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Five Grocery Store Stocks to Buy as Hedges Against Inflation, Recession

Five grocery store stocks to buy as hedges against inflation and recession offer enticing ways to protect against current economic pitfalls while pursuing…

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Five grocery store stocks to buy as hedges against inflation and recession offer enticing ways to protect against current economic pitfalls while pursuing potentially powerful profits.

The five grocery store stocks to buy feature four grocery store chains and a fund that includes shares of the best public companies within an industry that always has demand for its products to provide essential food to people. These five grocery store stocks  to buy are as close to inflation-proof as possible, since the companies can pass along increased costs to their customers as long as other retailers do likewise.

Investors interested in the five grocery stocks to buy now can purchase shares at discounted prices after U.S. equities endured their worst week since 2020. However, stocks signaled pent-up investor interest by acquiring shares as the market rallied on Tuesday, June 21, when NASDAQ surged 2.51%, the S&P 500 rose 2.45% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 2.15%.

Risks Remain for Five Grocery Store Stocks to Buy as Hedges Against Inflation and Recession

None of the five stocks to buy are insulated from rising costs for shipping, fuel and labor. However, all of them are well-positioned to survive the current crisis caused by Russia’s President Vladimir blockade of grain from Ukraine, China’s continued COVID-19 lockdowns to enforce its aim for zero tolerance of COVID-19 cases and last week’s central bank interest hikes of .75% in the United States and .25% in the United Kingdom to fight inflation.

Another way to dodge a potential meltdown in an individual grocery store stock is to buy shares in an exchange-traded fund (ETF) focused on the consumer staples sector. These stocks tend to do well when the economy weakens.

“They also tend to be able to pass through price increases in inflationary times, because they sell essential goods and services,” said Bob Carlson, a pension fund chairman who also leads the Retirement Watch investment newsletter. “An ETF will include more than the grocery store chains. It also will include manufacturers who produce many of the goods sold in the stores.”

Bob Carlson, who leads Retirement Watch, meets with Paul Dykewicz.

Five Grocery Store Stocks to Buy as Hedges Against Inflation and Recession Include ETF

A “good ETF” that takes advantage of the grocery store opportunity is Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP), Carlson said. Top holdings in the fund include Costco Warehouse Corporation (NASDAQ: COST), encompassing 9.41% of the fund, and WalMart (NYSE: WMT), accounting for 3.89% of the holdings. The fund also owns Kroger (NYSE: KR) and Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ: WBA).
XLP owns 32 stocks and has 70% of the fund in the 10 largest positions. Other top holdings are Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) and PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP). The fund also offers a dividend yield of 2.33%.

The fund is down 2.19% for the past week, 2.64% for the last month, 6.80% for the past three months and 10.33% so far this year. However, it rose 2.67% on Tuesday, June 21.

Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com

Putin’s Policies Jeopardize Food Supply and Availability

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, who triggered sanctions on his country by sending troops into Ukraine in violation of international law, is insisting that other nations cease their restrictions on his country’s goods before he allows grain exports to resume. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, described by Putin as a “special military operation,” has shelled hospitals, schools, residential areas, churches, nuclear power plants, oil refineries, a theater used as a shelter and even a train transporting food for World Central Kitchen, amid reports of potential war crimes by his soldiers who have been accused of raping, torturing, kidnapping and executing Ukrainian civilians.

Russia’s restriction of the world’s food supply stems from its continuing attack and blockade of Ukraine, potentially spurring the spread of a famine beyond 140 million undernourished people in needy nations. But the five grocery store chain stocks to buy serve developed nations that can afford to pay for food, unlike many people in the developing world who are the most vulnerable to Russia’s supply chain blockades.

Target Ranks Highly Among the Five Grocery Store Chain Stocks to Buy

One of the best grocery retailers is Minneapolis-based Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), said Michelle Connell, a former portfolio manager who heads Dallas-based Portia Capital Management. Target has a place in a long-term portfolio for a number of reasons, she added.

The company produces 20% of its revenue on groceries and has done “an amazing job” growing its online sales, Connell said. Target’s online sales specifically have risen to 19% from 9% of its total sales in the past few years, Connell continued.

Despite the stock price taking a hit after its latest financial report showed short-term inventory oversupply, Target’s management expects its sales for the year 2022 to grow and its market share to increase, Connell counseled. Plus, Target is increasing its dividend by 20% this September, so its dividend yield should rise to 3.1% from 2.6% by year end, she added.

