<ul><li><strong><keyword id="9329191" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="gun-stocks">Gun stocks</keyword> surged through Monday's session after several of the weekend's police-brutality <keyword id="6354896" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="protests">protests</keyword> turned violent.</strong></li><li><strong><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/aobc-stock">Smith &amp; Wesson</a> climbed as much as 28%, while Taser-manufacturer <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/aaxn-stock">Axon Enterprises</a> jumped as much as 21%. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/rgr-stock">Sturm Ruger</a> gained 12.5%.</strong></li><li><strong>Demonstrations in response to <a href="https://www.insider.com/black-man-george-floyd-dies-after-police-officer-kneels-neck-2020-5">the death of George Floyd</a> escalated to feature looting, police violence, and property damage throughout the weekend. Gun stocks typically jump when investors fear near-term firearm regulation.</strong></li><li><strong>Gunmakers had already enjoyed hefty gains through May. <keyword id="293011" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Sturm-Ruger">Sturm Ruger</keyword>'s CEO attributed a 37% leap in distributor sales to "the impact of state-level restrictions and heightened concern for personal protection" related to the coronavirus pandemic.</strong></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingestutm_source=msn.com&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=msn-slideshow&amp;utm_campaign=bodyurlutm_campaign=bodyurl">Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories</a>.</strong></li></ul><p>Gun stocks skyrocketed on Monday following a weekend of police-brutality protests and looting throughout the US.</p><p>Gunmaker <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/aobc-stock">Smith &amp; Wesson</a> soared as much as 28% through the session, while <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/aaxn-stock">Axon Enterprises</a>, which makes the Taser stun-gun, leaped 21%. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/rgr-stock">Sturm Ruger</a> gained as much as 12.5%. All three firms cut some of their morning gains later in the day.</p><p>Demonstrations in response to <a href="https://www.insider.com/black-man-george-floyd-dies-after-police-officer-kneels-neck-2020-5">the death of George Floyd</a> escalated over the weekend, with people starting fires, looting businesses, and being involved in violent encounters with police officers. Firearm sales typically rise in the wake of civil unrest or renewed fear of federal gun-control legislation.</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-picks-to-buy-25-high-upside-recommendations-goldman-sachs-2020-6">GOLDMAN SACHS: Buy these 25 beaten-down stocks all poised to jump more than 18% from current levels</a></em></p><p>Gun manufacturers have all enjoyed strong gains in recent weeks as Americans flock back to gun stores amid economic reopening. Sturm Ruger's distributor sales surged 37% through the first quarter, CEO Christopher Killoy said in a May 7 earnings call, citing "the impact of state-level restrictions and heightened concern for personal protection" related to the coronavirus pandemic.</p><p><keyword id="1256202" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Smith-Wesson">Smith &amp; Wesson</keyword> may have also benefited from its continued spinoff from <keyword id="4247218" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="american-outdoor-brands">American Outdoor Brands</keyword>. Monday marked the first session that the gunmaker traded under the new ticker SWBI, having previously been listed on the Nasdaq exchange with the symbol AOBC. American Outdoor Brands plans to set Smith &amp; Wesson aside as its own publicly traded company and focus more on its outdoor products business, according to a Monday <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/american-outdoor-brands-prepares-for-spin-off-with-name-and-stock-ticker-symbol-change-301068545.html">statement</a>.</p><p><em><strong>Now read more <keyword id="31671" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="markets">markets</keyword> coverage from Markets Insider and Business Insider:</strong></em></p><p><em><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-market-investing-strategy-momentum-growth-factor-volatility-morgan-stanley-2020-6">MORGAN STANLEY: The market's hottest stocks are in danger of being disrupted to a degree not seen since the Great Recession. Here's how to adjust your portfolio for the coming shift.</a></strong></em></p><p><em><strong><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/atlanta-fed-model-estimate-gdp-plummet-second-quarter-coronavirus-fallout-2020-6-1029269838">The Atlanta Fed's latest model estimates a 52.8% GDP contraction this quarter as the US grapples with COVID-19</a></strong></em></p><p><em><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/economic-outlook-ism-pmi-manufacturing-industry-stabilizing-may-coronavirus-recession-2020-6">US manufacturing industry stabilizes after plunging to financial-crisis lows, ISM survey reveals</a></strong></em></p>Read the original article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gun-stocks-price-rally-nationwide-protests-looting-demonstrations-coronavirus-reopening-2020-6">Business Insider</a>

