Given the “good news is bad news” reality that we’re witnessing play out these days, today’s rally in cryptocurrency markets has caught many investors off guard. Last week’s strong employment figures indicated to investors that the Federal Reserve would be less likely to remove its foot from the gas pedal when it comes to rate hikes. Nonetheless, equity and cryptocurrency markets have surged higher, with the crypto sector up 3.8 percent over the past 24 hours.

Flow (FLOW) is a cryptocurrency that has quietly climbed into the top 30 in terms of market capitalization, despite the fact that its name isn’t widely known. This crypto project linked to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has increased by 13.3% over the past 24 hours.

In terms of performance over the previous seven days, this cryptocurrency’s gains were quite significant; they increased by 50% during this period.

The main driving force behind Flow’s rise is the news that Meta’s blockchain technology and Dapper Wallet product will be extensively used in the company’s move into the NFT market. Instagram’s photo-sharing program will now accept NFTs, giving this project, which was designed from the ground up to revolutionize the NFT industry, a significant boost.

So what

It’s clear that Meta’s senior management is impressed by the blockchain technology behind Flow, as the company has chosen to use it on its wide-reaching NFT rollout. According to reports, this global non-fungible token distribution will allow individuals from all over the world to create and issue their non-fungible tokens on the Flow network.

Dapper Labs, the firm behind the Flow blockchain, is well-known for its collection of top NFT initiatives. Whether it’s CryptoKitties, NBA Top Shot, or UFC Strike, NFT investors have long been on the lookout for Dapper’s collectibles, given this project’s first-mover status in many sports-related collectible NFTs. Given its position in what could be a huge market over the long term, Instagram appears to be collaborating with Flow.

Now what

The success of Instagram’s foray into the world of NFTs will be determined over time. But the confidence that Flow investors have expressed by this connection is encouraging. From a technological standpoint, there’s a lot to be pleased about with this partnership.

From here, investors should keep an eye on NFT transaction levels on Flow’s blockchain as well as user growth and adoption over time. Flow is presently one token with a lot of momentum. If this broad-based rally persists, this is one project with outsized potential, at least in the near term.

Dividend stocks will not help investors grow rich fast. However, because only the finest businesses are able to increase their payouts to shareholders over time, dividend equities are an investment vehicle with a good chance of assisting investors in building generational wealth.

Here are two real estate investment trusts that seem to be good buys for investors looking to create long-term prosperity.

1. Iron Mountain

Iron Mountain, with 1,460 facilities in 89 countries possessing 740 million cubic feet of worldwide physical storage capacity, is a major records management and storage firm. The firm is so entrenched in its field that it is trusted by 95% of Fortune 1000 companies.

In 2020, the company will continue to consolidate its records management and storage operations in order to protect against adverse changes in real estate or economic cycles. Iron Mountain’s revenue was $4.5 billion in 2021, with over 60% coming from its core business of records management and storage.

Iron Mountain’s main business is highly dependable, with records typically remaining within its facilities for 15 years. Because companies are required to save certain papers permanently, such as business licenses and permissions, as well as types of intellectual property granted by the federal government, such as patents, trademarks, and copyrights, this is why Iron Mountain’s client retention rate is exceptionally high at 98%.

Iron Mountain currently has 1,300 of its total 225,000 customers using data centers for digitalized records storage. This is a huge growth opportunity for Iron Mountain’s data centers division. And the company’s main business, as well as the data center sector’s potential, are why it predicts AFFO per share growth of 8% to $3.76 in 2022.

Best of all, this stock can be purchased for a forward price-to-AFFO-per-share ratio of 12.9, which is reasonable given its excellence.

2. Crown Castle International

Many individuals are reading this article on their cellphones, and it’s a safe bet that most of them are. In fact, mobile devices accounted for half of all web traffic in the United States — 51.4 percent to be precise – in the second quarter of 2022.