Michelle Connell, CEO, Portia Capital Management

Target’s inventory issue should be reduced by the second half of 2022, especially after its “Deal Days,” July 11-13, Connell said.

“This will be TGT’s largest Deal Days in its four-year history,” Connell said. “This online sale takes on Amazon’s Prime Day, except you don’t need a membership.”

The stock jumped 3.88% on Tuesday, June 21, and looks comparatively inexpensive after a recent share price pullback that lowered the company’s current price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio to 12 from its long-term, historic valuation of 16. Connell pegged the estimated upside for TGT at about 30% from today’s price of $144 per share.

Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com

BofA Global Research cautioned that risks to Target include gross margin pressures from labor costs, investments and the rapid growth of the lower-margin e-commerce channel, as well as aggressive competition from competitors including Walmart and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN).

Five Grocery Store Chain Stocks to Buy Feature Walmart

Walmart Inc., a superstore chain headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, has slid since mid-May but now is showing some resiliency by rising 3.28% on Tuesday, June 21. Investors seeking to buy Walmart at a discount should take into account the stock has fallen 14.79% so far this year.

Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com

“Walmart is one of the few stores that’s likely to benefit from rising inflation, as the store offers the best discounts of any major retailer,” said Jim Woods, leader of the Successful Investing and Intelligence Report newsletters, plus the High Velocity Options and Bullseye Stock Trader advisory services.

Woods told me he recommends Walmart in the Income Multipliers portfolio of his Intelligence Report newsletter due both to its history of raising annual dividends and its five-year total return of more than 71%.

Paul Dykewicz talks to Jim Woods, head of the Successful Investing and Intelligence Report newsletters.

Downside risks, according to BofA Global Research, are the impacts of foreign exchange, pharmacy headwinds and questions about Walmart’s longer-term ability to continue gaining incremental market share, despite its hefty size and a weakening global retailing environment.

Costco Captures Place Among Five Grocery Store Chain Stocks to Buy

Costco Wholesale Corp., a membership-only, retail superstore chain headquartered in Issaquah, Washington, rallied 3.68% on Tuesday, June 21. It shows the start of a potential upturn, despite further inflation and recession risk, after the stock sank 3.59% in the previous week, 8.93% in the prior month, 19.03% in the past three months and 21.02% so far in 2022.

Good news for Costco and other brick-and-mortar retailers, such as Target and Walmart, is that spending trends for such sales have risen 4.7% since the same time last year, according to BoA Global Research. In contrast, online retail sales slipped 1.6% in the past year, even though they remain stronger on a three-year basis, including the COVID-19 lockdown period that has been scaled back with fewer government decrees to avoid exposure to the virus.

That brick-and-mortar retailer spending surge suggests support for Costco, Target and Walmart sales trends due to their “dominant U.S. store footprints,” compared to Amazon, which has a comparatively small brick-and-mortar presence, even with its Whole Food stores, from both a sales and margin perspective, according to BoA. 

Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com

Albertsons Earns Position Among Five Grocery Store Chain Stocks to Buy

Albertsons Companies, Inc., an American grocery store chain founded and headquartered in Boise, Idaho, has more than 2,200 retail locations. The company is a BoA buy but faces further challenges than some of its bigger and better-known rivals in the grocery store chain business.

For example, Albertsons lacks general merchandise breadth of offering, with an accompanying higher gross margin profile that warrants a enlarged valuation for large discounters such as Target and Walmart, BofA wrote in a research note. Albertsons also may benefit less from favorable demographic trends in the South, where it has lower penetration compared to Walmart, Target, Costco and Dollar General (NYSE: DG).

Another drag on Albertsons is that it has nearly $5 billion in estimated off-balance sheet underfunding of multi-employer pension obligations, according to BofA. Other downside risks that Albertsons must navigate are its presence in a highly competitive retail food industry, a higher perishable mix that brings increased inflation exposure compared to its peers, e-commerce inroads at an earlier stage than for Walmart, its unionized workforce, competition from retail discounters and exposure to gas prices if shoppers opt to reduce driving.

Nonetheless, Albertsons jumped 5.85% on Tuesday, June 21, after gaining 2.33% in the previous week and 5.31% in the previous month. However, the stock is down 19.51% in the last three months and 3.25% so far this year. 

Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com

Beware of Volatility With Further Interest Rate Hikes to Fight Inflation

Investors will not have a smooth recovery with the Fed still needing to raise interest rates further to cool the economy and quell inflation that rose 8.6% in the past year, based on the latest Consumer Price Index reading. Plus, investors need to be cautious about diving back into equities until the “three-headed dragon” of rate hikes, upward wage pressures and rising commodity prices have been slain to bring inflation under control, said Bryan Perry, a high-income aficionado who is a veteran of Wall Street firms and the editor of the Cash Machine investment newsletter.

The June 21 rally is a fresh bet that inflation has peaked with tough Fed jawboning, Perry wrote to his newsletter subscribers.

“The market could, and probably should, rally this week under the old rally cry of ‘whip inflation now’ by global central banks,” Perry opined. “However, the inflation rate shock of the past three months, coupled with the rally in the dollar, invites caution heading into the second-quarter earnings season, which will begin during the second week of July. I would also add that third-quarter guidance will likely be guarded and fairly opaque, as companies are citing highly fluid factors that will greatly influence year-end forecasting.”

Paul Dykewicz interviews Wall Street veteran Bryan Perry, who heads the Cash Machine newsletter.

Supply Chains Remain Vulnerable to China’s Lockdowns

A fresh Covid-19 outbreak in China is affecting the country’s technology hub of Shenzhen and spurring stepped-up testing, as well as a lockdown of certain neighborhoods. Meanwhile, the gambling mecca of Macau, an hour away by car, is enduring an outbreak of the virus for the first time this year.

Those new cases are coupled with encouraging news from major metropolitan areas of Beijing and Shanghai that have used lockdowns to curb new cases. However, the U.S. ambassador to China criticized China’s “zero-COVID” tolerance policy on June 17 for potentially causing serious damage to the global economy and foreign business with the resumption of lockdowns. However, China is seeking to contain outbreaks of COVID-19 with lockdowns, despite many other countries adopting policies to balance anti-coronavirus measures with exposure to the risk.

Disrupted supply chains for products such as rice, oil and natural gas are starting to normalize again in Shanghai, home to 25 million residents and the world’s largest port. China’s recent lockdowns have affected an estimated 373 million people, including roughly 40% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

U.S. COVID Deaths Near 1.014 Million

U.S. COVID-19 deaths rose to  1,013,975, as of June 21, according to Johns Hopkins University. Cases in the United States climbed more than 225,000 in the past four days to reach 86,452,232 on that date. America holds the dubious distinction as the nation with the largest number of COVID-19 deaths and cases.

COVID-19 deaths worldwide totaled 6,321,976, up more than 4,500 the past four days, as of June 21, according to Johns Hopkins. Worldwide COVID0-19 cases have reached 540,535,654.

Roughly 78.1% of the U.S. population, or 259,198,178, have obtained at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, as of June 21, the CDC reported. Fully vaccinated people total 221,924,152, or 66.8%, of America’s population, according to the CDC. The United States also has given at least one COVID-19 booster vaccine to 104.7 million people.

The five grocery store stocks to buy offer investors a chance to dodge the worst of the fallout from inflation and rising interest rates, since food is essential and price increases can be passed along by the retailers. With the highest inflation in 41 years, the appeal of such stocks is starting to gain investor interest but the road ahead could be rocky with the Fed expected to raise rates again between .75% and .50% next month to limit price hikes that are needed amid rising federal deficits, sustained supply chain disruptions and Russia’s unrelenting attacks on Ukraine.

Paul Dykewicz, www.pauldykewicz.com, is an accomplished, award-winning journalist who has written for Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, USA Today, the Journal of Commerce, Seeking Alpha, Guru Focus and other publications and websites. Paul, who can be followed on Twitter @PaulDykewicz, is the editor of StockInvestor.com and DividendInvestor.com, a writer for both websites and a columnist. He further is editorial director of Eagle Financial Publications in Washington, D.C., where he edits monthly investment newsletters, time-sensitive trading alerts, free e-letters and other investment reports. Paul previously served as business editor of Baltimore’s Daily Record newspaper. Paul also is the author of an inspirational book, “Holy Smokes! Golden Guidance from Notre Dame’s Championship Chaplain,” with a foreword by former national championship-winning football coach Lou Holtz. The book is great as a gift and is endorsed by Joe Montana, Joe Theismann, Ara Parseghian, “Rocket” Ismail, Reggie Brooks, Dick Vitale and many others. Call 202-677-4457 for multiple-book pricing.