Gun stocks rally amid nationwide protests and looting

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Insider obtained 48 pages of internal emails from the <keyword id="11929278" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="department-of-defense" source="Orion">Department of Defense</keyword>.</li><li>The emails detail how the <keyword id="11897408" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="pentagon" source="Orion">Pentagon</keyword> monitored the <keyword id="11897870" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="january-6" source="Orion">January 6</keyword> attack.</li></ul><p>As an armed mob rushed toward the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, an aide sent Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley an urgent update about congressional office building evacuations and "escalating protests."</p><p>The sources of this information: journalists' tweets.</p><p>"Sir, For awareness … CNN's Jake Tapper reports that the Cannon and Madison congressional office buildings are being evacuated due to suspicious packages. Included below are tweets from Jake Tapper and Andrew Egger of the Dispatch on the intensifying situation at the Capitol," read the email sent at 1:50 p.m. Eastern Time, which also referenced CNN reporters Manu Raju and Phil Mattingly.</p><p>The message is one among <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22089493-foia-department-of-defense-emails">48 pages of emails</a> released this month by the Department of Defense as part of Insider's ongoing Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the agency in pursuit of January 6-related government records.</p><p>Together, this initial release of emails provides dramatic, if decidedly incomplete insight into Trump administration activities in the hours immediately before, during, and after a mob of President <keyword id="11914386" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="donald-trump" source="Orion">Donald Trump</keyword>'s supporters <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/capitol-evacuated-trump-supporters-protesters-electoral-vote-count-pence-2021-1">attacked the US Capitol on January 6</a>. </p><p>One email includes a highly redacted exchange — subject: "fencing" — between Kash Patel, chief of staff to then-Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, and Anthony Ornato, Trump's deputy <keyword id="11896084" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="white-house" source="Orion">White House</keyword> chief of staff for operations, who drew <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/01/us/politics/anthony-ornato-jan-6-trump.html">national attention earlier this month</a> after Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified before the US House's January 6 select committee about him. </p><iframe src="https://embed.documentcloud.org/documents/22089493-foia-department-of-defense-emails/?embed=1&amp;responsive=1&amp;title=1" title="FOIA — Department of Defense emails (Hosted by DocumentCloud)" width="700" height="905" style="border: 1px solid #aaa; width: 100%; height: 800px; height: calc(100vh - 100px);" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-forms allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe><p>Hutchinson testified that Ornato told her Trump "lunged" at a Secret Service agent in a failed attempt to personally join his rioting supporters at the US Capitol. She also said Ornato told her that Trump attempted to grab the wheel of his presidential vehicle as his detail drove him back to the White House from the National Mall, where he had just urged thousands of supporters to "fight like hell," minutes before they attacked the Capitol.</p><p>Patel was one of the Trump loyalists installed at the Pentagon after the president fired his defense secretary in the days after Biden's victory, an unprecedented move in the lame duck period that added to concerns that Trump may resist the peaceful transfer of power, to which he'd <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/23/trump-peaceful-transition-of-power-420791">declined to commit</a> as a candidate.</p><p>Trump himself is the focus of the House's January 6 select committee investigation. Committee members have accused the president of refusing to call off the attackers, some of whom say they attempted to stop Congress' certification of the 2020 presidential electoral votes at Trump's behest.</p><p>Underscoring the chaotic nature of the Capitol attack, many of the newly released emails contain a moment-by-moment mash-up of direct government intelligence, debunked rumors, and "open source" reports curated from media outlets and social media. </p><p>Combined with what is already known about <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-meadows-january-6-texts-jake-sherman-punchbowl-news-reporter-2021-12">text messages</a> sent to Trump's chief of staff and <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/medialibrary/assets/images/19094">a high-level Homeland Security official </a>who visited the Capitol in person, the new disclosures highlight a lack of preparation to secure the counting of the electoral votes and a disorganized, ad hoc response to the violent attempt to disrupt that process. </p><p>The emails also include situation reports from military operations cells about the Pentagon's slow response to back up law enforcement being beaten and overrun at the Capitol.</p><div type="image" title="Attack on US Capitol on January 6 by pro-Trump mob" height="3565" width="5000" msid="92990020" hostid="261"></div><h2>'One civilian shot ...'</h2><p>Emails containing intelligence from the morning of January 6 strike a cautionary but non-alarmist tone as Trump supporters began to gather on the National Mall for a "Stop the Steal" rally that Trump headlined.</p><p>US Park Police "believe they can handle the POTUS event at the ellipse and National Mall," reads one update.</p><p>US Secret Service "estimates the crowd in and around the Ellipse at 1000 hours in excess of 20K. There are no reported incidents at this time," read another.</p><p>With at least one law enforcement agency apparently believing that the crowd could be managed, a roster of Trump's most high-profile supporters — among them, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina, conservative lawyer John Eastman, Trump's sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. — began to speak to the assembled crowd. Trump himself spoke last.</p><p>"We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore," Trump <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/02/10/966396848/read-trumps-jan-6-speech-a-key-part-of-impeachment-trial">said</a> at one point while urging them to march down Pennsylvania Avenue to the US Capitol on the National Mall's eastern end.</p><iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="512" height="288" src="https://video-api.wsj.com/api-video/player/v3/iframe.html?guid=E4E7BBBF-23B1-4401-ADCE-7D4432D07030"></iframe><p>Trump supporters did exactly that. As they did, reports of trouble emerged quickly, according to the newly released emails.</p><p>"Vehicle with rifle on the back seat in plain view under police control while attempting to contact the owner," read an update at 1:30 p.m. attributed to the Department of Homeland Security's National Operations Center.</p><p>"… drone was detected east of the Washington Monument; [US Secret Service] has taken possession of the drone, unable to locate the operator."</p><p>Soon, dispatches — often labeled "civil unrest update" — grew even darker. </p><p>2 p.m.: "Crowds continue to gather at the Capitol … US Capitol is reportedly locked down due to multiple attempts to cross police barriers and police injuries."</p><p>2:23 p.m.: "VPOTUS [Mike Pence] has been ushered from the US Capitol as protestors breach the Capitol Building. Additional open source reports indicate the US Senate is in recess due to a warning of an external threat."</p><p>2:35 p.m.: "Mayor Muriel Bowser (Mayor, DC) ordered a citywide curfew for the District of Columbia … Additionally, Acting Deputy Secretary of DHS has authorized federal law enforcement to assist Capitol Police immediately."</p><p>3 p.m.: "… one civilian shot in the chest inside of the US Capitol — UNCONFIRMED. DC Fire is performing CPR. DHS is working confirmation."</p><p>3:52 p.m.: "US Capitol being evacuated; Members of Congress and Senators being evacuated …"</p><p>4 p.m.: "House Minority Leader confirms shots fired inside US Capitol Building … Six people hospitalized, including one LE officer, in connection with protests at the Capitol … Explosive device discovered at RNC HQ in DC was safely detonated … DNC HQ evacuated after explosive device discovered at RNC HQ."</p><p>The emails, which contained some redactions, also provided real-time fact-checking on rumors, such as when the FBI reported that a "threat to fly a plane into the Capitol building during inauguration deemed not credible …"</p><p>One dispatch concluded that a report of the Proud Boys "threatening to shut down the water system in the downtown area" was "not a credible threat."</p><p>Emails exchanged between Patel and Ornato during the evening of January 6 include the subject line "fencing" — although it's unclear from the highly redacted email whether it's a reference to fencing for the White House, US Capitol, the Pentagon, or a different location. </p><p>The emails show the military's situation planners were closely following the pro-Trump mob's moves that day. Two days prior, Trump's acting defense secretary had imposed further restrictions on the deployment of the DC National Guard, the closest force to back up Capitol Police, ordering they could not be equipped or interact with protesters <a href="https://twitter.com/lukebroadwater/status/1354836817925832705?lang=en">without his approval</a>.</p><p>The then-Capitol Police chief requested Defense Department forces at 1:49 p.m. after rioters breached the perimeter, but the acting defense secretary doesn't approve that request until 3 p.m., delaying their response time; the first National Guardsmen at the Capitol arrived around 5:40 p.m.</p><p>The DC National Guard commander at the time said his forces were ready to respond much sooner, and a top official with the DC Guard accused the Army of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/former-dc-guard-official-accuse-generals-lying-congress-january-6-2021-12">covering up its response</a>, claims the US Army has repeatedly denied.</p><p>Following the January 6 insurrection, fencing for months ringed the US Capitol complex grounds with National Guard members also defending it.</p><p>Ornato first emailed Patel at 11:36 p.m., indicating that Secret Service Deputy Assistant Director Mark Habersaat "can assist with vendor. Let me know if you need anything else. Thanks, Tony." Most of the message's other contents have been redacted.</p><p>"Rgr, thanks much," Patel replied five minutes later.</p><p>Patel, who has since written a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/may/16/former-trump-official-kash-patel-writes-childrens-book-repeating-false-claim-over-steele-dossier">Trump-themed children's book</a> entitled, "The Plot Against the King," is among the hundreds of people the US House's January 6 select committee has interviewed as part of its ongoing investigation into the US Capitol attack and Trump's role in it.</p><h2>More records promised</h2><p>Shortly after the January 6 attack, an Insider reporter requested that the Department of Defense release a variety of records, including communications among members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, National Security Council, and Executive Office of the President. </p><p>Months later, when the Department of Defense had not yet provided the requested records in compliance with the federal Freedom of Information Act, Insider sued the agency in US District Court for the District of Columbia, where the case is still pending.</p><p>In a July 7 letter to Insider, Department of Defense Associate Deputy General Counsel Stuart Sparker wrote that the agency expects to make more records public.</p><p>"Additional productions will be made as we continue to coordinate the review of the remaining responsive documents DoD has in its possession," Sparker wrote.</p><p>A Department of Defense spokesperson acknowledged, but did not respond to, several questions sent by Insider about the emails.</p>

