On Wall Street, traders and speculators are closing their doors. The Wall Street Journal’s Rachael Levy recently reported: Boston-based hedge fund Frontlight Capital LP is shutting after fewer than three years in operation, people familiar with the matter said. Four other hedge funds earlier this month announced they were closing, as investors re-evaluate a once-highflying industry plagued by weak returns. Through September of this year, Frontlight’s fund, Frontlight Enhanced Macro Master Fund I, LP, lost 4.17%, according to a document reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The fund lost … [Read more...]
Archives for October 2018
You Must Save for Yourself, Because No One Else Will
In 1991, 35% of employees were participating in defined benefit pension plans. By 2005 that number had fallen to 21%. In March of 2018 only 17% of American employees had access to some sort of defined benefit pension plan. Companies are getting rid of their defined benefit pension plans, fast. If you rely on your company to save for you, it's time for a dose of reality, you must save for yourself, because no one else will. Pensioners from legacy companies Sears and Xerox are watching as their benefits are being stripped away. Around 100,000 pensioners from Sears are hoping the Pension … [Read more...]
Paul Volcker Explains the Folly of a 2% Inflation Target
Writing in Bloomberg, "Tall Paul" Volcker, who as Chairman of the Federal Reserve in the 1980s near singlehandedly tamed America's rampant inflation, explains why a 2% inflation target is dangerous. He writes: In 1996, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan had an exchange with Janet Yellen, then a member of the Fed’s Board of Governors, that presaged a major — and, I think, ill-advised — change in the central bank’s approach to managing the economy. Yellen asked Greenspan: “How do you define price stability?” He gave what I see as the only sensible answer: “That state in which expected … [Read more...]
Doubling your Money with No Down Years
Young Research's Dynamic Maximizers® (DMs) portfolio is a maximum safety portfolio ideal for retirement investors, IRAs, and education programs. The Dynamic Maximizers® portfolio model invests primarily in dividend and income paying securities. While past performance should never be considered predictive of the future, the DMs have yet to record a single down year this century, despite the dotcom bust and the 2008/2009 financial collapse. Young Research's annual target total return range for the Dynamic Maximizers Portfolio® is 3% to 10%. Given those returns, investors have been able to … [Read more...]
Why the U.S. Can Beat China in a Trade War
Though it won’t be pain-free, if U.S. / China trade relations continue to devolve, it is the U.S. that is likely to come out on top. America’s multinationals are already engaging in contingency planning in the event of further tariff increases. Bloomberg News reports: Earnings reporting season is underway, and analysts are eager to hear from executives about how an escalating trade war between the U.S. and China is impacting their businesses. A common theme is that they are ready to relocate supply chains if the cost of importing Chinese goods becomes prohibitive. U.S. President Donald … [Read more...]
Vanguard GNMA Anchor to Windward
When times are tough, Vanguard GNMA continues to pay income, much like it does when times are good. For me, GNMA is an anchor to windward no matter which way the wind is blowing. And even though Young Research, which provides research and analysis to investment advisor Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., recommends laddering U.S. Government and Corporate bonds, you could do a lot worse than owning some GNMA. Originally posted on Yoursurvivalguy.com. … [Read more...]
A Disaster to Remember
At Yoursurvivalguy.com, I regularly warn you away from the novel, the trendy, and the unproven strategies that keep the Wall Street fee-machine cranking. I want you to survive the investing gauntlet, not to be chewed up by schemers or inept profiteers looking to take your money. Risky hedge funds, cryptocurrencies, and unsavory pension fund strategies are all traps I have encouraged you to avoid. If you've been investing over the last decade you have surely heard of Bernie Madoff and his scheme to defraud investors. But if you have been investing for a bit longer like me, you'll remember a … [Read more...]
Can Amazon Ever Crack the Fashion Code?
Amazon is working hard to sell its own private label fashion brands, but success isn't coming easy to what could be a potentially profitable business. Amazon's women's clothing brands are doing especially poorly, with "more than 4 of 5 Amazon women’s clothing brands selling fewer than 100 items per month," says Bloomberg's Spencer Soper. Soper writes that a report by Jungle Scout finds poor performance among Amazon's apparel brands: The report shows that Seattle-based Amazon’s apparel brands aren’t benefiting from consumers’ greater interest in buying clothing online. Online sales made up … [Read more...]
Are Transports Leading the Stock Market into Correction?
Stocks of companies in the transportation sector have gone from record highs in mid-September to down more than 10%. The Dow Theory holds, more or less, that the overall market will follow along behind Transports. That's not a great sign for investors. Akane Otani writes in The Wall Street Journal: The transports had rallied this summer and hit a record in mid-September, buoyed by strong economic data, as well as increased demand for freight services among retailers and consumers. But the sector has been caught in the broader-market slide, pulling the Dow Jones Transportation Average—which … [Read more...]
The Right Attitude for Winning Investing
Investing is all about attitude. Are you too eager to take on risk in good times? Too ready to cut and run in bad? Can’t commit to an investing plan? Don’t have the resolve to stick to a sustainable withdrawal rate? In early 1999 I talked with the former American League MVP, Boog Powell about attitude. I wrote this that May: I was talking to Baltimore Oriole baseball legend Boog Powell recently. During the baseball season, Boog runs Boog’s Barbecue at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Off-season, he is in Key West occasionally as “guest” barbecue celeb at his high-school buddy’s local spot. Boog … [Read more...]
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