Despite every retailer attempting to boost their online presence, it turns out that profitability for online sales is lower, and dependability may be too. Walmart recently suffered a bad quarter of earnings, in large part because of mismanaged online sales. In the fourth quarter sales grew 23%, down from over 50% in each of the previous three quarters. Investors weren't happy with the slow down. Sarah Nassauer reports: That wasn’t enough for investors. “This quarter did not live up to those high expectations,” said Simeon Gutman, a retail analyst for Morgan Stanley. Still, Mr. McMillon on … [Read more...]
Archives for February 2018
Are You a Baby Boomer with a Retirement Income Problem?
Originally posted October 23, 2017. You need income in retirement. It’s that simple. But to many, retirement income, and the lack thereof, is a problem that will never be solved. Over the weekend I read an article in the local paper about how dreadfully ill-prepared the Baby Boomer generation is when it comes to retirement income. And it’s a subject that comes up quite often in my conversations with prospective clients. They ask me, “How will I get income from my investments?” After I explain how we construct portfolios, I tell them that a good rule of thumb is to draw no more than … [Read more...]
Take a Drive with Us to Cannon Mtn. in the Live Free or Die State
Over the President’s Day weekend we hit the slopes of New Hampshire skiing Attitash, Wildcat, Sunday River, and Cannon. In this video, drive with us from Bartlett, where we have a log cabin, through the White Mountain National Forest to ski Cannon Mountain. It was a typical New England weekend with rain, sleet, snow, and wind, and yet you’d never know it in this video. Check it out. Click here to watch the video on Yoursurvivalguy.com. … [Read more...]
BP: World Running out of Oil Demand
According to BP, by 2035 demand for crude oil may peak. By 2040, the world's energy supply pie will be sliced equally between oil, coal, natural gas, and renewables, according to the oil giant's predictions. This new projection pushes up peak oil demand by a half decade or more. Christopher Alessi reports: The world’s appetite for oil and other liquid fuels could continue to grow until around 2035, hitting 110.3 million barrels a day—compared with 95 million barrels a day in 2015—before plateauing and falling off in the run up to 2040, the British oil-and-gas giant said Tuesday in the main … [Read more...]
The Truth Behind the S&P 500: Part VII
When three companies—Amazon, Microsoft, and Netflix—comprise almost half of the performance year-to-date for the S&P 500, what happens to the index when they fall out of favor? It has long been my belief that investors don’t measure the risk inherent in a market-cap weighted index such as the S&P 500. They are invested in passive mutual funds that mimic an approach that has become more top heavy by the day. Investors should not be surprised when huge drops accompany huge gains. Read more about the Truth Behind the S&P 500 in Parts I, II, III, IV, V, and … [Read more...]
Paul Singer Epically Savages Bitcoin
You can count hedge fund manager Paul Singer as among the bitcoin skeptics. He recently savaged bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as a form of investment saying: “When the history is written, cryptocurrencies will likely be described as one of the most brilliant scams in history....It is not just a fraud. It is perhaps the outer limit, the ultimate expression, of the ability of humans to seize upon ether and hope to ride it to the stars....But is it not glorious that when the equivalent of nothing attracts priests and parishioners who run up the price, the very willingness of the mob to buy it … [Read more...]
Will Houseparty Dethrone Facebook?
Facebook is declining in popularity among U.S. teens. The platform has lost 10 percent of its users aged 12-17 according to eMarketer. Ben Rubin, a 30-year old tech entrepreneur has developed a group video chat app that is gaining in popularity with teens. Can Houseparty replace Facebook? The FT reports on Rubin’s goals for his app: Two years ago he landed on the idea for Houseparty, where groups of up to eight friends gather to chat, moving in and out of “rooms” and meeting friends of friends. It has already hosted half a billion chats. The average time spent on the app has gone from zero … [Read more...]
America: The New Petro-State
Since at least the 1970s, higher oil prices have been a drag on the U.S. economy, but with U.S. oil production now surging that could be changing. Greg Ip writes in The Wall Street Journal that high oil prices, while still hard on consumers, are generating enough economy activity in America to offset the pain. Credit this to the emergence of the U.S. as a leading oil producer and, soon, net energy exporter. More expensive oil is still a tax on consumers. But that tax is increasingly offset by the boost to energy investment, production and jobs. The U.S. business cycle is thus now tied in … [Read more...]
Global Earnings Generate Dividends and Deals
Strong earnings in Europe are leading to increases in dividend payouts and an uptick in M&A activity on the Continent. Global diversification is more important than ever. As always, investors should focus on harvesting dividends to create a portfolio that generates income for compounding, and funding retirement. Nina Trentmann reports on Europe's strong performance: European companies have struck several deals since the beginning of the year, including Sanofi SA ’s SNY 0.48% proposed takeover of Bioverativ Inc. for more than $11.5 billion. Swiss industrial firm ABB Ltd. ABB -0.20% is … [Read more...]
CNBC Blows the Whistle on Blockchain Abuse
When Bioptix Inc. changed its name to Riot Blockchain Inc., investors flooded in to the company they thought was working on blockchain technologies. CNBC says the change may have been made simply to enrich Bioptix's founders. Bloomberg reports: The shares had more than quadrupled to as high as $46.20 after the company changed its name from Bioptix Inc. in October and said it would focus on cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. But the euphoria didn’t last long and the stock has lost more than half of its value since Bitcoin’s Dec. 18 peak, on concern the company isn’t doing much more than … [Read more...]
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