US military leaders followed the January 6 attack through news reports and journalists’ tweets, according to new Pentagon emails released to Insider under the Freedom of Information Act

<a href="https://sumzero.com/"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/590108f17dea7267008b4604-817/shutterstock601940312.jpg" alt="woman reading water beach" /><p class="source"><span>GuilhermeMesquita/Shutterstock</span></p></a><a href="https://sumzero.com/">SumZero</a>, a research database for buy-side investors, asked its members to share their favorite investment books in their user profiles.<p>The list is based on 1,120 responses, and ranked from least to most recommended. </p><p>Here they are:</p><h3>More from Akin Oyedele:</h3><ul><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/disney-earnings-q1-2017-5" rel="nofollow">Disney beats on earnings, misses on revenue amid weakness at ESPN (DIS)</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/silver-price-demand-supply-2017-5" rel="nofollow">Silver has entered a downward spiral and the rest of the year looks bleak</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bumble-bee-price-fixing-2017-5" rel="nofollow">Bumble Bee will plead guilty for fixing canned-tuna prices</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-says-google-has-some-aspects-of-a-natural-monopoly-2017-5" rel="nofollow">BUFFETT ON GOOGLE: Imagine having a business where 'a cash register rung somewhere out in California' every time someone clicks (GOOGL)</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sturm-ruger-earnings-gun-demand-election-2017-5" rel="nofollow">STURM RUGER: Gun demand was unusually strong before the election, but now it's slumping (RGR)</a></li></ul>

Hundreds of investors say these 10 finance books are must-reads

<p><a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/DIS-Quote">Walt Disney</a> on Tuesday reported profits that topped expectations, but revenue that fell short of forecasts.</p><p>The media giant said it earned $1.50 in adjusted earnings per share during its fiscal second quarter, and $13.3 billion in revenue. </p><p>Analysts had forecast that Disney would report $1.41 in adjusted earnings per share and revenue totaling $13.45 billion, according to Bloomberg. </p><p>ESPN was the focus of these earnings results in the wake of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/espn-layoffs-saving-sportscenter-2017-4">recent layoffs</a> as the sports network continued to lose subscribers. <span>According to the latest estimates, ESPN has </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/espn-subscribers-2017-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">lost 12 million subscribers</a><span> in the last six years, and there was no sign of slowing.</span></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/disney-earnings-q1-2017-5">More to come ... </a></p><h3>More from Akin Oyedele:</h3><ul><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/disney-earnings-q1-2017-5" rel="nofollow">Disney beats on earnings, whiffs on revenue (DIS)</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/silver-price-demand-supply-2017-5" rel="nofollow">Silver has entered a downward spiral and the rest of the year looks bleak</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bumble-bee-price-fixing-2017-5" rel="nofollow">Bumble Bee will plead guilty for fixing canned-tuna prices</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-says-google-has-some-aspects-of-a-natural-monopoly-2017-5" rel="nofollow">BUFFETT ON GOOGLE: Imagine having a business where 'a cash register rung somewhere out in California' every time someone clicks (GOOGL)</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sturm-ruger-earnings-gun-demand-election-2017-5" rel="nofollow">STURM RUGER: Gun demand was unusually strong before the election, but now it's slumping (RGR)</a></li></ul>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/exercise-like-navy-seal-commander-workout-2017-4">Here's the workout routine a retired US Navy admiral uses to stay in tip-top shape</a></h3>                                    Please enable Javascript to watch this video                    

Disney beats on earnings, whiffs on revenue

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5417a3616da8115723589684-1022/bumble-bee-tuna.jpg" alt="bumble bee tuna " /><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rusty_clark/6241304067">Flickr/RustyClark</a></span></p>You may have paid more than necessary for canned fish at some point in the last few years.<p>Bumble Bee has agreed to plead guilty for its involvement in fixing shelf-stable tuna fish, the Department of Justice said in a <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/bumble-bee-agrees-plead-guilty-price-fixing">statement</a> on Monday.</p><p>Bumble Bee conspired with other companies to "fix, raise, and maintain prices of packaged seafood," the DoJ alleged in its <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/964856/download">charge</a>.</p><p>The DoJ said the price-fixing took place from around the first quarter of 2011 through at least the fourth quarter of 2013. It was unaware of the exact timing.</p><p>Bumble Bee has agreed to pay a $25 million criminal fine that could be increased to as much as $81.5 million if the company is sold, subject to some terms and conditions.</p><p>Andrew Finch, the acting assistant attorney general in the DOJ's antitrust division, said the charge is the third to be filed in an ongoing investigation into price fixing among the largest suppliers of packaged seafood.  </p><p>This comes after a former Bumble Bee executive was placed on special leave after court documents showed he had agreed to fix packaged-seafood prices. Walter Scott Cameron, the former senior vice president of sales, talked to representatives of other major packaged seafood producers about fixing prices, <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2016/12/07/news/companies/bumble-bee-tuna-price-fixing/?iid=EL">CNN</a> reported.  </p><p>Bumble Bee did not immediately respond to a request for comment. </p><h3>More from Akin Oyedele:</h3><ul><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-says-google-has-some-aspects-of-a-natural-monopoly-2017-5" rel="nofollow">BUFFETT ON GOOGLE: Imagine having a business where 'a cash register rung somewhere out in California' every time someone clicks (GOOGL)</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sturm-ruger-earnings-gun-demand-election-2017-5" rel="nofollow">STURM RUGER: Gun demand was unusually strong before the election, but now it's slumping (RGR)</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sinclair-buys-tribune-deal-2017-5" rel="nofollow">Sinclair is buying Tribune Media for $3.9 billion to create a local-TV behemoth (TRCO, SBGI)</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/retail-earnings-preview-q1-2017-5" rel="nofollow">Wall Street is expecting the worst of the retail apocalypse this week (M, HD, JWN, L)</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-cybersecurity-berkshire-hathaway-meeting-2017-5" rel="nofollow">BUFFETT: This is 'the number one problem with mankind' (BRK.A, BRK.B)</a></li></ul>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-earth-would-look-like-if-ice-melted-world-map-animation-2017-4">Animated map of what Earth would look like if all the ice melted</a></h3>                                    Please enable Javascript to watch this video                    

