REITs have had a tough go of it over the last five years. The Vanguard Real Estate ETF is up only 21% over the last five years compared to an 81% gain in the S&P 500. On a price-only basis REITs have fallen in price over the last five years. Rising interest rates, shifting secular trends within select REIT sectors, and premium valuations have all contributed to the Vanguard Real Estate ETF’s middling performance, but as the WSJ writes here, some investors are now giving REITs a closer look. “The tide is turning very slowly. It’s not going to be a sea change,” said Jonathan Woloshin, head … [Read more...]
Archives for May 2018
RAGE Gauge: Sell in May?
Sell in May? Not if you have a plan you don’t. Successful investing requires that you have a plan and the patience to stick to it. Being paid to be in the market through dividends from stocks, and interest from bonds, makes the waiting all the more palatable. Risk continues to be high. Stocks continue to feel like a popularity contest, especially the FAANGs. We know how that story ends. Originally posted on Yoursurvivalguy.com. … [Read more...]
Knife Attack: Your Survival Guy in Paris
“Did you hear the gun shots?” a friend asked. “No,” I said. When the knife attack occurred, we, like many other families on a Saturday night in Paris, were out to dinner. In fact, we didn’t learn about the attack until much later. In retrospect, I’m surprised no one at our restaurant told us about it or warned us. Part of me believes they knew the situation was under control and didn’t want to ruin our night or scare us. Or they just didn’t know about it. We learned about the attack back in our hotel room, flipping through the channels on the TV. Seeing the live report brought mixed … [Read more...]
The Chinese are Coming
MSCI unveiled a list of 234 Chinese A-share stocks that will be added to its emerging markets index. The MSCI Emerging Markets index is used as a benchmark for over $1.5 trillion in assets. MSCI had proposed adding A-shares to the Emerging Markets index three times since 2013, but was rebuffed by stakeholders — primarily large asset managers — concerned about their ability to move money more freely in and out of the country. The turning point came with the growth of the stock connect programme, which was created in 2014 but has expanded rapidly over the past few years. The dual trading … [Read more...]
$646 Million Art Sale Breaks Record
Do you remember the art auction I wrote to you about last month? The auction for The Collection of David and Peggy Rockefeller: 19th & 20thCentury Art broke the record for the largest single-seller auction ever. Buyers paid $646 million for the paintings from the Rockefeller collection. Kelly Crow reports for The Wall Street Journal: Before the series began, Christie’s told the Rockefeller family it hoped to get at least $650 million selling off the entire estate, which comprises roughly 1,500 lots. On Tuesday, the house’s sale of 44 paintings and sculptures nearly matched that … [Read more...]
Is Deutsche Bank a Big Short?
Steve Eisman, whose prediction of the 2008 subprime mortgage collapse was subsequently immortalized in book and film as "The Big Short," is telling investors they should short Deutsche Bank shares. Deutsche Bank is one of Europe's top five largest banks by assets. Mr. Eisman calls Deutsche Bank a "problem bank," and says it needs to shrink. Bloomberg's Peter Vercoe and Yvonne Man report: “Deutsche Bank is a problem bank,” Eisman said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Hong Kong. The German lender has “profitability issues,” and will probably have to raise capital next year, he said, … [Read more...]
Home Price Inflation Heats Up
Home prices in 91% of American metropolitan areas increased during the first quarter, and at faster rates. Prashant Gopal reports at Bloomberg: The median price of an existing single-family home rose from a year earlier in 162 of the 178 areas measured, the group said in a report Monday. The national median was $245,500, which is up 5.7 percent from the first quarter of 2017. The number of regions with double-digit gains jumped to 30 percent from 15 percent in the fourth quarter. Home values have increased steadily as job growth boosts demand for a record-low supply of properties on the … [Read more...]
Happy Mother’s Day
One of the more important gifts a mother can give to her children is educating them about money. Growing up, my mother was always talking to my sister and me about money. Just the other day she asked: “E.J. what’s going on with GNMA?” As a sixth-grade teacher my mom made investing fun for her students. Every year she would hold an investing contest. The students would pick their stocks and then, through the course of the school year, excitedly comb through The Wall Street Journal for quotes, pumping their fists and letting out a “YES!” for the winners or pressing their ink-stained finger … [Read more...]
HBO Declares War on Netflix
After quickly expanding to become the world's largest subscription based video streaming service, (excluding China) Netflix has faced little in the way of competition. Amazon's Prime video offering has come closest so far, but the company doesn't generate the large volumes of new content Netflix does. But now, HBO, a premium content company has declared war on Netflix's global prowess. To increase its audience around the world, HBO is creating more homegrown series in its foreign markets. These shows, at times, surpass even its flagship properties Game of Thrones and Westworld for … [Read more...]
How Will OPEC Respond to Iran Sanctions?
With the U.S. renewing sanctions on Iran, OPEC's oil production curtailment program is being questioned. The sanctions are pushing oil prices higher, so OPEC must decide if it will produce more oil during the unexpected windfall, or if it will keep production stable and push prices higher for greater profits. At Reuters, Alex Lawler and Rania El Gamal report: The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has a deal with Russia and non-OPEC producers to cut supplies that has helped erase a global glut and boosted oil prices to their highest since 2014. Officials are considering … [Read more...]