The View, 7/16/15, Pete Rose

Next week: Paul Katzeff from Thanksgiving Coffee Co. will speak to us about what’s new at Thanksgiving!

Past Prez John C. opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Visiting Rotarian: Ruth Sparks, Fort Bragg Club

Guest: Richard Green

Thought for the Day: “It takes a lot of courage to share your dreams with others.”

Susan introduces guest Richard Green.

Joe introduces Visiting Rotarian (and his wife) Ruth Sparks.

Sunshine Report:
Club member Jeffry’s daughter passed away suddenly earlier this month. We sent a card as a club, and we all share our condolences and deepest sympathies.

Happy Dollars:

Gary shares his happy dollars.

– Gary is happy because Pete let him take his money at poker the other night.
– Kira is happy because she completed a 600 square foot patio at their house.
– Donna is happy because she got to sail on a beautiful boat that Chris built years ago up in Oregon.
– Ruth is happy that this past weekend that she attended her granddaughter’s wedding and it was beautiful.
– John C. is happy the Music Festival is so great, and the town in swirling with tourists.

Announcements:
Dues are due! Harold has given invoices to most members, so please pay either quarterly or annually to keep our club running.

The Rotary Foundation Board meets Friday, July 24 at the Mendocino Hotel at noon. All are welcome to attend.

The Rotary Club Board meeting is Monday, July 20 at the Mendocino Hotel at noon. Committee chairs need to bring their lists of committee members. All are welcome to attend.

John P. and Tom Honer sent out letters asking for Rotary Park donations, and they’ve received over $2000 so far. This is great news!

Kira shares a Golf Tournament update.

Golf Tournament update – Kira provided an update on the upcoming very important fundraiser, taking place on August 22. Please bring your hole sponsors (as many as you can at $50/each) and nice raffle items (>$25 value) to Kira! Kira will send the hole sponsor forms and team registration forms to the club via email, which each person can print and use to approach potential supporters. We will need volunteer sign-ups for various duties during the day, so stay tuned for the sign-up sheet.

We will be scheduling an Adopt-A-Highway clean up day soon. Stay tuned!

Today’s Program:

Gary gives us two program options for today… and the winner is Pete!

Gary gave us two options: either Gary could present our program today as a reverse trivia game, or Pete could spontaneously talk to us about the stock market. The crowd chose to have Pete talk about the stock market.

Pete shares his stock market expertise.

Pete has worked 47 years in the stock market business and shared lots of his observations and expertise. Here are a few highlights:

According to Pete, Greece has been broke for 50 years. He’s not worried about Greece, but the concern is about the domino effect that could happen among other countries in the EU that are in financial trouble and could opt to back out of the EU. China’s economy is still strong, but if they start to slow down, we could start worrying.

Interest rates are going up… Pete thinks the rate hikes will be modest. The market has had a good run, and unless anything unexpected comes up, there is a good amount of money (> $10 Trillion) in the system looking for a place to go. Earnings are good. Ranchlands and farm lands and California are overpriced. People are saving more in 401Ks, which goes into the investment market.

Medical related stocks have been very strong. The aging of America is a growth business. Big mergers and buy-outs are happening in this sector it seems like every other day.

The financial sector (banks) are also a strengthening sector. This could be related to rising interest rates.

Innovative technology is another growing sector. Social media and niche technology companies are growing fast and are being bought out.

Pete thinks that infrastructure throughout the country will have to be updated soon, and so companies that do that kind of work (roads, bridges, dams, sewers, etc.) may do very well in the future.

Pete urges caution even though the stock market has had a good run. People in their 50s and 60s are spending their inheritances very fast, perhaps too fast… People sell stocks to make a profit, and he urges people to sell for a profit, rather than hold it forever. Or if your stock is up, sell an amount that’s enough to get your initial investment back, then leave the rest there (then you’ve lost nothing).

Pete loooooves to talk about the stock market!

Socially and environmentally conscious investments are effective in Pete’s opinion. Utility companies and companies that make clean products are a good investment. There are analysts that specialize in socially responsible investing. Solar tech companies may pay good dividends, too, and will be a growing industry.  Look at products that you like, and check out their stocks.

Benefit corporations should be something to look at. Pete does not focus specifically on socially responsible investing, though there are good resources out there.  Through the website of the organization that certifies benefit corporations (www.bcorporation.net), you can find links to firms that help with social/environmental investing, such as Natural Investments, LLC, and Abacus Wealth Partners, and others.

Roger listens….

When interest rates rise, utility stocks may dip a bit — this is the time to buy if you’re interested in these.

The best investors that Pete has seen over the years are very non-emotional about investing and keep a good reserve fund of cash for emergencies. They stay on top of what’s going on. ETFs are gaining ground (Exchange Traded Funds). Index funds outperform most mutual funds. WPC is a ticker that has raised its dividend every quarter for the past 7 years. Netflix is another one to watch.

Today’s Raffle winners: Ruth (who drew her own ticket!) and Heather.

Happy raffle winner Heather.