Bumble Bee will plead guilty for fixing canned-tuna prices

<p><a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/silver-price">Silver</a> has given back all of its gains for the year. </p><p>Since peaking near $18.60 an ounce mid-April, the precious metal has slumped 13%.</p><p>The precious metal is losing its allure with miners, commercial users, and consumers at a pace that's likely to keep prices under pressure through 2017, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. </p><p>"We believe a price range between $15/oz and $20/oz is sustainable in 2017," said Michael Widmer and other strategists in a recent note.</p><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5911f6e073f2f3291b8b49f9-880/screen shot 2017-05-09 at 10449 pm.png" alt="Silver" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/silver-price">Markets Insider</a></span></p><p>"<span>In our view, the lack of upside can be fully explained by </span><span>fundame</span><span>ntals" of demand and supply, they added. </span></p><p>Silver producers have trimmed their spending on finding new mines, they noted. And because it takes several years to move from discovery to production, the slowdown in mining investment is not likely to raise production in a meaningful way. </p><a class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5911dcb973f2f32d028b4aef-960/screen shot 2017-05-09 at 111320 am.png"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5911dcb973f2f32d028b4aef-764/screen shot 2017-05-09 at 111320 am.png" alt="Screen Shot 2017 05 09 at 11.13.20 AM" /></a><p class="source"><span>Bank of America Merrill Lynch</span></p><p>On the demand side, silver's use in photography has fallen as most of the industry has transitioned from print to digital. Also, electronics producers are using less of the metal in their appliances. The decline has steepened as devices get smaller.</p><p>Widmer further notes that uptake in the jewelry industry, specifically from China, dropped last year, although it's starting to stabilize. </p><p>Investors are taking notice and shunning assets that are benchmarked off silver. Demand for silver exchange-traded funds jumped from 2006 through 2012 amid expectations that solar panels and appliances would help lift prices. However, inflows have slowed since then. </p><a class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5911f22cd9f4067b2e8b47c1-960/screen shot 2017-05-09 at 124503 pm.png"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5911f22cd9f4067b2e8b47c1-800/screen shot 2017-05-09 at 124503 pm.png" alt="Screen Shot 2017 05 09 at 12.45.03 PM" /></a><p class="source"><span>Bank of America Merrill Lynch</span></p><span>"Silver can average $20/oz if investors increased their purchases slightly," Widmer said. "The benign trading environment seen in recent years may start to change, a point we made in a recent Metals Weekly. This may make silver as a portfolio hedge more interesting."</span><p><span>What's more unlikely in their view is a drop to $15, they said, which would happen if demand from non-commercial buyers falls even more. </span></p><h3>More from Akin Oyedele:</h3><ul><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bumble-bee-price-fixing-2017-5" rel="nofollow">Bumble Bee will plead guilty for fixing canned-tuna prices</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-says-google-has-some-aspects-of-a-natural-monopoly-2017-5" rel="nofollow">BUFFETT ON GOOGLE: Imagine having a business where 'a cash register rung somewhere out in California' every time someone clicks (GOOGL)</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sturm-ruger-earnings-gun-demand-election-2017-5" rel="nofollow">STURM RUGER: Gun demand was unusually strong before the election, but now it's slumping (RGR)</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sinclair-buys-tribune-deal-2017-5" rel="nofollow">Sinclair is buying Tribune Media for $3.9 billion to create a local-TV behemoth (TRCO, SBGI)</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/retail-earnings-preview-q1-2017-5" rel="nofollow">Wall Street is expecting the worst of the retail apocalypse this week (M, HD, JWN, L)</a></li></ul><p class="tagline">Get the latest Silver price<a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/silver-price"> here.</a></p>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-universe-will-die-2017-4">How our universe will end: 'The black holes will eat up everything'</a></h3>                                    Please enable Javascript to watch this video                    

