymour said.

That may mean you can only invest "in some of the Canadian names or the big listed U.S. names that are not plant-touching, but great ways to get exposure," he said. "The key is balance. The key is active management. This is an industry that will continue to evolve and an active strategy in a really exciting thematic strategy is, we think, the best way to manage your money."

Disclosures: Read all ofSeymour's disclosures here.

Disclaimer

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What it means to invest in U.S. vs. Canadian cannabis stocks - CNBC

December 03, 2020 17:01 ET | Source: RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust

TORONTO, Dec. 03, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust (RioCan or the Trust) (TSX: REI.UN) announced a reduction of RioCans monthly distribution to unitholders from $0.12 per unit to $0.08 per unit, or from $1.44 to $0.96 on an annualized basis. RioCans Board of Trustees has determined the reduction is appropriate given ongoing uncertainty as a result of the pandemic. This decrease will be effective for the Trusts January 2021 distribution, payable in February 2021.

As RioCan continues to navigate through the uncertain retail landscape created by the COVID-19 pandemic and faces an unknown length and breadth of closures, the Board has taken the prudent action of reducing our distribution. A more conservative payout ratio is important in this undeniably challenging environment despite our well positioned portfolio, solid base of tenants and deep liquidity, said Edward Sonshine, Chief Executive Officer of RioCan. At the same time, we believe the current circumstances present an opportunity for us to optimize our capital allocation towards accretive initiatives as we remain committed to driving value creation for our unitholders and increasing distributions from this new base as conditions permit.

This one-third distribution reduction will provide RioCan additional cash flow of approximately $152 million annually. The additional capital will be used to fund initiatives that drive long-term net asset value growth for RioCans unitholders such as its mixed-use residential developments, unit buybacks through its normal course issuer bid program, and debt repayment.

RioCans Board of Trustees will reevaluate the distribution on a regular basis, taking into account various factors including, but not limited to, market stabilization as the health crisis dissipates, cash flow and leverage.

About RioCan RioCan is one of Canadas largest real estate investment trusts. RioCan owns, manages and develops retail-focused, increasingly mixed-use properties located in prime, high-density transit-oriented areas where Canadians want to shop, live and work. As at September 30, 2020, our portfolio is comprised of 221 properties with an aggregate net leasable area of approximately 38.4 million square feet (at RioCan's interest) including office, residential rental and 16 development properties. To learn more about us, please visit http://www.riocan.com.

Forward Looking Information This News Release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. This information reflects RioCans objectives, our strategies to achieve those objectives, as well as statements with respect to managements beliefs, estimates and intentions concerning anticipated future events or expectations that are not historical facts. Forward-looking information generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as outlook, objective, may, will, would, expect, intend, estimate, anticipate, believe, should, plan, continue, or similar expressions suggesting future outcomes or events.

Such forward-looking information reflects managements current beliefs and is based on information currently available to management. All forward-looking information in this News Release is qualified by these cautionary statements.

Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future events or performance and, by its nature, is based on RioCans current estimates and assumptions, which are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those described in the Risks and Uncertainties section in RioCan's MD&A for the period ended September 30, 2020 and in our most recent Annual Information Form, which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from the forward-looking information contained in this News Release.

Although the forward-looking information contained in this News Release is based upon what management believes are reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that actual results will be consistent with this forward-looking information.

The forward-looking statements contained in this News Release are made as of the date hereof, and should not be relied upon as representing RioCans views as of any date subsequent to the date of this News Release. Management undertakes no obligation, except as required by applicable law, to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust Announces One-third Reduction in Distributions to Unitholders - GlobeNewswire

So-called "value" stocks have soared recently and are expected to continue to rise, but experts say there are some key factors to consider before investing.

First, what are value stocks and what does value investing mean?

Teodor Dilov, fund analyst at U.K. investment platform Interactive Investor, said that value investing is, "all about investing in stocks that have been underappreciated by the market in the belief that their intrinsic value will shine through and translate to impressive returns in the long-term."

There are a number of reasons why a stock could be considered undervalued. It could be that the sector a company belongs to is suffering from the effect of an economic downturn, for example, or that it operates in an industry that is considered to be outdated.

Because of this, many value stocks often belong to what are known as "cyclical" industries, meaning their performance is linked to the strength of the economy.

