Is long-term investing dead? You would think so reading even my favored Wall Street Journal as it beats the drum for the future robo-advisors—a model that makes decisions based on an algorithm and human input (a phone rep fresh out of college) to determine your financial future. Sounds good on paper. We’ll see how well they do when markets crater and the phone lines light up like a Christmas tree. It’s happened twice already this century, and that’s when it matters most. Everyone knows that long-term investment success is hard. Maybe not everyone. I’m being too generous. But listen, if … [Read more...]
Archives for April 2019
Walmart’s Robot Army
Walmart has deployed an army of robots in its stores to monitor inventory, clean floors and unload trucks. The effort to increase efficiency comes at a time when the company's chief competitor, Amazon, has used robots to revolutionize its fulfillment centers. The race is now on, as mega-retailers are finding the best ways to incorporate robots into their businesses. Sarah Nassauer and Chip Cutter write in The Wall Street Journal: The country’s largest private employer said at least 300 stores this year will add machines that scan shelves for out-of-stock products. Autonomous floor scrubbers … [Read more...]
Your Retirement Life: Park City, Utah
Greetings from Deer Valley, Utah. This picture of Becky and me was taken from the chairlift at Deer Valley. We were there in early March and I think we were smiling because it was the first time we saw the sun. It was a snowy trip to say the least, where it felt like you were skiing inside a snow globe. Most of our trip was spent skiing Park City and the Canyons. We stayed in the Silver Star area, with a chairlift and café by the same name that made it feel like your own resort within a gigantic resort. Getting to Park City is a piece of cake. We took a late afternoon flight out of … [Read more...]
Is Germany About to Drag Europe Into a Recession?
The German economy has been showing signs of a slowdown. Could it be that Europe's biggest economy leads the continent into a recession? Nina Adam and Bertrand Benoit write in The Wall Street Journal: German manufacturers saw orders drop sharply in February, increasing the likelihood that Europe’s flagship economy could contract in the first half of 2019 in a setback for a weakened continent. Total orders for the sector dropped 4.2% from January, Germany’s statistics office said Thursday, missing forecasts by a large margin. Compared with February 2018, order volumes were down a steep … [Read more...]
Retail Wars: CVS Launches Nationwide Same-Day Rx Delivery
In an effort to catch up in the retail delivery war, CVS has announced the roll-out of nationwide same-day prescription delivery. CVS announced: CVS Pharmacy, the retail division of CVS Health (NYSE: CVS), today announced that it is now offering prescription delivery within hours in addition to their 1-2 day prescription delivery service available nationwide. The service, delivered by Shipt, a leading same-day delivery marketplace, is available at 6,000 CVS Pharmacy locations across the country, giving patients a faster and even more convenient way to get their medications. "A year ago CVS … [Read more...]
The Dividend Plan
Panic selling during periods of market decline can be devastating to your long-term investment success. In 1987 many investors were frightened out of the market and missed out, not only on the rebound in shares in the following years, but on all the dividends they could have used to buy more shares at depressed prices. I reminded readers of that in February of 2009 when the Great Recession was at its bleakest. Here’s what I wrote: The 1987 Debacle I remember the crash of September/October 1987 like it was yesterday. Virtually overnight, the Dow collapsed to about 1700 from 2700. Terrified … [Read more...]
Can Electric Car Batteries Catch Up to this Charger?
Automakers are currently racing to fix one of the most significant problems with electric vehicles, charging times. Ultra fast chargers are available that could add 215 miles of range to a battery in 10 minutes, if today's batteries could handle it. Unfortunately they cannot, and so automakers are looking for solutions. Bloomberg's David Stringer reports: A typical, slow-speed public EV charger offers about 20 miles of driving distance per hour at the plug. The next level up, called a fast charger, can add about 75 miles in 30 minutes, according to Los Angeles-based station operator EVgo … [Read more...]
Illinois Politicians Trying to Kill Local Employee Freedom Initiatives
Big Labor is strong in Illinois, and it has marshaled its forces against attempts by local politicians to free their constituencies from the state's burdensome forced unionization laws. Illinois State House politicians are working hard to get a law to the governor banning any individual towns or cities from exercising freedom against Big Labor. Greg Bishop reports for the Illinois News Network: No local government in Illinois would be able to restrict collective bargaining issues for public or private unions under a measure that is one step closer to being sent to the governor’s … [Read more...]
Can Silicon Valley Cut Wall Street out of IPOs?
The workplace messaging app company, Slack, is getting ready for its initial public offering. Rather than using the traditional underwriter process, Slack plans on a "direct listing," on the NYSE. The tech industry's growing use of direct listings on the NYSE could end up being a threat to Nasdaq's dominance of the sector. The Wall Street Journal's Corrie Driebusch and Maureen Farrell write: The workplace-messaging company is set to follow Spotify Technology SA in debuting on the NYSE through a direct listing, according to people familiar with the matter, after the music streamer’s listing … [Read more...]
“Good Stuff Cheap!”
I like this story about Ollie's, a fast growing retail outlet that sells nothing online and focuses on selling “Brands at drastically reduced prices." It reminds me of Building 19 which used to sell “Good Stuff Cheap!” The trick was not to go in looking for something, but to just go in and come across something at a too good to resist price. My mom loved Building 19 and the stock market and even to this day is always careful with her money. At Forbes, Abram Brown reports on the success of Ollie's: The sheriff’s deputy arrives early, assuming his position before 9 a.m. He stands silently, in … [Read more...]
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