Silver has entered a downward spiral and the rest of the year looks bleak

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The “sin stocks” label traditionally refers to <keyword id="6366684" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="gambling">gambling</keyword>, alcohol, tobacco, and weapons companies.</li><li><keyword id="4461046" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Sin-stocks">Sin stocks</keyword> are considered <keyword id="597098" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="defensive-stocks">defensive stocks</keyword>, meaning they tend to perform well even during an economic downturn.</li><li>Though relatively stable, sin stocks carry some special risks, such as being vulnerable to changes in regulations or taxes. </li></ul><p>Sin stocks refer to shares of public companies engaged in a business or industry that's considered unethical, immoral, or unsavory. Traditionally, the term's been applied to the weapons, alcohol, gambling, or tobacco sectors. But, with the growth of <keyword id="6617678" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Socially-responsible-investing">socially responsible investing</keyword> and <keyword id="9884660" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ethical-investing">ethical investing</keyword>, sin stocks now often encompass other companies and industries people find objectionable in some way.</p><p>Some investors shun sin stocks and try to own only investments they consider virtuous or ethical. Other investors favor sin stocks because they tend to perform well in both <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-a-bull-market" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bull</a> and bear stock markets, and no matter what <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-business-cycle" target="_blank" rel="noopener">phase</a> the economy is in. </p><p>Let's fall more deeply into sin stocks. </p><h2>What is a sin stock?</h2><p>No single standard industry definition exists for sin stocks. But most of the categories could be said to tie into any of the seven deadly sins laid out centuries ago by Pope Gregory I: </p><ol><li>Pride</li><li>Greed</li><li>Lust</li><li>Envy</li><li>Gluttony</li><li>Wrath</li><li>Sloth</li></ol><p>It's easy enough to plug most of the sin stock categories into this ancient list: Gluttony could refer to alcohol and <keyword id="2433809" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Tobacco-stocks">tobacco stocks</keyword>, wrath could refer to weapons stocks, and greed could refer to gambling stocks. Adult entertainment companies can also fall under the umbrella of sin stocks, and they fit nicely into the lust category.</p><h2>Is sin in the eye of the beholder?</h2><p>Other stocks and sectors can be considered sinful too — depending on your religion, your politics, and your personal moral and ethical values. </p><p>For example, Islamic investors, following their faith's Shariah law, might shun conventional financial institutions because they charge interest. Shariah principles also prohibit investments in alcohol, tobacco, pork, gambling, media, and pornography and disallow short selling, speculation, and derivatives.</p><p>Environmentalists might classify oil and coal stocks as sin stocks, considering the companies behind them to be "polluters." Vegans might consider shares of any company that raises animals, sells animal products, or tests on animals to be a sin stock. Some analysts even make a solid argument for Netflix as a sin stock: to binge-watch a show is to indulge in sloth. </p><p>And if alcohol is sinful, maybe marijuana is, too, if it's being used for recreational and not medicinal purposes. The stock of a company that produces opiates could be considered a sin stock because of all the people who have died or become addicted — though of course, these drugs have enormous benefits too. </p><p>Even the generally agreed-upon categories can be open to debate. What one person calls a weapons company (unethical) another person might deem a defense company (ethical). Such is the double-edged sword of trying to define what makes a stock sinful.</p><h2>Sin stock categories and companies</h2><p>A variety of corporations could be called sin players.  The categories include the traditional Big Four of the sin stock sector, along with some newer but commonly cited fields.  </p><ul><li><strong>Alcohol:</strong> Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD), Molson Coors Brewing Company (MCBC), Boston Beer Company (SAM), Constellation Brands (STZ), Diageo (DGEAF), Brown-Forman (BF)</li><li><strong>Defense/Weapons:</strong> Boeing (BA), Northrup Gruman (NOC), Aerojet Rocketdyne (AJRD), Raytheon (RTX), Lockheed Martin (LMT), American Outdoor Brands (AOBC), Olin (OLN), Vista Outdoor (VSTO), Sturm, Ruger (RGR)</li><li><strong>Tobacco: </strong>Altria (MO), British American Tobacco (BTAFF), Philip Morris (PM)</li><li><strong>Gambling/Adult Entertainment:</strong> Las Vegas Sands (LVS), MGM Resorts (MGM), Wynn Resorts (WYNN), Penn National Gaming (PENN), Caesars Entertainment (CZR), Boyd Gaming (BYD), Scientific Games (SGMS), DraftKings (DKNG), RCI Hospitality Holdings (RICK)</li><li><strong>Marijuana/Cannabis: </strong>Cronos (CRON), Canopy Growth (CGC), Aurora Cannabis (ACB), Aphria (APHA), Tilray (TLRY), GrowGeneration (GRWG)</li><li><strong>Corrections/Prisons:</strong> CoreCivic (CXW), The GEO Group (GEO)</li><li><strong>Payday Lenders:</strong> World Acceptance Corp. (WRLD), Enova International (ENVA)</li><li><strong>Energy:</strong> Energy Transfer LP (ETP), ExxonMobil (XOM), Kinder Morgan (KMI)</li><li><strong>Meat:</strong> Hormel Foods (HRL), Sanderson Farms (SAFM), Tyson Foods (TSN)</li><li><strong>Snacks/Junk Food:</strong> Coca-Cola (KO), Mondelez International (MDLZ), Hershey (HSY), PepsiCo (PEP), McDonald's (MCD)</li></ul><h2>What makes sin stocks enticing?</h2><p>You don't invest in sin stocks just for the thrill of being naughty. Owning them can be an attractive financial strategy. </p><h3>They're steady performers</h3><p>Sin stocks are considered "defensive" stocks, meaning they tend to perform well even during an economic downturn or <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-a-recession" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recession</a>. People who regularly smoke, drink, or gamble don't stop doing these things when times are bad, whether because they're physically addicted or because they enjoy these activities as a way to escape and unwind, however un healthfully. </p><p>And of course, they might indulge even more when times are good. </p><h3>They're cash cows</h3><p>As a result, sin stocks are known for their stable earnings and income streams. Many companies in sin industries are well-established, have sound financials, and have consistently paid dividends for years. </p><h3>They've got little competition</h3><p>The goods and services that sinful companies produce tend to be highly subject to law. Potential competitors may be loath to enter such enterprises, creating more room for the existing players.</p><p>Even sin stocks' negative connotations can work to their advantage. Certain institutional investors — especially those handling funds for religious or academic groups — often shy away from notorious or controversial businesses. That can lead to a particular sin stock being undervalued and a good bargain.</p><h2>What are the downsides of sin stocks?</h2><p>Even if you have no moral or ethical qualms about investing in sin stocks, you should consider their potential financial drawbacks before adding them to your portfolio.</p><h3>There's high regulatory risk</h3><p>All companies' fortunes can be contingent on laws, but regulatory risk is a particular concern with sin stocks. </p><p>Marijuana might become legal at the federal level, but what happens if, instead, U.S. states reverse the legality of medical or recreational marijuana? Defense spending and gun control regulations can change depending on who rules a country, international relations, and terrorist activity.</p><h3>Taxes can be a problem</h3><p>All companies have to deal with taxation, but sin stocks often have a fiscal target on their backs. Regulators and voters could decide to increase taxes on the "sinful" items these companies produce; they're often the go-to source when states need money. Higher taxes could reduce demand, dampen profits, and push stock prices down.</p><h3>Consumer habits can change</h3><p>You'll also want to consider the effect of changing consumer tastes, like declining alcohol and tobacco consumption. Black swan events can force habits to change, such as a pandemic shutting down casinos and the sporting events people like to bet on.</p><p>Finally, devoting too much of your portfolio to a single industry or company is always risky, no matter whether that company produces organic vegetables or nuclear warheads.</p><h2>How to invest in sin stocks </h2><p>The unique consideration for sin stocks is whether you oppose the product or service a company manufactures or purveyors. Otherwise, whether you should invest in sin stocks boils down to the same questions you would ask yourself with any investment: </p><ul><li>What is the unique benefit of putting my money in this investment versus a different investment? </li><li>Is the potential reward high enough to choose this investment over the alternatives?</li><li>How does this investment fit into my portfolio and my overall investment strategy?</li><li>How much money do I stand to lose? Can I afford that loss?</li></ul><p>Of course, as with any investment, you'll have to do the research on any possible sin stock you're considering to make sure the conventional wisdom about it holds true.</p><h2>The financial takeaway</h2><p>In a sense, the decision to invest in stocks question touches on the general issue of socially responsible and ethical investing — and whether you feel that your principles should influence your principal.</p><p>Some investors' attitude toward sin stocks is that it's up to individuals to decide whether they want to smoke, drink, or gamble, despite the risks. Other investors think that the companies producing these products are at least partly to blame for individuals' consumption, especially when that consumption becomes addictive and products are engineered to be addictive. </p><p>It's up to you whether to base your investment decisions purely on financial considerations or whether to let the ethical questions inform your choices. </p><h2>Related Coverage in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/investing-reference" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Investing</a>:</h2><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/why-invest-stock-market" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Why invest in the stock market? Because it can be more dangerous not to</a></h3><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/how-to-invest-in-stocks-beginners-guide" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How to invest in stocks, even if you're starting from scratch</a></h3><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/online-poker-casino-games-business-triple-as-casinos-close-2020-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Online poker and casino games have tripled their revenue from last year as real-world casinos shut their doors</a></h3><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-cannabis-execs-say-industry-is-heading-for-a-turnaround-2020-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Insider Cannabis: US cannabis execs say the industry is heading for a turnaround — Compass Pathways going public — Cannabis users prefer regular old weed</a></h3><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pentagon-upholds-microsoft-jedi-contract-amazon-lawsuit-2020-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In a blow to Amazon, the Pentagon has upheld its $10 billion JEDI contract with Microsoft</a></h3>

