The Wall Street Journal exposes the weak underbelly of America’s e-commerce explosion. WSJ reports: Logistics companies returned to hiring last month after a dip in September, adding thousands of jobs in trucking, warehousing and air transportation. Air transportation companies added 2,500 jobs in September, bringing total job gains in the segment to 13,400 over the past year. And rail transportation gained of 400 jobs after deep cutbacks in recent months that have cut payrolls by 19,800 jobs over the last 12 months because of a steep decline in coal and energy shipments. Meanwhile, … [Read more...]
Archives for November 2016
Is Amazon All it’s Cracked Up to Be?
Over recent years, Amazon shares have been a Wall Street darling. The online retail franchise is what Amazon is most widely recognized for, but the most profitable business segment—Amazon Web Services (AWS)—has nothing to do with online retail. Amazon Web Services is a cloud services platform offering compute power, database storage, content delivery, and other functionality to businesses. AWS is Amazon’s fastest growing business segment and its crown jewel. While the retail operation barely turns a profit with margins of less than 1%, AWS boasts margins of more than 25% and growth in … [Read more...]
How to Invest in a Flat Stock Market
Notwithstanding this morning’s big rally, since year-end 2013 most stocks have gone nowhere. The NYSE Composite, the Russell 2000, and the MSCI All-Country World Index are all basically flat over the last 34 months. The one index on our chart below that is up during this time-period is the NASDAQ 100. Carried by the likes of Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft, the Nasdaq 100 is up about 30% since year-end 2013. If you aren’t willing to speculate with your serious money and risk another dotcom era bust in NASDAQ stocks, what’s the best way to invest in a flat market? At Young … [Read more...]
Microsoft Innovating/Apple Struggling to Innovate
MIT Technology Review looks at the innovation differences between Microsoft and Apple. This week, one giant technology company looked like an innovator, launching a sleek new suite of forward-looking hardware to help media professionals work more effectively. Another added a row of buttons to an existing computer. In the past, Apple would have been the former—for the moment, at least, that role has shifted to Microsoft. Microsoft also launched a new set of tools to create art in 3-D, which the company imagines people will view using its Hololens. Or, perhaps, a VR headset, given that … [Read more...]
Rage Gauge November: Putting Lipstick on the Pig
The numbers aren’t pretty but that’s not stopping the government from smearing lipstick on this pig. Friday’s jobs report was lukewarm with the economy adding a fewer-than-expected 161,000 jobs in October. We’ll have to wait for the post-election adjustment. Unemployment inched lower as the burger flipper jobs increased. ZeroHedge notes that the number of multiple jobholders has hit a 21st century high as people scramble to maintain their standard of living against an unpromising jobs landscape. The Fed punted on rate increases, preferring to wait until December, reinforcing the idea that … [Read more...]
Annuity Salesmen Rise from the Dead
I’ve been slammed over the last few weeks talking with prospective clients. We are open for business is an understatement. One area that I continue to hear about from prospective clients is how they wish they didn’t buy that annuity. I’ve written to you before about these toxic products (for example here, here, here, here and here). The issue is that annuities are sold with a full-court press on those that don’t invest for a living. They’re promised rates of return that sound good on paper but will be wiped out if the insurer goes bankrupt and the government doesn’t bail it out. With … [Read more...]
This is Going to Profoundly Change the Lives of Millions
Small-Scale solar power is going to profoundly change the lives of millions, especially in Africa. In Rwanda, one of Africa's most densely-populated countries, it can cost as much as $2,000 to connect a house to the grid. After an 80% fall in the cost of solar panels over the last six years, innovations in financing, and the development of electronic devices that use less juice (think LED bulbs), an off-grid solar setup that has immense use in Rwanda can be had for a tenth of the cost of connecting to the grid. In a country where fewer than one in ten homes have access to electricity, the … [Read more...]
Trucking Companies are not Upgrading or Expanding Fleets
It is hard to look at the above headline and not be concerned about U.S. 2017 economic momentum. The Wall Street Journal paints an unpleasant picture: Orders for heavy-duty commercial trucks in North America plummeted 46% in October from the same month last year, providing a grim outlook for truck manufacturers in the coming year. In a month when fleets often set their plans for adding new trucks and replacing older rigs for the following year, market forecaster ACT Research’s preliminary order October volume was 13,900 vehicles, flat from September’s order volume and extending a trend of … [Read more...]
After Breathtaking Catastrophe, Delinquency Rates are Near Bottom
Mortgage delinquency rates are nearing 1% for the first time since 2008 on the Freddie Mac index of single-family conventional home mortgage delinquency rates. … [Read more...]
Fidelity Investments: IRS Required Minimum Distribution
Worried about your required minimum distribution (RMD, aka minimum required distribution, MRD)? Don’t be. Fidelity’s got you covered. Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions regarding RMDs. General information What are minimum required distributions (MRDs)? Minimum required distributions, or MRDs, are mandatory, minimum yearly withdrawals that generally must be taken starting in the year you turn 70½. While there is a minimum amount you are required to withdraw in order to avoid severe penalties, you can always take more than the MRD amount. You generally have … [Read more...]
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