The post Five Grocery Store Stocks to Buy as Hedges Against Inflation, Recession appeared first on Stock Investor.

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Problems After COVID-19 Vaccination More Prevalent Among Naturally Immune: Study

Problems After COVID-19 Vaccination More Prevalent Among Naturally Immune: Study

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis…

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Problems After COVID-19 Vaccination More Prevalent Among Naturally Immune: Study

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

People who recovered from COVID-19 and received a COVID-19 shot were more likely to suffer adverse reactions, researchers in Europe are reporting.

A medical worker administers a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to a patient at a vaccination center in Ancenis-Saint-Gereon, France, on Nov. 17, 2021. (Stephane Mahe//Reuters)

Participants in the study were more likely to experience an adverse reaction after vaccination regardless of the type of shot, with one exception, the researchers found.

Across all vaccine brands, people with prior COVID-19 were 2.6 times as likely after dose one to suffer an adverse reaction, according to the new study. Such people are commonly known as having a type of protection known as natural immunity after recovery.

People with previous COVID-19 were also 1.25 times as likely after dose 2 to experience an adverse reaction.

The findings held true across all vaccine types following dose one.

Of the female participants who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, for instance, 82 percent who had COVID-19 previously experienced an adverse reaction after their first dose, compared to 59 percent of females who did not have prior COVID-19.

The only exception to the trend was among males who received a second AstraZeneca dose. The percentage of males who suffered an adverse reaction was higher, 33 percent to 24 percent, among those without a COVID-19 history.

Participants who had a prior SARS-CoV-2 infection (confirmed with a positive test) experienced at least one adverse reaction more often after the 1st dose compared to participants who did not have prior COVID-19. This pattern was observed in both men and women and across vaccine brands,” Florence van Hunsel, an epidemiologist with the Netherlands Pharmacovigilance Centre Lareb, and her co-authors wrote.

There were only slightly higher odds of the naturally immune suffering an adverse reaction following receipt of a Pfizer or Moderna booster, the researchers also found.

The researchers performed what’s known as a cohort event monitoring study, following 29,387 participants as they received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The participants live in a European country such as Belgium, France, or Slovakia.

Overall, three-quarters of the participants reported at least one adverse reaction, although some were minor such as injection site pain.

Adverse reactions described as serious were reported by 0.24 percent of people who received a first or second dose and 0.26 percent for people who received a booster. Different examples of serious reactions were not listed in the study.

Participants were only specifically asked to record a range of minor adverse reactions (ADRs). They could provide details of other reactions in free text form.

“The unsolicited events were manually assessed and coded, and the seriousness was classified based on international criteria,” researchers said.

The free text answers were not provided by researchers in the paper.

The authors note, ‘In this manuscript, the focus was not on serious ADRs and adverse events of special interest.’” Yet, in their highlights section they state, “The percentage of serious ADRs in the study is low for 1st and 2nd vaccination and booster.”

Dr. Joel Wallskog, co-chair of the group React19, which advocates for people who were injured by vaccines, told The Epoch Times: “It is intellectually dishonest to set out to study minor adverse events after COVID-19 vaccination then make conclusions about the frequency of serious adverse events. They also fail to provide the free text data.” He added that the paper showed “yet another study that is in my opinion, deficient by design.”

Ms. Hunsel did not respond to a request for comment.

She and other researchers listed limitations in the paper, including how they did not provide data broken down by country.

The paper was published by the journal Vaccine on March 6.

The study was funded by the European Medicines Agency and the Dutch government.

No authors declared conflicts of interest.

Some previous papers have also found that people with prior COVID-19 infection had more adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination, including a 2021 paper from French researchers. A U.S. study identified prior COVID-19 as a predictor of the severity of side effects.

Some other studies have determined COVID-19 vaccines confer little or no benefit to people with a history of infection, including those who had received a primary series.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends people who recovered from COVID-19 receive a COVID-19 vaccine, although a number of other health authorities have stopped recommending the shot for people who have prior COVID-19.

Another New Study

In another new paper, South Korean researchers outlined how they found people were more likely to report certain adverse reactions after COVID-19 vaccination than after receipt of another vaccine.