In the case of the coronavirus, the shutdown of many aspects of public life in an attempt to curb the pandemic hurt the stock markets of those countries worst affected, such as those in Europe. It also hit the share prices of certain industries directly affected by the restrictions, such as tourism and hospitality.

However, recent announcements about effective Covid-19 vaccines have signaled that economies could re-open fully, and businesses may soon go back to operating as normal. This has caused many of those stock markets and industries hammered by the crisis to rebound and value stocks linked to these sectors have also benefitted.

The MSCI World Value index has risen more than 10% since the first announcement of an effective vaccine by Pfizer and BioNTech in early November, according to Refintiv data. It's outperformed the MSCI World Growth index, which has risen by around 2.5% and tracks so-called "growth stocks."

Growth stocks, judged by investors to have strong future earnings potential, are often pitted against value stocks. During the pandemic-induced market downturn, growth stocks like the U.S. tech giants staged a massive rally but have since come off highs.

Now attention is turning to value investing, and some analysts think these stocks will go even higher next year.

But given that this style of investing means betting on out-of-favor companies, it requires investors to be "brave and patient," Russ Mould, investment director at U.K. stockbroker AJ Bell, told CNBC via email.

He referred to a quote from legendary financial writer, Jim Grant:"Successful investing is about having people agree with you later."

So how do you know that you're investing in markets or stocks now that will grow your money later on?

There are many ways investors can assess whether a stock is undervalued.

One way is to look at the stock's "price-earnings ratio," which is its share price divided by its earnings per share. The EPS is worked out by dividing the company's net profit (income minus expenses) by the number of shares it has outstanding. This can help investors tell whether or not a company is expensive in comparison to its peers in the same sector, for example.

Adrian Lowcock, head of personal investing at U.K. investment platform Willis Owen, told CNBC on a phone call that this is a, "very quick way, and easy way, to work out whether a company's value is below or above that of the market, as an average."

The "price-book ratio" is another tool investors use. It compares how a company is valued by the market to how it is valued based on its accounts. It is calculated by dividing a company's share price by its "book value" the value of all of its assets minus any liabilities per share.

Lowcock referred to advice by Benjamin Graham, who was mentor to Warren Buffet and is considered the "father of value investing." When it comes to price-book ratios, one of Graham's 10 rules for selecting a stock is that its market value is below two-thirds of the book value of the business.

Dividend yield, which is income paid out by a company as a percentage of its share price, can be another indicator of value. It is calculated by dividing the company's annual dividend by the current share price. The dividend yield therefore moves in the opposite direction to a company's shares, so a lower stock price would send the yield up and vice versa.

While a high yield can mean a higher income, it may also indicate that further investigation into a stock is needed before investing, according to Lowcock. He said it can indicate that the yield is unsustainable, depending on the reason behind a share price fall. It could just be that shares have been dragged down by a wider market fall, "or it could be a sign of something more serious."

Given that dividend yield isn't as straightforward to interpret, Lowcock said understanding it as an indicator of value is probably less relevant for a beginner investor.

Gauging whether a stock is undervalued is one thing, but investors also need to look for signs of a catalyst that could potentially turn around a company's fortunes in the future and send its share price higher.

"Without something happening that changes market perception of the stock, it could stay cheap or simply get cheaper," said AJ Bell's Mould.

A change of company strategy or new management are a couple of examples he highlighted.

"Looking for potential triggers also helps you spot whether a stock is value trap a cheap stock that deserved to be cheap and one that could therefore see its shares and market cap keep falling," he added.

Even armed with the basics, however, Interactive Investor's Dilov said value investing "can be quite confusing," so he recommended investing in this style via funds, which are managed by professional stock pickers.

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A beginners guide to value investing everything you need to know - CNBC

ARtGlass completing a new round of investments amounting to about $500,000. The company developed software that can be be installed in wearable devices and enable historic sites, museums and other cultural sites to offer visitors specially-designed, transparent smartglasses that they can wear during tours. The glasses superimpose three-dimensional images or text on a landscape or objects.

More than 50 nonprofits applied to participate in the Grow@1717 program at the 1717 Innovation Center in Shockoe Bottom.

Investments in startup businesses in the Southeastern U.S. dropped off during the spring because of the COVID-19 crisis but have show signs of recovery in the second half of the year, a new report has found.