Crown Castle International (CCI 0.03%) has ownership of around 115,000 small cell nodes,  40,000 cell towers, and over 80,000 route miles of fiber in the United States. The communications infrastructure is leased by major telecom companies to transmit signals to consumers, which is how smartphone data is generated and consumed.

It’s difficult to see how the United States could become less reliant on cellphones in the future. According to popular opinion, this will be the case. This is why it’s expected that by 2027, monthly mobile data usage in the United States will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 19.8 percent to 54.2 gigabytes per month

Based on this optimistic industry forecast, Crown Castle is confident that it will be able to meet its 7% to 8% annual dividend growth objective for the long term. When combined with a 3.3% dividend yield, the stock looks like a great income and development choice.

Buffett has a remarkable ability to spot high-yielding equities. Between 1965 and 2020, Berkshire Hathaway, the holding company Buffett runs, produced a compound annual return of 20%. That’s almost double the S&P 500’s 10.2% annual growth rate over the same period.

Fortunately for investors, Buffett is a fan of sharing his methods with the public. In early 2008, he described four characteristics that he and Charlie Munger, Berkshire’s other leader, use to assess investable firms.

The following sections offer a deeper look at those four traits and how you might use them in your own investing.

1. A business we understand

Buffett has emphasized the importance of investing within your area of expertise for a long time. The following are some reasons why you should invest in a firm where you have basic knowledge:

1. You have a deeper appreciation of the firm’s assets and liabilities.
2. You’ll be able to make better, faster judgments and decisions if you have new information.
3. You are more invested in the situation. Your position isn’t simply a possibility that you hope will be successful; it’s a company you like to watch.

2. Favorable long-term economics

The favorable future economics boil down to excellent return on investment today, as well as a substantial competitive edge to safeguard those gains over time. The advantage may be the industry’s most cost-effective structure or a brand that is adored by people around the world.

Whatever the benefit, it must be sustainable. A lasting competitive advantage that is easy to copy or reverse fails the test.

This is one of the reasons why Buffett prefers industries that are more stable. Change, whether it’s in legislation, demand, or technology, may erode competitive advantages in ways that are difficult to anticipate.

3. Able and trustworthy management

Individual investors are hard-pressed to assess the trustworthiness of corporate leaders in the absence of a scandal. However, you may assess a leadership team’s capacity, and often its success and culture, by looking at the company’s performance and culture. You should consider:

• Has there been a clear and consistent strategy for expanding the company?
• Have they met the organization’s stated strategic objectives?
• What has the company’s track record in recessions been?
• How does the leadership team maintain and improve the company’s competitive edge?
• How has leadership coped with the company’s flaws?
• What do the workers think of their bosses?

4. Sensible price tag

Buffett is a value investor, as he invests in high-quality firms when the price is less than the firm’s underlying worth.

Buffett increased his stake in Apple by buying 3.7 million shares of the company shortly before it fell during the first quarter of 2022, as tech stock prices were declining. Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio was already dominated by the iPhone manufacturer.

Berkshire Hathaway’s cash on hand was already $144 billion before the tech sell-off. So Warren Buffett could have purchased more Apple stock last year if he wanted to, but he did not.

Buffett’s profit margins are an intriguing example of his refusal to be deterred by market volatility.

Retail investors have never been more visible on Wall Street, and they made their presence known in a big way last year. Robinhood (HOOD 4.70%), which has gained a lot of traction among the retail crowd, has given everyday traders an invitation to invest on Wall Street. Retailers rocked the boat by causing several heavily short-sold stocks to surge when that happened.

Robinhood allows its customers to trade commission-free on the big US exchanges, allows for fractional-share purchases, and gives out free stock (at random) to the new members.

For a long time, Apple has been Robinhood’s primary holding for investors.

While many of Robinhood’s users are passionate about momentum bets, penny stocks, and highly shorted firms, one thing has remained consistent: Apple (AAPL -0.17%) has been the most held stock on the platform.