Sin stocks are shares in companies whose business can be considered unethical — here's why they're so enticing and the major players

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/546b46cd6da8118a790e3d16-1200-924/new-yorkers-outside-during-polar-vortex.jpg" border="0" alt="new yorkers outside during polar vortex"><p class="source"><span>Getty Images/Andrew Burton</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Good morning! We hope you are enjoying the winter-like conditions across much of the US on this Tuesday morning. Via Dave Lutz at JonesTrading, here's a quick guide to what traders are talking about this morning. </p>
<p style="padding-left: 60px;">Good Morning! US Futures are starting mixed, as the Russell jumps 30bp, while S&amp;P and NDX are flat. Overseas markets are enjoying tailwinds, with Abe calling snap election and delaying the tax hike (well expected), and dovish hopes continuing from ECB on the back of Draghi comments. Germany's ZEW bounced back sharply helping DAX jump 1.2% in average volume as Materials, Industrials and Banks perform well in Europe. Over in Asia, Russia's MICEX continues to climb as Oil stabilizes, while the Nikkei surges 2% on hopes of additional stimulus measures from the new Abe government. The HK link remains a "Sell the News" in light volume, with China off 70bp as China new home prices fell in virtually every city surveyed. The Sensex finally took a breather from it's recent run, while Staples and Tech helped propel the KOSPI up 1% as Samsung jumped post-analyst day. Emerging Asia is had a strong overnight, with Malaysia and Thailand rallying behind Indonesia's much anticipated subsidized fuel price hike overnight - while Aussie lost small, weighed down by the Miners.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 60px;">The US 10YY is flat this AM, with most of the Sovereign attention on PIIGS spreads post-Draghi's speech yesterday. BoE Gov. Mark Carney flagged up "huge disinflationary forces," a remark which was taken as a strong hint that record-low U.K. interest rates aren't going up anytime soon - The DXY is retreating into the Fed's minutes <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_423328454"><span class="aQJ">tomorrow</span></span> - giving commodities a nice tailwind this AM. The Standout winner is Gold - climbing 1.2% to the highest in two weeks (speculation the ECB may purchase assets including bullion to counter low inflation / SNB Vote / Crowded Short). Growth commodities remain under pressure, with Copper off 1% and WTI giving up pre-market gains (was up 1%) into Oil Inventories and Expiry. Scheduled Catalysts today include Total Net TIC Flows At 9, NAHB Housing Market Index and Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales at 10 - Fed's Kocherlakota Speaks on Monetary Policy at <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_423328455"><span class="aQJ">1:30</span></span>, and After the close we get API inventories for Crude. The Spot VIX contract expires today, and at some point we may have the US Senate voting on Keystone tonight.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 60px;">Some trades I'm watching today - ITB (Builders) held key support again yesterday ($25), but HD is under pressure early on #s ahead of NAHB data / Watch the Gold Miners - someone has been rolling from GDX/GDXJ into the levered NUGT, which has surged 25% the last 2 sessions / With the Russell Outperforming, I'm watching to see if today is a "Good Harbor" day, as they are currently UW Smallcaps / With Oil breaking down into Expiry, imagine more headwinds for HYG as the HY Energy Credits continue to be sold / Keystone headlines may impact TRP, ENB, SU, IMO, CVE, CNQ, CNRL and refiners - but a Obama Veto looms large / Watch the levered Gun&amp;Ammo plays (RGR, SWHC, ATK, DKS, CAB, TASR) with Ferguson headlines heating up into the Jury decision.  </p>

What Are Traders Chatting About This Morning? Oil, Housing, Japan...