The reporting of myocarditis, a form of heart inflammation, or pericarditis, a related condition, was nearly 20 times as high among children as the reporting odds following receipt of all other vaccines, the researchers found.

The reporting odds were also much higher for multisystem inflammatory syndrome or Kawasaki disease among adolescent COVID-19 recipients.

Researchers analyzed reports made to VigiBase, which is run by the World Health Organization.

Based on our results, close monitoring for these rare but serious inflammatory reactions after COVID-19 vaccination among adolescents until definitive causal relationship can be established,” the researchers wrote.

The study was published by the Journal of Korean Medical Science in its March edition.

Limitations include VigiBase receiving reports of problems, with some reports going unconfirmed.

Funding came from the South Korean government. One author reported receiving grants from pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer.

Tyler Durden Fri, 03/15/2024 - 05:00

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‘Excess Mortality Skyrocketed’: Tucker Carlson and Dr. Pierre Kory Unpack ‘Criminal’ COVID Response

‘Excess Mortality Skyrocketed’: Tucker Carlson and Dr. Pierre Kory Unpack ‘Criminal’ COVID Response

As the global pandemic unfolded, government-funded…

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'Excess Mortality Skyrocketed': Tucker Carlson and Dr. Pierre Kory Unpack 'Criminal' COVID Response

As the global pandemic unfolded, government-funded experimental vaccines were hastily developed for a virus which primarily killed the old and fat (and those with other obvious comorbidities), and an aggressive, global campaign to coerce billions into injecting them ensued.

Then there were the lockdowns - with some countries (New Zealand, for example) building internment camps for those who tested positive for Covid-19, and others such as China welding entire apartment buildings shut to trap people inside.

It was an egregious and unnecessary response to a virus that, while highly virulent, was survivable by the vast majority of the general population.

Oh, and the vaccines, which governments are still pushing, didn't work as advertised to the point where health officials changed the definition of "vaccine" multiple times.

Tucker Carlson recently sat down with Dr. Pierre Kory, a critical care specialist and vocal critic of vaccines. The two had a wide-ranging discussion, which included vaccine safety and efficacy, excess mortality, demographic impacts of the virus, big pharma, and the professional price Kory has paid for speaking out.

Keep reading below, or if you have roughly 50 minutes, watch it in its entirety for free on X:

"Do we have any real sense of what the cost, the physical cost to the country and world has been of those vaccines?" Carlson asked, kicking off the interview.

"I do think we have some understanding of the cost. I mean, I think, you know, you're aware of the work of of Ed Dowd, who's put together a team and looked, analytically at a lot of the epidemiologic data," Kory replied. "I mean, time with that vaccination rollout is when all of the numbers started going sideways, the excess mortality started to skyrocket."

When asked "what kind of death toll are we looking at?", Kory responded "...in 2023 alone, in the first nine months, we had what's called an excess mortality of 158,000 Americans," adding "But this is in 2023. I mean, we've  had Omicron now for two years, which is a mild variant. Not that many go to the hospital."

'Safe and Effective'

Tucker also asked Kory why the people who claimed the vaccine were "safe and effective" aren't being held criminally liable for abetting the "killing of all these Americans," to which Kory replied: "It’s my kind of belief, looking back, that [safe and effective] was a predetermined conclusion. There was no data to support that, but it was agreed upon that it would be presented as safe and effective."

Carlson and Kory then discussed the different segments of the population that experienced vaccine side effects, with Kory noting an "explosion in dying in the youngest and healthiest sectors of society," adding "And why did the employed fare far worse than those that weren't? And this particularly white collar, white collar, more than gray collar, more than blue collar."

Kory also said that Big Pharma is 'terrified' of Vitamin D because it "threatens the disease model." As journalist The Vigilant Fox notes on X, "Vitamin D showed about a 60% effectiveness against the incidence of COVID-19 in randomized control trials," and "showed about 40-50% effectiveness in reducing the incidence of COVID-19 in observational studies."

Professional costs

Kory - while risking professional suicide by speaking out, has undoubtedly helped save countless lives by advocating for alternate treatments such as Ivermectin.

Kory shared his own experiences of job loss and censorship, highlighting the challenges of advocating for a more nuanced understanding of vaccine safety in an environment often resistant to dissenting voices.