Apple is adored by investors for a variety of reasons. To begin with, it’s one of the most-identified brands around the globe. Brand Finance has named Apple as the most valuable brand in the world for two years running, according to a study. The findings were attributed to Apple’s product diversification, subscription model expansion, and “strengthening of its privacy and environmental credentials,” all of which are cited in the report as reasons for reclaiming the top spot.

Apple’s share-price outperformance can also be attributed to its innovation. For example, the debut of a 5G-capable iPhone by Apple in the Q4 of 2020 resulted in an increase in its market share in the United States. Since the 5G iPhones was released, Apple’s domestic smartphone market share has fallen below 50% only once.

Move over, Apple! There’s a new No. 1 in town

However, Wall Street is changing; and the top place on Robinhood’s leaderboard has undergone a significant transformation (the list of the 100 most held stocks on the platform). Tesla has dethroned Apple as the most widely held stock on Robinhood as of August 2022.

I’d be negligent if I didn’t mention that Tesla’s shares have skyrocketed by more than 1,800 percent in the trailing three years and over 17,100 percent in the trailing decade. Robinhood investors adore momentum stocks, and Tesla has certainly shown it fits the bill.

Another reason for investors to be hopeful about Tesla is the firm’s success in starting from scratch. While other automobile manufacturers have attempted a ground-up approach, Tesla was the first in over five decades to achieve and maintain a mass production, and even with the semiconductor chip shortages and component issues linked to the COVID-19 epidemic, Tesla appears to be on track to produce one million cars in 2022.

AMD’s (ADSK -1.21%) record-breaking success continues. The firm announced earnings this week following the closing bell, and CEO Lisa Su said revenue of $6.55 billion was recorded in the Q2 of 2022, up 70 percent y/y. The acquisition of fellow processor maker Xilinx in February, as well as organic growth, assisted the company’s rapid development. Data center sales increased by 83 percent compared to last year, according to AMD.

Cloud computing’s growth is continuing to accelerate, and data center upgrades are rising in response. These essential cloud computing components are one of the most important reasons to be bullish on AMD stock right now. Is it still a good investment after the Q2 report

Led by data centers and other industrial applications

Beginning in Q2 2022, AMD is aligning its business segments for accounting purposes. With the large merger with Xilinx now completed, a new division dubbed “embedded segment” was established to account for corporate end markets that Xilinx had previously handled separately. AMD’s catch-all for company applications of its chips has been broken out into a separate enterprise unit that is called “data center segment.”

The most significant improvements in Q2 were in these areas. Embedded, which includes networking, automotive, and other industrial uses from Xilinx, expanded 2,228 percent y/y to $1.26 billion. However, the majority of this boost came from Xilinx. When compared to the same period last year (when revenue was just $879 million for Xilinx), acquiring another company would have resulted in a 35% increase as a standalone business operating income of 51 percent of segment sales

Sales from the data center, on the other hand, have exploded. Data center sales increased 83 percent to $1.49 billion, with AMD’s EPYC CPUs for servers (a computing unit inside a data center designated for a specific task) again driving demand. Additionally, operating income was strong at 32% of segment sales.

AMD has been focusing on data centers in recent years as it takes market share from archrival Intel (INTC 1.42%). The two designers have divided up the market between them as they cut into Intel’s considerable lead. In Q2, Intel reported a 16 percent year-over-year drop in its comparable AI and data center sales, taking in $4.6 billion from that division alone.

Despite the fact that cryptocurrency values have taken a beating over the last several months, it is still a good time to invest.

The economic recession may be a great opportunity to purchase expensive cryptocurrencies at a discount, as it is during market downturns. While nobody knows for sure how long this decline will last, I’m loading up on Ethereum (ETH -1.12%) before the fall.

Why buy Ethereum right now?

The price of Ethereum has been rising in recent weeks, owing to encouraging news about the introduction of “The Merge.”

