There are six basic investing principles that, if followed diligently, can make you a winner. I wrote about these principles in the fall of 1991, and if you are one of my long-time readers who has stuck to them, like me you have achieved investment success. If you are a newcomer to the investing philosophy of Dick Young, I can tell you that this is how I operate, and it has worked for me year after year. Here are the six principles that made me a winner in the investment battle: Six Guiding Investment Principles It’s a regimented, slow and steady progression. Not much spinning, but … [Read more...]
Archives for September 2018
The Future of Verizon is Providing Internet, Not Filling it With Content
With the coming departure of Verizon's internet point man, Tim Armstrong, and the stated focus of Verizon's new CEO Hans Vestberg on building out the company's 5G network, it looks as though the wireless giant is reining in its online ambitions a bit. Former CEO Lowell McAdam had made providing content to customers' phones a major priority for Verizon, but the strategy pursued by Armstrong led to the purchase of AOL and Yahoo, two elder statesmen of the Internet. With the two companies only generating 5% of internet ad revenue, they couldn't compete with bigger rivals like Google and Facebook. … [Read more...]
America’s Booming Economy is Moving on the Rails
American goods and commodities are moving on the rails in increasing numbers as the economy booms. Progressive Railroading explains the strong performance of railroads in August. U.S. rail traffic rose 4.5 percent in August compared with the same month a year ago, according to Association of American Railroads' (AAR) data. U.S. railroads moved 2,828,946 carloads and intermodal units during the month. Carload activity rose 3.8 percent to 1,386,026 units, while intermodal volume climbed 5.1 percent to 1,442,920 containers and trailers compared with August 2017, AAR reported in a press … [Read more...]
Your Retirement Life: Cost of Living Higher in These States Part I
Take a look back at this post from April 25, 2018 for a view into the power of the Right to Work. A recent study by the Jefferson City-based Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC) estimates the average annual cost of living in 2017 for all 50 states. The National Institute for Labor Relations Research used MERIC’s data to calculate the average annual cost of living in Right to Work States and forced-unionism states. As of last year, 28 states are Right to Work—protecting employees from federal labor law provisions authorizing forced union dues and fees. Here are the … [Read more...]
Avoid Buying Mutual Funds Doing This
Jason Zweig, writing at The Wall Street Journal, details some inexplicable behavior by mutual fund managers, including generating massive tax bills for owners. You should try to avoid funds doing things like this. He writes: Mutual funds made one hot mess out of August. On Aug. 10, Fidelity Investments conducted stock splits on some of its biggest funds, cutting their per-share prices by a factor of 10 while giving investors 10 times as many shares -- a gesture that leaves shareholders exactly where they were before. On Aug. 22, Harbor Capital Advisors, which runs the $20 billion Harbor … [Read more...]
Trump Orders Treasury to Lower RMDs for IRAs and 401Ks
In an August 31 presidential order, President Trump asked the Treasury Department to consider increasing life expectancy rates for retirement accounts. The move could lower the required minimum distributions from those accounts, and leave more money leftover for heirs. Allyson Versprille reports for Bloomberg: If Treasury increases those rates, which haven’t been updated since 2002, it would strengthen an estate-planning strategy known as the “stretch IRA,” in which an owner extends the ability to postpone paying taxes on money in his or her IRA by passing it to a non-spouse beneficiary, such … [Read more...]
Is There Too Much Sand in Texas?
After shortages of sand supplies slowed down Permian Basin oil production two years ago, so many companies have begun efforts to mine sand that the Texas oil patch may soon be overwhelmed with sand supplies. At The Wall Street Journal, Christopher Matthews explains the possible over-investment in the dunes of the West Texas desert. He writes: Now, around 20 sand mines are set to be active in the Permian Basin, America’s most active oil field, by year’s end, and even some of those who put hundreds of millions of dollars behind these startups predict they won’t all survive. Sand is a key … [Read more...]
How to Invest Like a Hall of Famer
Those of you who have been with me for many decades may remember back in 1991 when I wrote about investing like Wade Boggs played baseball. Consistency was my focus for you then, and it remains so today. I emphasized Boggs’ ability to get on base. He led the league in on-base percentage six times during his career. Boggs’ career strike out record was a miniscule 6.9%. I wrote: Ever hear of Wade Boggs? Boggs is a pretty dull guy on the baseball field (not off the field, however). He doesn’t light up the sky with home runs (although he gets his share), and he’s one of the slowest guys on the … [Read more...]
Don’t Assume it Can’t Happen Here
Emerging market currencies are in the tank. The Turkish lira is plummeting, as is the Argentine peso. Stronger emerging markets are even feeling the pain. Many U.S. investors assume a currency debacle couldn’t happen in the U.S. But make no mistake, just because something hasn’t happened, doesn’t mean it can’t. Investors who continue to eschew gold may want to brush up on their monetary history. … [Read more...]
Can Bitcoin Ever Really Be a Currency?
The Leaders at The Economist explore what it means to be a currency, and whether or not bitcoin and other crypto-currencies meet that definition. The question is, if bitcoin doesn't meet the definition of a currency, can it ever truly be useful as one? The Leaders write: AN OLD saying holds that markets are ruled by either greed or fear. Greed once governed cryptocurrencies. The price of Bitcoin, the best-known, rose from about $900 in December 2016 to $19,000 a year later. Recently, fear has been in charge. Bitcoin’s price has fallen back to around $7,000; the prices of other … [Read more...]
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