"I wrote a book called The War on Ivermectin and the the genesis of that book," he said, adding "Not only is my expertise on Ivermectin and my vast clinical experience, but and I tell the story before, but I got an email, during this journey from a guy named William B Grant, who's a professor out in California, and he wrote to me this email just one day, my life was going totally sideways because our protocols focused on Ivermectin. I was using a lot in my practice, as were tens of thousands of doctors around the world, to really good benefits. And I was getting attacked, hit jobs in the media, and he wrote me this email on and he said, Dear Dr. Kory, what they're doing to Ivermectin, they've been doing to vitamin D for decades..."

"And it's got five tactics. And these are the five tactics that all industries employ when science emerges, that's inconvenient to their interests. And so I'm just going to give you an example. Ivermectin science was extremely inconvenient to the interests of the pharmaceutical industrial complex. I mean, it threatened the vaccine campaign. It threatened vaccine hesitancy, which was public enemy number one. We know that, that everything, all the propaganda censorship was literally going after something called vaccine hesitancy."

Money makes the world go 'round

Carlson then hit on perhaps the most devious aspect of the relationship between drug companies and the medical establishment, and how special interests completely taint science to the point where public distrust of institutions has spiked in recent years.

"I think all of it starts at the level the medical journals," said Kory. "Because once you have something established in the medical journals as a, let's say, a proven fact or a generally accepted consensus, consensus comes out of the journals."

"I have dozens of rejection letters from investigators around the world who did good trials on ivermectin, tried to publish it. No thank you, no thank you, no thank you. And then the ones that do get in all purportedly prove that ivermectin didn't work," Kory continued.

"So and then when you look at the ones that actually got in and this is where like probably my biggest estrangement and why I don't recognize science and don't trust it anymore, is the trials that flew to publication in the top journals in the world were so brazenly manipulated and corrupted in the design and conduct in, many of us wrote about it. But they flew to publication, and then every time they were published, you saw these huge PR campaigns in the media. New York Times, Boston Globe, L.A. times, ivermectin doesn't work. Latest high quality, rigorous study says. I'm sitting here in my office watching these lies just ripple throughout the media sphere based on fraudulent studies published in the top journals. And that's that's that has changed. Now that's why I say I'm estranged and I don't know what to trust anymore."

Vaccine Injuries

Carlson asked Kory about his clinical experience with vaccine injuries.

"So how this is how I divide, this is just kind of my perception of vaccine injury is that when I use the term vaccine injury, I'm usually referring to what I call a single organ problem, like pericarditis, myocarditis, stroke, something like that. An autoimmune disease," he replied.

"What I specialize in my practice, is I treat patients with what we call a long Covid long vaxx. It's the same disease, just different triggers, right? One is triggered by Covid, the other one is triggered by the spike protein from the vaccine. Much more common is long vax. The only real differences between the two conditions is that the vaccinated are, on average, sicker and more disabled than the long Covids, with some pretty prominent exceptions to that."

Watch the entire interview above, and you can support Tucker Carlson's endeavors by joining the Tucker Carlson Network here...

Tyler Durden Thu, 03/14/2024 - 16:20

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Shakira’s net worth

After 12 albums, a tax evasion case, and now a towering bronze idol sculpted in her image, how much is Shakira worth more than 4 decades into her care…

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Shakira’s considerable net worth is no surprise, given her massive popularity in Latin America, the U.S., and elsewhere. 

In fact, the belly-dancing contralto queen is the second-wealthiest Latin-America-born pop singer of all time after Gloria Estefan. (Interestingly, Estefan actually helped a young Shakira translate her breakout album “Laundry Service” into English, hugely propelling her stateside success.)

Since releasing her first record at age 13, Shakira has spent decades recording albums in both Spanish and English and performing all over the world. Over the course of her 40+ year career, she helped thrust Latin pop music into the American mainstream, paving the way for the subsequent success of massively popular modern acts like Karol G and Bad Bunny.

In late 2023, a 21-foot-tall bronze sculpture of Shakira, the barefoot belly dancer of Barranquilla, was unveiled at the city's waterfront. The statue was commissioned by the city's former mayor and other leadership.

Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images

In December 2023, a 21-foot-tall beachside bronze statue of the “Hips Don’t Lie” singer was unveiled in her Colombian hometown of Barranquilla, making her a permanent fixture in the city’s skyline and cementing her legacy as one of Latin America’s most influential entertainers.

