Forbes: Ukraine's Famine Shows Deadly Socialism At Its Core

By SIMON CONSTABLE

One hundred years after the communist revolution of 1917, and how quickly we forget the horrors of the past.

A case in point is the third of millennials who support socialism, according to a recent survey from Harvard. These young people may not have forgotten just how bad such a centrally planned society is, probably because they never knew. But that's ok because a recently published book should help enlighten them.

Anne Applebaum's Red Famine: Stalin's War on Ukraine describes in gruesome detail the plight of Ukrainians under the Soviet system starting in 1917. She then takes us through the 1920s to the famine of 1933 when an estimated 4.5 million, or more than one-in-10 of Ukraine's population, died directly and indirectly as a result of the catastrophe. Most of the deaths from the famine of 1933 came in the first half of the year, according to research cited in the book. Read more here.

U.S. News: Which Companies Spend the Most on Lobbyists?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Can a company’s efforts in lobbying pay off on Wall Street? It sounds too easy of an idea, but there may be some basis in fact. In 2014, a team of researchers from Vanderbilt, Wake Forest and the University of Zurich drew a correlation between the amount of money spent on lobbying and market performance, outperforming their peers by 5.5 percent over a three-year period. Using data provided by OpenSecrets.com, here are the 10 publicly traded companies spending the most on lobbying in 2017. Read more here.

WSJ: How to Measure ETF Spreads

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Investors don’t always pay attention to bid-ask spreads. And those who do may find that comparing spreads between different exchange-traded funds can get tricky.

In essence, the bid-ask spread is the difference between the highest price that a market maker is willing to pay for an asset and the lowest price a market maker is willing to accept to sell it. The wider the spread, the more it costs investors for a round-trip trade—that is, to buy an asset and then sell it again. Read more here.

WSJ: An ETF Is Driven by Electric-Car Batteries

By SIMON CONSTABLE

With the prospects for a mass market in electric cars improving, the batteries that power them may provide an opportunity for investors.

Governments around the world are implementing regulations aimed at phasing out gasoline-powered vehicles, brightening the outlook for significant growth in the electric-car market, says Jay Jacobs, director of research at exchange-traded funds provider Global X Management Co. in New York. Read more here.

Photo by Michael Marais on Unsplash

WSJ: If You’re Trading Options on ETFs, Read This First

By SIMON CONSTABLE

More individual investors are trading options on exchange-traded funds. The trend worries some financial experts, who say inexperienced traders may not fully understand the risks.

Interest in ETF options comes amid growth in the number of ETFs and the amount of money invested in them. According to Options Clearing Corp., a clearinghouse that guarantees trades, ETF options accounted for 41% of the total volume of all options traded in 2016, up from 35% in 2014. Read more here.

Photo by Nick Chong on Unsplash

U.S. News: India Stocks Remain a Great Long-Term Play

By SIMON CONSTABLE

On track to unseat China and become the world's most populous country, India's economy has some growing pains. But there are still great opportunities there for investors looking to expand their portfolios into an emerging market. Read more here.

Taj Mahal, India

Photo by Sylwia Bartyzel on Unsplash

P.J. Media: More Catalonias to Come: Spain a Symptom of EU Economic Structure

By SIMON CONSTABLE

They’ve done it! Catalonia declared independence from Spain today.

To the casual observer, the move may look like a strictly Spanish squabble. Indeed, much media focus will now be on whether Spain’s government in Madrid, which has now promised direct rule over the province, will start acting like a latter-day General Franco, the country’s fascist dictator from 1939 through 1975.

In short, will tanks roll in, or just the police?

Symptoms of Economic Illness

Unfortunately, the dispute between Barcelona and Madrid isn’t just a Spanish affair. It is a symptom of the European Union’s inflexible economic structure. Read more here.