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56896e17c08a8037018b677e-2400/rts5dk7.jpg" alt="Travis Kalanick" /><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Mike Blake</span></p>Undercutting competition by burning unlimited amounts of investor cash is part of Uber's business model.<p>Shares of rental-car conglomerate Hertz Global Holdings closed at $14.98 on Friday, after reaching an all-time low of $14.32 on Thursday. These shares have only been around since last June, when Hertz spun off its equipment leasing division. They've plunged 73% from their high last July.</p><p>Hertz will report first quarter earnings on Monday. In the fourth quarter, it lost $440 million or $5.30 a share, much worse than "expected." Expectations for Q1 are so low that it will be hard to report "worse than expected" numbers.</p><p>November 9 was its big day. Its shares plunged 52% to $17.20. Carl Icahn had been vociferously hyping and buying the shares, including 15 million shares during the plunge. He has lost money relentlessly.</p><p>That day, Hertz doused car-befuddled Wall Street analysts with a dose of reality about the auto bubble. Deprecation of its vehicles was soaring as residual values were dropping. It also cited falling rental volume and falling rental rates in the US.</p><p>In 2015, it was forced to restate earnings due to accounting "errors" going back to 2011 and announced it was being investigated by the SEC.</p><p>Hertz, which is junk-rated and has $15 billion in debt, including $9.45 billion in "vehicle debt," has a tidal wave of bond maturities coming its way that it must figure out how to refinance. Some of its deteriorating metrics have breached debt covenants, and it has been forced to negotiate with its creditors to amend the creditor agreement to avoid technical default.</p><p>Now it's "again at risk of being driven back to the negotiating table for another round of covenant revisions, according to a lender and two sellside analysts," <a href="http://www.debtwire.com/info/2017/05/02/hertz-cap-structure-get-rolled-secular-pressures-collide-maturities-covenants/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Debtwire</a> reported, adding: "Another covenant breach could jeopardize liquidity, since the bulk of liquidity is stored in the Barclays-agented revolver, the sources noted."</p><p>So Hertz has, let's say, some issues. But there is something else going on, something <em>structural</em> that impacts the entire industry.</p><p>Rideshare companies such as Uber and Lyft are eating its lunch. OK, competition might not be all that fair. While Hertz gets keelhauled when it loses a few hundred millions dollars, Uber is considered a hero when it loses <em>billions</em> of dollars [<a href="http://wolfstreet.com/2017/04/15/uber-confirms-horrendous-loss-in-2016/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Uber Confirms Horrendous Loss in 2016</a>].</p><p>It's easy to plow down competition when burning unlimited amounts of investor cash is part of the business model. This allows Uber to undercut any kind of competition.</p><p>Data on the extent to which rideshare companies are taking market share from rental car companies is still sketchy. But there are some early indications.</p><p>This chart shows how corporate spending on ground transportation was divvied up between rental cars (red line) and Uber (blue line) in Q4 of the past three years, according to a sellside analyst cited by Debtwire. Not shown: taxis, whose share is getting decimated.</p><a class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5910bfbf73f2f34f008b4580-960/us-rental-car-vs-rideshare.png"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5910bfbf73f2f34f008b4580-600/us-rental-car-vs-rideshare.png" alt="US rental car vs rideshare" /></a><p class="source"><span><a href="http://wolfstreet.com/2017/05/07/uber-lyft-rideshare-take-market-share-from-hertz-rental-car-companies/">WolfStreet</a></span></p><p>This is largely corroborated by Manheim's 2017 <a href="https://publish.manheim.com/content/dam/consulting/2017-Manheim-Used-Car-Market-Report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Used Car Market Report</a>, citing an analysis of business travel expenses by Certify SmartSpend, which pegged the market share of Uber and Lyft in Q3 2016 at 52% of ground transportation spending, up from 46% in Q3 2015. The share of rental cars dropped to 36%, and the share of taxis to 12%.</p><p>Even if these numbers - like so many numbers - are extrapolated from limited data, and to be taken with a grain of salt, they nevertheless show a terrible trend for rental car companies in that segment of their business.</p><p>This does not include spending by non-expense-account tourists. They too are shifting from rental cars to rideshare companies to get around in a city. They don't have to worry about driving and parking in an unknown city. And it could turn out to be cheaper, given the cost of renting, fuel, and parking (not to speak of parking tickets). I see this shift in San Francisco on a massive scale.</p><p>This is a structural shift. And it will get bigger. Rideshare companies are not only hammering taxi enterprises, they're also hammering rental car companies in that segment of their business.</p><p>Rental car companies are starting to respond by "rightsizing" their fleets. In 2015, they bought 1.78 million new vehicles, according to Manheim. That's about how many they have to unload this year just to maintain their fleet size. If they want to cut their fleet size, they'll have to unload more.</p><p>But in 2016, rental car companies bought 1.82 million vehicles - the most since 2007. So the fleet isn't exactly shrinking. But revenue per vehicle, a key industry metric, has been shrinking since 2012. Hence the term, "over-fleeted." Something has to give.</p><p>To shrink their fleets, they'll have to dump more vehicles on the wholesale market. But the wholesale market is already under pressure from the tsunami of cars that are coming off leases. In its recently released <a href="http://img03.en25.com/Web/NADAUCG/%7Bebd615bc-5417-4cb0-99b2-ae756510c632%7D_Guidelines_UCG_201704.pdf">April Used Car Guidelines</a>, the National Automobile Dealer Association reported that values of vehicles up to 8 years old fell 7.2% year-over-year to the lowest level since 2010. Note the price bubble in the years after the Financial Crisis:</p><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5910c01773f2f32b008b458b-600/us-auto-used-vehicle-prices-2017-03.png" alt="US auto used vehicle prices 2017 03" /><p class="source"><span>WolfStreet</span></p><p>It isn't going to be easy for rental car companies to rightsize their fleets without incurring large losses. And by rightsizing their fleets, they will further pressure used vehicle values. At the same time, rideshare companies, which can burn as much cash as they want to and still be heroes, are relentlessly eating into that segment.</p><p>This has ramifications for new vehicle sales: rental car companies are unlikely to increase their vehicle purchases, which could further pressure new vehicle sales. They're already declining, despite record incentives, as inventory bloat spreads to zombie retail malls. Read…  <a href="http://wolfstreet.com/2017/05/02/carmageddon-not-yet-but-hot-air-hisses-out-of-auto-bubble/">#Carmageddon Not Yet, But Hot Air Hisses out of Auto Bubble</a></p><h3>More from Akin Oyedele:</h3><ul><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sturm-ruger-earnings-gun-demand-election-2017-5" rel="nofollow">STURM RUGER: Gun demand was unusually strong before the election, but now it's slumping (RGR)</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-says-google-has-some-aspects-of-a-natural-monopoly-2017-5" rel="nofollow">BUFFETT ON GOOGLE: Imagine having a business where 'a cash register rung somewhere out in California' every time someone clicks (GOOGL)</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sinclair-buys-tribune-deal-2017-5" rel="nofollow">Sinclair is buying Tribune Media for $3.9 billion to create a local-TV behemoth (TRCO, SBGI)</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/retail-earnings-preview-q1-2017-5" rel="nofollow">Wall Street is expecting the worst of the retail apocalypse this week (M, HD, JWN, L)</a></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-cybersecurity-berkshire-hathaway-meeting-2017-5" rel="nofollow">BUFFETT: This is 'the number one problem with mankind' (BRK.A, BRK.B)</a></li></ul>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/exercise-like-navy-seal-commander-workout-2017-4">Here's the workout routine a retired US Navy admiral uses to stay in tip-top shape</a></h3>                                    Please enable Javascript to watch this video                    