After 12 albums, a plethora of film and television appearances, a highly publicized tax evasion case, and now a towering bronze idol sculpted in her image, how much is Shakira worth? What does her income look like? And how does she spend her money?

Related: Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's net worth: How the new TKO Board Member built his wealth from $7

How much is Shakira worth?

In late 2023, Spanish sports and lifestyle publication Marca reported Shakira’s net worth at $400 million, citing Forbes as the figure’s source (although Forbes’ profile page for Shakira does not list a net worth — and didn’t when that article was published).

Most other sources list the singer’s wealth at an estimated $300 million, and almost all of these point to Celebrity Net Worth — a popular but dubious celebrity wealth estimation site — as the source for the figure.

A $300 million net worth would make Shakira the third-richest Latina pop star after Gloria Estefan ($500 million) and Jennifer Lopez ($400 million), and the second-richest Latin-America-born pop singer after Estefan (JLo is Puerto Rican but was born in New York).

Shakira’s income: How much does she make annually?

Entertainers like Shakira don’t have predictable paychecks like ordinary salaried professionals. Instead, annual take-home earnings vary quite a bit depending on each year’s album sales, royalties, film and television appearances, streaming revenue, and other sources of income. As one might expect, Shakira’s earnings have fluctuated quite a bit over the years.

From June 2018 to June 2019, for instance, Shakira was the 10th highest-earning female musician, grossing $35 million, according to Forbes. This wasn’t her first time gracing the top 10, though — back in 2012, she also landed the #10 spot, bringing in $20 million, according to Billboard.

In 2023, Billboard listed Shakira as the 16th-highest-grossing Latin artist of all time.

Shakira performed alongside producer Bizarrap during the 2023 Latin Grammy Awards Gala in Seville.

Photo By Maria Jose Lopez/Europa Press via Getty Images

How much does Shakira make from her concerts and tours?

A large part of Shakira’s wealth comes from her world tours, during which she sometimes sells out massive stadiums and arenas full of passionate fans eager to see her dance and sing live.

According to a 2020 report by Pollstar, she sold over 2.7 million tickets across 190 shows that grossed over $189 million between 2000 and 2020. This landed her the 19th spot on a list of female musicians ranked by touring revenue during that period. In 2023, Billboard reported a more modest touring revenue figure of $108.1 million across 120 shows.

In 2003, Shakira reportedly generated over $4 million from a single show on Valentine’s Day at Foro Sol in Mexico City. 15 years later, in 2018, Shakira grossed around $76.5 million from her El Dorado World Tour, according to Touring Data.

Related: RuPaul's net worth: Everything to know about the cultural icon and force behind 'Drag Race'

How much has Shakira made from her album sales?

According to a 2023 profile in Variety, Shakira has sold over 100 million records throughout her career. “Laundry Service,” the pop icon’s fifth studio album, was her most successful, selling over 13 million copies worldwide, according to TheRichest.

Exactly how much money Shakira has taken home from her album sales is unclear, but in 2008, it was widely reported that she signed a 10-year contract with LiveNation to the tune of between $70 and $100 million to release her subsequent albums and manage her tours.

Shakira and JLo co-headlined the 2020 Super Bowl Halftime Show in Florida.

Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

How much did Shakira make from her Super Bowl and World Cup performances?

Shakira co-wrote one of her biggest hits, “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” after FIFA selected her to create the official anthem for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. She performed the song, along with several of her existing fan-favorite tracks, during the event’s opening ceremonies. TheThings reported in 2023 that the song generated $1.4 million in revenue, citing Popnable for the figure.

A decade later, 2020’s Superbowl halftime show featured Shakira and Jennifer Lopez as co-headliners with guest performances by Bad Bunny and J Balvin. The 14-minute performance was widely praised as a high-energy celebration of Latin music and dance, but as is typical for Super Bowl shows, neither Shakira nor JLo was compensated beyond expenses and production costs.

The exposure value that comes with performing in the Super Bowl Halftime Show, though, is significant. It is typically the most-watched television event in the U.S. each year, and in 2020, a 30-second Super Bowl ad spot cost between $5 and $6 million.

How much did Shakira make as a coach on “The Voice?”

Shakira served as a team coach on the popular singing competition program “The Voice” during the show’s fourth and sixth seasons. On the show, celebrity musicians coach up-and-coming amateurs in a team-based competition that eventually results in a single winner. In 2012, The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Shakira’s salary as a coach on “The Voice” was $12 million.

