With Christmas nearly here, many parents and grandparents are scrambling for the last minute gifts and stocking-stuffers to delight the kids in their lives. There's nothing better than seeing the wonder in children's eyes as they unwrap a present, but there's another gift you can give your children or grandchildren that will be just as powerful. Passing on wealth to your children or grandchildren for college, a down-payment on their first home, or for other reasons can be a powerful kick-start to their lives. I suggest using UGMAs to accomplish your wealth transfer. Here's what Fidelity has … [Read more...]
Archives for December 2017
Will Tax Cuts Fuel a Rise in Bond Yields?
John Authers suggests that while the tax-cut is mostly priced into equity markets, the bond market could be in for a surprise next year if the reforms have the impact the GOP is hoping for. Bonds globally suffered a sharp sell-off on Tuesday, with little obvious news to justify. As the sell-off was widespread, it is hard to attribute this entirely to events in the US. However, it was noticeable that the rate effect swamped any tax cut effect. Rate-sensitive sectors such as real estate sold off most; financials were more robust. And the stock market overall dipped a bit. Once the details in … [Read more...]
Despite its High Taxes, Connecticut Can’t Pay its Bills
Despite some of America's highest taxes, and despite being America's wealthiest state, Connecticut can't seem to pay its bills without breaking into its rainy day fund. Such raids on state savings are rare, and usually happen in states reliant on commodity royalties for revenue. When commodity prices tank, those states have a hard time making up the difference. Connecticut is a well rounded economy, with a heavy dose of the finance business located in its South Western corner, and the insurance capital of America, Hartford, dead center. The state isn't suffering from a wild swing in a … [Read more...]
Is China a ‘Market Economy’? U.S. Says No
Last year China made complaints to the WTO that the United States and European Union were not treating it as a market economy. In a briefing to the court in China's case, the U.S. has, for the first time, laid out why it doesn't believe China is a market economy. Jacob Schlesinger writes at The Wall Street Journal: China filed complaints late last year against both the U.S. and the EU with the WTO trade court demanding that the U.S. and EU grant it market status. The U.S. case has since stalled, but the complaint against Europe is moving forward toward hearings. What the U.S. revealed on … [Read more...]
What Tax Reform Means for You: The Final Bill
The House and Senate conference committee worked out differences in their respective tax bills last week. The final bill was released Friday evening and a preliminary read indicates the compromised bill is an improvement from either individual bill. The tax-reform bill is still far from perfect, but it is a marked improvement over the current system, especially with respect to corporate taxation. Our last two pieces on the tax-reform bill were focused on two provisions that we thought needed to be killed—the FIFO capital gains provision and the alternative minimum tax (AMT). The … [Read more...]
New Shepard and Crew Capsule 2.0 Advance Blue Origin in the Modern Space Race
On December 12, Blue Origin launched and landed a New Shepard rocket for the first time. After New Shepard hurled the Crew Capsule 326,075 feet into the sky, the capsule used thrusters and parachutes to gently land back on earth. At Popular Mechanics, Launching tourists to space with New Shepard is only a small part of Blue Origin's larger spaceflight plans. In October, Jeff Bezos's rocket company conducted a hot-fire test of the Blue Engine 4 (BE-4), the most powerful American-built rocket engine in decades. Blue Origin has big plans for the BE-4, hoping to sell the rocket engine to United … [Read more...]
Startups Forcing Gillette to Fight Price War
After years of adding more blades and more features to its razors to justify higher prices, Gillette will begin selling blades that offer lower prices. Gillette is being forced to compete with online startup companies Harry's and Dollar Shave Club. Gillette could be cutting prices by as much as 20% on some razors. Sharon Terlep reports at The Wall Street Journal: The move is sure to further aggravate some of the company’s critics. Activist investor Nelson Peltz, in his campaign to win a seat on the P&G board, has bashed P&G for lowering Gillette prices and failing to develop another … [Read more...]
This Savvy Group of Investors is Cashing Out
The FT reports that Private equity investors are selling assets at the fastest pace since the financial crisis. Private equity doesn’t always get it right, but strong demand from yield-starved investors has made the market ripe for exits. That isn’t necessarily a sign of a market top, but it is an indication that the sales opportunities may be more attractive than the buying opportunities today. Private equity groups are selling businesses at a faster rate than in the years leading up to the financial crisis as they look to cash in on record-high prices while the global economy remains … [Read more...]
The Economy Hasn’t Done this in Over a Decade
According to the Atlanta Fed GDP Now Forecast, economic growth in the fourth quarter is on pace to surpass 3% for the third consecutive quarter. As you can see in the chart below, the American economy hasn’t put together three consecutive quarters of 3% plus growth in over a decade. Burdensome regulation and anti-business sentiment apparently had a bigger impact on the economy than many assumed. The economy has grown at such a subdued rate for so long that economists started to assume the U.S. wasn’t capable of growing at 3% again. Three percent is above average growth with today’s … [Read more...]
Crash II, Preview
Breaking news at youngsworldmoneyforecast.com will post next week! You will learn exactly why investors today are being misled by both the Dow 30 and the S&P 500. You will find out why I expect historically poor performance for most investor portfolios over the next five years. You will read the complete details of an easy-to-deploy strategy that will help you ride out the coming storm with a positive total return. You will understand exactly why I use this strategy myself and at my investment management company. You will not want to miss the boat here. Originally posted … [Read more...]