Uber is shaking up the rental-car business

<p>President Barack Obama has been pretty vocal about what he thinks of the current state of gun regulations—they're nowhere near as strict as he thinks they should be. But his battle for stricter gun laws will be exactly that: a battle.</p>
<p>The gun industry is booming. The demand for <keyword id="6371465" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="guns">guns</keyword> and ammo has never been higher. In 2012, the FBI conducted more background checks on people who wanted to buy guns than ever before. </p>
<p>So are profits. Since Obama took office in 2008, profits for some gun manufacturers are <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/ycharts/2012/11/11/gun-maker-stocks-a-replay-of-the-obama-sales-boom/" target="_blank">up almost 200%</a>.</p>
<p>In 2012, the American industry for guns and ammunitions totaled about <strong>$12 billion</strong>, according to an estimate by the IBIS group. In 2011, gun companies paid more than <strong>$5 billion</strong> in federal, state and excise taxes, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a pro-gun organization.</p>
<h2><strong>The Gun Industry Employed 98,759 People In 2012.</strong></h2>
<p><strong>This interactive map shows how many people were employed by the gun industry in each state:<br /></strong></p>
<p><iframe width="626" height="416" frameborder="0" src="http://www.businessinsider.com/document/511923a8eab8ea2459000001/gunjobs.html"></iframe></p>
<h6 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Interactive map: click on any state to see how many people the gun industry employs there. A darker color means more workers. Source: <a href="http://www.nssf.org/research/" target="_blank">National Shooting Sports Foundation</a><a href="http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/nics"></a><br /></strong></h6>
<p>With 10,835 workers, there were more people employed in the gun industry in California than anywhere else in the United States. In second place is Texas, which employed 5,986 people in the gun industry in 2012.</p>
<h2><strong><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5119259d69bedd6f76000009-706-554/screen%20shot%202013-02-11%20at%2011.53.25%20am.png?maxX=400" border="0" alt="Taxes Paid By Gun Industry" width="400" /></div><p class="source">Business Insider</p><p class="caption">Chart: Change in taxes paid by gun industry from 2008 to 2011.</p></div>Revenues &amp; Profits:</strong></h2>
<p>The Strum &amp; Ruger Co (RGR), a Connecticut-based firearms manufacturer, made  <strong>$40 million</strong> in profits on sales worth $328.8 million in 2011, according to the <a href="http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/rgr/financials?query=income-statement#.URlZf-gYCHk" target="_blank">company's annual statement</a>. The company's profits are <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/ycharts/2012/11/11/gun-maker-stocks-a-replay-of-the-obama-sales-boom/" target="_blank">up almost <strong>200%</strong> since Obama took office</a>.</p>
<p>Smith &amp; Wesson (SWHC), another popular but relatively small gun maker, made a profit of <br /><strong>$16 million </strong>in from mid-2011 to mod-2012 by selling $411.9 million worth of guns and ammo, <a href="http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/swhc/financials?query=income-statement#.URlZtOgYCHk" target="_blank">according to the company's annual statement</a>. The company's profits are <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/ycharts/2012/11/11/gun-maker-stocks-a-replay-of-the-obama-sales-boom/" target="_blank">up nearly <strong>140%</strong> since Obama took office</a>.</p>
<h2><strong>Last year, the FBI did 19,463,832 background checks on people who wanted to buy guns.</strong></h2>
<p><strong>This interactive map shows how many background checks of people who wanted to purchase guns the FBI conducted in each state:<br /></strong></p>
<p><iframe width="626" height="416" frameborder="0" src="http://www.businessinsider.com/document/5119264069bedda473000019/backgroundchecks.html"></iframe></p>
<h6 style="text-align: center;">Interactive map: click on any state to see how many people wanted to buy guns there. A darker color means more people wanted to buy guns there. <strong>Source: <a href="http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/nics">FBI NICS</a></strong></h6>
<p>There's a reason why the gun industry is so profitable: There's a huge market for them. The number of gun-purchase related background checks the FBI conducts is a pretty good indicator of how many people want to buy firearms. In 2012, the FBI conducted 19,463,832 background checks, according to FBI data.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, the underground market for guns is also pretty robust: <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Business/investigation-finds-62-private-gun-sellers-perform-background/story?id=15154436" target="_blank">62 percent of private gun sellers would have agreed to sell a firearm to a buyer who couldn’t pass a background check</a>, according to data from an undercover investigation by New York City public officials.</p>
<h2><strong>The number of people who wanted to buy guns in 2012 went up by more than 3 million in a year</strong></h2>
<p><strong><strong>This interactive map shows by how much the number of background checks conducted by the FBI increased or fell in each state:</strong></strong></p>
<p><iframe width="626" height="416" frameborder="0" src="http://www.businessinsider.com/document/511927a169bedd227c000004/ncischange.html"></iframe></p>
<h6 style="text-align: center;">Interactive map: click on any state to see how many more people wanted to buy guns in 2012 than in 2011. The darker the red, the higher the increase, blue and white mean the number decreased. <strong>Source: <a href="http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/nics">FBI NICS</a></strong></h6>
<p>Kentucky saw the highest increase in gun-related background checks, while that number decreased quite dramatically in Utah, and to a lesser degree, in Indiana.</p>

You Searched For "RGR" and got 10 results

Gun stocks rally amid nationwide protests and looting

Ben Winck

US military leaders followed the January 6 attack through news reports and journalists’ tweets, according to new Pentagon emails released to Insider under the Freedom of Information Act

Mattathias Schwartz,Dave Levinthal

Hundreds of investors say these 10 finance books are must-reads

Akin Oyedele

Disney beats on earnings, whiffs on revenue

Akin Oyedele

Bumble Bee will plead guilty for fixing canned-tuna prices

Akin Oyedele

Silver has entered a downward spiral and the rest of the year looks bleak

Akin Oyedele

Sin stocks are shares in companies whose business can be considered unethical — here's why they're so enticing and the major players

Amy Fontinelle

What Are Traders Chatting About This Morning? Oil, Housing, Japan...

Myles Udland

Uber is shaking up the rental-car business

Akin Oyedele

These Maps Show Why Implementing Gun Control Legislation Will Be So Hard

Lisa Mahapatra