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How does Shakira spend her money?

Shakira doesn’t just make a lot of money — she spends it, too. Like many wealthy entertainers, she’s purchased her share of luxuries, but Barranquilla’s barefoot belly dancer is also a prolific philanthropist, having donated tens of millions to charitable causes throughout her career.

Private island

Back in 2006, she teamed up with Roger Waters of Pink Floyd fame and Spanish singer Alejandro Sanz to purchase Bonds Cay, a 550-acre island in the Bahamas, which was listed for $16 million at the time.

Along with her two partners in the purchase, Shakira planned to develop the island to feature housing, hotels, and an artists’ retreat designed to host a revolving cast of artists-in-residence. This plan didn’t come to fruition, though, and as of this article’s last update, the island was once again for sale on Vladi Private Islands.

Real estate and vehicles

Like most wealthy celebs, Shakira’s portfolio of high-end playthings also features an array of luxury properties and vehicles, including a home in Barcelona, a villa in Cyprus, a Miami mansion, and a rotating cast of Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

Philanthropy and charity

Shakira doesn’t just spend her massive wealth on herself; the “Queen of Latin Music” is also a dedicated philanthropist and regularly donates portions of her earnings to the Fundación Pies Descalzos, or “Barefoot Foundation,” a charity she founded in 1997 to “improve the education and social development of children in Colombia, which has suffered decades of conflict.” The foundation focuses on providing meals for children and building and improving educational infrastructure in Shakira’s hometown of Barranquilla as well as four other Colombian communities.

In addition to her efforts with the Fundación Pies Descalzos, Shakira has made a number of other notable donations over the years. In 2007, she diverted a whopping $40 million of her wealth to help rebuild community infrastructure in Peru and Nicaragua in the wake of a devastating 8.0 magnitude earthquake. Later, during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Shakira donated a large supply of N95 masks for healthcare workers and ventilators for hospital patients to her hometown of Barranquilla.

Back in 2010, the UN honored Shakira with a medal to recognize her dedication to social justice, at which time the Director General of the International Labour Organization described her as a “true ambassador for children and young people.”

On November 20, 2023 (which was supposed to be her first day of trial), Shakira reached a deal with the prosecution that resulted in a three-year suspended sentence and around $8 million in fines.

Photo by Adria Puig/Anadolu via Getty Images

Shakira’s tax fraud scandal: How much did she pay?

In 2018, prosecutors in Spain initiated a tax evasion case against Shakira, alleging she lived primarily in Spain from 2012 to 2014 and therefore failed to pay around $14.4 million in taxes to the Spanish government. Spanish law requires anyone who is “domiciled” (i.e., living primarily) in Spain for more than half of the year to pay income taxes.

During the period in question, Shakira listed the Bahamas as her primary residence but did spend some time in Spain, as she was dating Gerard Piqué, a professional footballer and Spanish citizen. The couple’s first son, Milan, was also born in Barcelona during this period. 

Shakira maintained that she spent far fewer than 183 days per year in Spain during each of the years in question. In an interview with Elle Magazine, the pop star opined that “Spanish tax authorities saw that I was dating a Spanish citizen and started to salivate. It's clear they wanted to go after that money no matter what."

Prosecutors in the case sought a fine of almost $26 million and a possible eight-year prison stint, but in November of 2023, Shakira took a deal to close the case, accepting a fine of around $8 million and a three-year suspended sentence to avoid going to trial. In reference to her decision to take the deal, Shakira stated, "While I was determined to defend my innocence in a trial that my lawyers were confident would have ruled in my favour [had the trial proceeded], I have made the decision to finally resolve this matter with the best interest of my kids at heart who do not want to see their mom sacrifice her personal well-being in this fight."

How much did the Shakira statue in Barranquilla cost?

In late 2023, a 21-foot-tall bronze likeness of Shakira was unveiled on a waterfront promenade in Barranquilla. The city’s then-mayor, Jaime Pumarejo, commissioned Colombian sculptor Yino Márquez to create the statue of the city’s treasured pop icon, along with a sculpture of the city’s coat of arms.

According to the New York Times, the two sculptures cost the city the equivalent of around $180,000. A plaque at the statue’s base reads, “A heart that composes, hips that don’t lie, an unmatched talent, a voice that moves the masses and bare feet that march for the good of children and humanity.” 

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