How quickly things can change. Back in April I wrote to you of Sweden's all out dash toward creating the world's first cashless society. Digital currency was the wave of the future, and the Swedes were happy to lead. Now, though, the movement toward a cashless society in Sweden is being challenged. Swedish politicians are attempting to rein in the policies of the Riksbank, Sweden's central bank, that encourage cashlessness. Bloomberg reports: A key committee of Swedish lawmakers wants to force the country’s biggest banks to handle cash in an effort to halt the nation’s march toward … [Read more...]
Archives for June 2018
Vermont’s Relocation Grant, Really?
I keep a regular eye on the way states treat their citizens. I regularly warn readers here to avoid those states papering over their structural problems with higher taxes and freedom-restricting regulations. At the same time I applaud those states where entrepreneurs and businesses are rewarded for their hard work and innovation with lower taxes and greater liberty. One thing that is upsetting to me and probably to most Americans is when a state uses its tax dollars to reward a specific group. Picking winners is not in a state's best interest, nor is it good for that state's citizens. … [Read more...]
Schwarzenegger on Investment: We Learn More from Our Failures
In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal's Chris Kornelis, actor, former Mr. Olympia, and former governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger said “We learn not only just from our success, but we learn actually more from our failures.” Schwarzenegger was speaking about the investments he's made in his life, both in his time and his money. Schwarzenegger says his best bet was coming to the United States, and his worst was the film Hercules in New York. He explains why saying of his immigration: “Coming to America opened up all the doors that I didn’t even think about,” he says. … [Read more...]
The Chinese are Coming for Tesla
The world's largest maker of electric vehicle batteries is not housed in Palo Alto, California. Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) is a Chinese company that, with the help of generous government subsidies has become the world's largest supplier of electric vehicle batteries. The company just went public, turning its founders into billionaires. CATL is valued at $12.3 billion, rather inexpensive compared to Tesla's valuation of $55.77 billion today. Bloomberg's Jie Ma tells the story of Zeng Yuqun, CATL's founder. The government’s generous subsidies for new-energy vehicles and … [Read more...]
Amazon’s Amazing Business
Amazon has an amazing business, but the retail operation that so many Americans are familiar with isn’t it. There is of course no denying Amazon is one of the most dominant forces the retail world has seen in decades. But from a profitability perspective, Amazon’s retail operation is marginal. Over the last twelve months Amazon retail has made only a single cent in operating income for every $1,000 in sales. That translates to $188 million in operating income on $174 billion in sales. Contrast that with Amazon Web Services, Amazon’s cloud business. Web services made $4.8 billion in … [Read more...]
When Investing, It’s Better to be a Leper than a Lemming
During my five decades of investing, I have more often than not been arguing against the going wisdom of the markets. To call me a contrarian would be accurate. Leper investor also fits. In December of 2001, I explained what I called “Leper Investing,” to my readers. Leper Investing In order to invest successfully over your lifetime, you need to act counterintuitively; that is, against the prevailing Wall Street wisdom. You want to buy contrary-opinion names—those stocks loathed, despised, and shunned by the institutional magnets. Your caches of lepers will generate above-average … [Read more...]
Update on the Efficient Frontier this Century
I’ve provided you with an updated efficient frontier (EF) curve for this century which includes two nasty market crashes. The EF measures risk and reward. In other words the further to the right the more risk. Originally posted on Yoursurvivalguy.com. … [Read more...]
Has the UK Found a Way to Fix the Irish Border Problem?
One of the hardest problems to solve during Brexit negotiations has been the status of the UK controlled portion of the island of Ireland. Jason Douglas reports in the Wall Street Journal that negotiators may have found an answer. He writes: Under the proposals unveiled on Thursday, the U.K. wouldn’t leave the customs union until permanent arrangements can be put in place, possibly involving new technologies, that avoid the emergence of a visible border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland is part of the U.K. while Ireland will remain in the EU. The … [Read more...]
What’s Killing Value Managers?
Earlier this week the WSJ ran with a headline asking if Value Investors face an existential crisis. See here. The NY Times also featured a piece on the difficulties of value investing. Below are some of the highlights. Think value investors have it tough these days? Just ask William J. Nasgovitz, portfolio manager of the Heartland Value fund, whose own mother recently tried to pull her money out of the fund. “My mom wanted to buy Walgreen at 50 times earnings and sell out of the value fund after making six times her money,'' Mr. Nasgovitz said. ''It's a great company, but it isn't worth 50 … [Read more...]
The Trump Economy is Rolling
There are more jobs available than unemployed workers. Workers of America unite! Bloomberg reports that job vacancies outnumber unemployed Americans for the first time in decades. The U.S. labor market has reached another milestone: For the first time in decades, there are more job openings than unemployed Americans who could fill them. Vacancies rose to a fresh record of 6.7 million in April, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, released Tuesday by the Labor Department. More importantly, upward revisions to the prior month made it the first … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- Next Page »