Robert Cross, a professor of leadership at my alma mater, Babson College was recently quoted in The Wall Street Journal with some great advice on escaping "collaborative overload," in other words, too many shared projects at work. The projects demand meetings, conference calls and endless emails, but leave little time for actually getting work done. Lauren Weber and Lynn Cook report on Cross's view of the problem here: People with deeply rooted identities as high-performing workers are especially susceptible to collaborative overload, says Rob Cross, a professor of leadership at Babson … [Read more...]
Archives for August 2018
America’s Booming Economy is Short on Trucks
As the economy booms in America, trucking companies just can't get their hands on enough trucks. Big rig manufacturers are filling orders as fast as they can, but they can't keep up. Erica E. Phillips writes: Anyone ordering a new heavy-duty truck this summer will have wait until sometime next year to get it, assuming strained manufacturing supply chains hold together. An unprecedented run of orders for big rigs has pushed the backlog at truck factories to nine months, according to industry analysts, the largest since early 2006, when truckers stocked up to get vehicles in place before … [Read more...]
Avoid the Horror: Stick to Your Plan
The underlying value of a company isn’t always fairly reflected in its share price. Some stocks carry stratospheric price multiples when compared to their peers. And some trade at rock-bottom discounts. There doesn’t always seem to be a ready answer for why companies with similar assets, similar business plans and similar potential carry such varying valuations. You can rest assured however, that there is one thing driving all of these discrepancies, supply and demand. Twenty years ago, I wrote that there are short, medium and long-term influences on share prices that have little to do … [Read more...]
Cato’s Freedom in the 50 States Ranking
The Cato Institute has released its much anticipated Freedom in the 50 States ranking. Scoring best of all fifty states was Florida. The researchers who put together the scores highlighted Florida's lack of an individual income tax and the Sunshine State's economic freedom as its top draws. Here's what they wrote about Florida: Lacking an individual income tax and featuring a hot climate, Florida has long enjoyed substantial migration of well-off retirees. But as we’ve noted in the past, the state attracts more than seniors, as others vote with their feet for good weather and the increased … [Read more...]
JPMorgan Upends the Online Brokerage Market
JPMorgan is planning to offer unlimited free trades for Chase Private Clients on its online brokerage platform. Daniell Verbrigghe reports at the FT: JPMorgan plans to introduce the new programme next week, featuring 100 free stock and ETF trades for all users, and unlimited trades for Chase Private Client customers, who typically have higher account balances. The new programme, first reported by CNBC early Tuesday, was confirmed by a JPMorgan spokeswoman. Shares in the lender were up 1.3 per cent in early trading. JPMorgan and other brokerages have been focused on adopting digital … [Read more...]
Americans Most Productive in Years
A recent report from the Labor Department shows that Americans are more productive than they have been in three years. Eric Morath reports for The Wall Street Journal: U.S. worker productivity accelerated this spring at the best pace in more than three years, a possible sign stronger business investment is giving workers the tools they need to boost output. The productivity of nonfarm workers, measured as the output of goods and services for each hour on the job, increased at an annualized and seasonally adjusted rate of 2.9% in the second quarter from the first, the Labor Department said … [Read more...]
Escape NYC, Go to Margaritaville
One thing I’ll never forget about our trip to NYC this year was the credit card bill a few weeks later. NYC ain’t cheap. Don’t get me wrong, it was an awesome trip, but I’m hardly surprised by this article on plummeting luxury apartment sales. "When the luxury market slowdown began in 2016, brokers blamed it on political uncertainty.” reports the WSJ. "More recently they said buyers were hesitating because of federal tax changes that may increase the cost of home ownership and reduce the deductibility of New York’s relatively high tax burdens." Yes I'm disappointed to see that Jimmy … [Read more...]
Can Killer Cobalt be Replaced in Electric Cars?
Cobalt is at the center of modern day lithium-ion battery technology. Batteries without cobalt are unstable, but the majority of cobalt is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The DRC is a country with an unstable government and internal strife. Child labor is said to be used to mine for cobalt. These are not traits that end-users of battery technology want attached to their purchase. In the Financial Times, Henry Sanderson explains the work of Michael Zimmerman to replace cobalt, and just how important it is to do so. He writes: In a laboratory on an industrial park an hour’s drive … [Read more...]
The Rise of Gen-Z
Within a year, people born in 2001 will enter adulthood and what is known as "Gen-Z" will arrive. Gen Z is larger than the preceding Millennial generation, and all of Gen Z has grown up with the internet as a ubiquitous influence in their lives. In Bloomberg, Lee Miller and Wei Lu report on the changes in store: People born in 2001 will turn 18 next year, meaning many will enter university, be eligible to vote and, depending on their citizenship, smoke or drink alcohol without breaking the law. Gen Zers have never known a non-digital world and have grown up amid events such as the "war on … [Read more...]
Has the Time Come for Defensive Stocks to Drive the Market?
"Valuation concerns have already crept into the market, some investors said, as defensive stocks that tend to post lower growth than companies like Amazon and Facebook have outperformed," reports the WSJ. "The top five performing S&P 500 sectors the past three months are all defensive, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a recent note, including consumer staples, utilities and health care." Defensive stocks tend to be the ones paying dividends, and dividends are the backbone supporting the recent strength in our Retirement Compounders®. Originally posted on … [Read more...]
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