The report by BIP Capital, an Atlanta-based venture capital firm, also found that investors have become more focused on deploying larger checks into a smaller number of deals, in part because the global pandemic has pushed investors toward more mature companies that are perceived to be lower-risk bets.

There was this massive shock to the overall system, and everybody locked in during March, April and May, said Mark Flickinger, chief operating officer of BIP Capital.

In June, you could see the amount of dollars being invested coming back, he said.

Everything stopped, early in the pandemic, he said. Then people realized we are going to have to continue to figure out how to move forward.

The total amount invested in startups in the nine states, including Virginia, that the report tracked amounted to about $3.3 billion for the first half of 2020, compared with about $9.2 billion for the whole year of 2019, which was the largest amount invested in one year since BIP Capital started doing its study in 2015.

In Virginia, investors deployed about $524 million in the first half of 2020, compared with a total of about $1.4 billion for all of 2019, which was the best year for Virginia since BIP started the annual study.

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Investing in real estate to build wealth is generally much different from buying a home to live in yourself. From the process of financing and buying a property to maintaining it, being a landlord is a job.

While it's often more difficult than buying a home to live in, it also has a unique set of rewards. Ogechi Igbokwe, a real estate investor and landlord who owns nine properties, says there are several things that distinguish owning an investment property from owning a home.

The process of borrowing money to buy a rental property is different from that of buying a home.

"You have to make sure that you have a good credit score," Igbokwe says. This isn't so different from buying a home anyone applying for a mortgage will see their interest rate fluctuate with their credit score but the range of interest rates for investors is higher. Investors often see mortgage interest rates between .5% and .75% higher than the typical homeowner, according to data from The Mortgage Reports.

"Second of all, you're required to put more money down," Igbokwe says. When she bought her third property in 2017, she was required to put 25% down. That's more than the 20% typically suggested of homeowners, with some programs allowing smaller down payments.

Anyone who's considering buying a home should know their debt-to-income ratio, which measures your debt including mortgages, student loans, and credit card debt to your income. Conventional loans require a DTI ratio below 36%, but can be as high as 50%, depending on your financial situation.

But for investors, "your debt-to-income ratio is especially crucial, especially if this is your first rental property," Igbokwe says. "The purpose of buying real estate investments is to make profits, so hopefully your properties bring cash flow. But for your first rental and second rental, it's especially crucial that you don't have a lot of personal debt," she continues. Having that debt without the accordant income from your properties will increase your DTI, making it harder to borrow money.

Lastly, banks will also require an emergency fund: a cash reserve that you won't be using for this purchase. While it's suggested for a typical borrower, too, it's more important for a landlord, Igbokwe says. In her experience, banks want to see three to six months' worth of expenses. "They want to see that you have something left," she says. "They want to feel comfortable knowing that you can afford to make the mortgage payments if it doesn't work out with tenants."

When you buy a home for yourself, it's not a business it's simply where you live. But as a real estate investor and a landlord, a home will essentially become a business.

Especially when working with tenants, you're essentially running a customer service-oriented busines. You have to work with people, know the rules, and know how to handle working with different personalities. "It is a people management position when you're dealing with tenants," landlord Becky Nova previously told Business Insider.

In Igbokwe's experience, it can be easy to slip out of that business mindset with renters. But, she says it's critical to keeping your business running smoothly. "One of my personal experiences was transferring the trust that I had [in one tenant] to someone else that tenant referred," she says. She took her previous renter's suggestion, letting that new tenant move in. But, a few months later, the new tenant stopped paying the rent.

To her, it was a lesson that in business, you can't let your guard down. "Have your criteria, and make sure you screen your tenants," she says.

When you're buying a home, as an investment or not, people say that it's important to keep your emotions at bay. But, when you're buying a rental property, you need to keep your emotions almost entirely out of it, Igbokwe says.

"People get too attached. You're not supposed to be attached to anything in a building. Take your emotions out of it," she suggests.

Getting too attached can lead to overpaying for a property, or missing out on a better deal. "You have to be able to evaluate a building, analyze it, and determine if it's going to be profitable or not," Igbokwe says. "If the numbers don't work, you must walk away. There will always be other deals."

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3 ways buying an investment property is different from buying a home, according to a landlord who knows - Business Insider