You Might be a Mountain Man if… If you live on a mountain and regularly send pictures of nosy black bears sniffing around your front door and casually note in your email: “Had some visitors last night,” then, you might be a mountain man. Meet Tim Jones. He is: “The Stissing Mountain Man.” Tim Jones lives on Stissing Mountain, located in the Hudson Valley in Pine Plains, New York. I met Tim when his son, also Tim, began working with us 11 years ago. I’ll refer to them as Tim Sr. and Tim Jr. for this piece. You know when you meet someone and there’s a genuineness where you know they … [Read more...]
Archives for April 2018
This Chart Has a Concerning Look
Is the Smart Money Index sending a signal of caution? While the Dow has rebounded from its lows, the Smart Money Index hasn’t been able to stage a sustainable rally. The Smart Money Index measures the performance of the market at the start of trading and the end. The "smart money" is believed to trade more heavily at the end of the day. The index isn’t infallible, but the big divergence between the Dow and the Smart Money Index isn’t a bullish signal. … [Read more...]
East Coast LNG Sets Sail
The first cargo of LNG from the East Coast departed Cove Point terminal on Monday. The terminal makes Dominion Energy the second American company to export LNG, after Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass terminal on the Gulf of Mexico became the first operation to export gas back in 2016. Bloomberg reports: Cove Point’s startup is accelerating America’s emergence as an LNG powerhouse that’s expected to challenge Australia and Qatar for worldwide dominance in the next five years. Three more export terminals may open on the Gulf Coast by 2019. While Cove Point’s East Coast location could give it … [Read more...]
Yes, Vanguard is too Big: Part II
Has there ever been a bigger supporter of Vanguard than Dick Young whom, unlike other promoters and hucksters out there today, never had a horse in the race? And could there be a better triple play combo than Wellington Management, Vanguard, and Dick Young’s approval? Vanguard’s low-cost expense ratios, no 12b-1 fees, and its history with Wellington Management were, among other valuable investor tenets, enough to recommend Vanguard to you. Buying Vanguard Wellington and Wellesley was simple. Owning them gave you a balanced portfolio with a stock to bond mix of 60/40 or 40/60. There … [Read more...]
Bearish Concerns on Netflix
Netflix reports earnings after the close today and the Street is looking for another blowout quarter in terms of subscriber growth. Even the bears expect strong numbers, but those street analysts who have the courage to think long-term (there’s only one or two) see challenges in the long-run. As Barron’s reports, the analyst from Webush sees changes in the competitive marketplace that could shake up subscriber loyalty. To wit: Changes in the competitive marketplace could shake up subscriber loyalty. “The combination of less content from Disney (DIS) (pulling the majority of its newer … [Read more...]
War Tensions Driving up LNG Prices
Among the major players in the conflict in Syria are all of the world's top three natural gas producers. The United States, Russia and Iran. Qatar, the world's fourth largest producer, and Saudi Arabia, the world's ninth largest producer have also been linked to rebel groups in the country. Oilprice.com reports that in reaction to heightened tensions and missile strikes in Syria, LNG prices have been soaring. Tim Daiss writes: Also, on Wednesday, Saudi Arabia faced what the Associated Press (AP) called a flurry of attempted attacks by Yemeni rebels. Saudi Arabia’s defense forces said … [Read more...]
Bitcoin Diehards are HODL
"After bitcoin’s frenzied rally last year, prices have lost about two-thirds of their value from a December high. The cryptocurrency had been trading around $7,000 in recent days, although a sharp jump Thursday morning briefly lifted the price above $7,900, according to CoinDesk,” writes Steven Russolillo in the WSJ. “Nonetheless,” he continues, “in the past few months, bitcoin has faded off the front pages of newspapers and it no longer dominates people’s social-media feeds. Global internet searches for the word “bitcoin” have fallen by over 80% from December, according to Google … [Read more...]
Emergency Cash: Bitcoin or Dollars?
Originally posted on December 1, 2017. Bitcoin is being considered by some as their emergency stash. For me, when the power goes out, I prefer having dollars on hand. ATMs will be out of commission, and depending on road conditions, even if my bank is open, I’m not sure I’ll be hitting the streets to make a withdrawal. One of the many hurdles bitcoin faces is frictionless exchange. It doesn’t have the general acceptance by society yet like the dollar, and to achieve that acceptance will be a monumental task. In an emergency situation, I want to be able to have cold hard cash on hand … [Read more...]
Vanguard GNMA and Your Retirement Years
When the financial crisis destroyed the stock market in 2008, guess which fund weathered the storm? You guessed it Vanguard GNMA. When the tech bust destroyed the stock market at the beginning of this century, guess which fund weathered the storm? Right again, Vanguard GNMA. That’s two huge busts in the stock market so far this century. Many mutual funds focus on 10-year performance. As 2018 moves forward into 2019, the brutal losses of 2008 will be rolled off, and investors may not see the risk inherent in stock funds as they make their allocation decisions. But a retirement lasts … [Read more...]
Is the Apple’s HomePod a Flop?
Bloomberg is reporting that the Apple HomePod, Apple’s response to the Amazon Echo, is off to a slow start. In the first 10 weeks of sales, the HomePod has about 10% of the smart speaker market. And much of those sales came upon initial release. Price likely has something to do with the speaker’s slow start. The HomePod is $200 more than most smart speakers. Unless you are an Apple fanboy, it may be difficult to justify the premium price for what is a basic speaker with an inferior voice assistant. At first, it looked like the HomePod might be a hit. Pre-orders were strong, and in the last … [Read more...]