The network will be one step closer to a proof of stake (PoS) system, moving from its present, energy-intensive proof of work (PoW) mining protocol. The rollout is scheduled for September 19th, according to developers, which has many investors optimistic about Ethereum’s future.

The transition to Proof of Stake is expected to have a number of advantages for Ethereum. PoS is far more energy efficient than PoW, and it will also significantly reduce transaction times and decrease user costs.

The number of transactions that can be handled by Ethereum at any one time is limited. Its capacity to execute 15 transactions per second right now may seem low, but it will improve dramatically once the upgrade is finished. It’ll be able to scale and compete with other smaller, faster networks like Solana and Cardano because of its speed.

Risks to consider

Ethereum’s upgrade this fall may be the key to significant development, but there are still a few things to consider before you put money into it.

Ethereum, like all cryptocurrencies, is still a speculative investment right now. Nobody knows if crypto will survive in the long run. Even if it does, no one knows which individual cryptos will thrive.

Ethereum could also be more volatile as it matures. As the network adjusts to The Merge, there may be volatility in the market. Updates can occasionally be rocky, and if the network has any bugs or failures after The Merge, the market may experience turbulence. Before you invest, make sure you’re prepared to deal with additional potential volatility as Ethereum establishes its footing.

Is Ethereum right for you?

Ethereum is one of the most powerful cryptocurrencies on the market right now. It’s second only to Bitcoin in terms of market capitalization, and it’s home to the most popular decentralized application network. The Merge will extend Ethereum’s many benefits, making it an even more appealing investment.

However, cryptocurrencies are still dangerous. Consider how much volatility you can take before investing and whether you’re willing to invest in something that might or may not succeed in the long run. Also, only invest money you can afford to lose.

The months ahead are bright for Ethereum as it approaches its upgrade, so now might be a good time to buy. Just make sure you’re prepared for whatever may come – whether the crypto market recovers or not.

Alphabet (GOOGL) is my pick for the best technology stock to buy in August. The advertising behemoth is holding up well against macroeconomic calamities at its lowest price in nearly a decade.

Google Search and YouTube are among Google’s most important business areas. Furthermore, Alphabet has a market size of around $800 billion. Let’s have a look at why I like Alphabet as a technology stock in August.

Google and YouTube are extremely popular among consumers 

Despite the economic headwinds caused by supply chain disruptions, rising inflation, and the Russian war with Ukraine, Alphabet’s revenue rose 13% in fiscal Q2, which ended June 30. The Google Search segment was responsible for most of the growth during the period, with sales increasing to $40.7 billion from $35.8 billion a year earlier.

Google is the world’s most popular search engine, with a global market share of about 83 percent. That degree of dominance allows it to charge advertisers more for prominent search results locations. Since many product purchases begin with an internet search, this has been a lucrative market to conquer. It may partly explain Google’s revenue growth from $66 billion in 2014 to $258 billion in 2021.

On YouTube, one of the first places customers may begin a purchase decision is owned by Google. The streaming video site with both free and paid variants has 1.5 billion monthly users. In the third quarter of this year, YouTube earned $7.3 billion in advertising revenue alone, according to Statista. Despite taking a commanding share of worldwide ad spending in 2021, Google Search and YouTube provide Alphabet plenty of breathing room for years to come.

Alphabet’s scale has resulted in an increase of operating income from $16.5 billion in 2014 to $78.7 billion by 2021. If it continues to develop at this rate, its revenue will rise at a compounded annual rate of 21.1% over the previous decade; investors may reasonably anticipate more Alphabet earnings growth.

Alphabet’s stock is cheap

The P/E ratio is around 20.5 at the moment, and free cash flow is 22. This stock appears to be very cheap by Alphabet’s earnings of 20.5 and free cash flow of 22, which is historically low. Because investors were concerned about macroeconomic headwinds harming Google’s business, shares have gotten cheaper. Given the recent quarter’s performance, those worries appear to be overblown.