If you want to get an inside look at how the sausage is made with certain index funds, take a look at this story by Jacky Wong in The Wall Street Journal: The giants of passive investment need to get more active. Marble mining company ArtGo’s 3313 117.86% Hong Kong-listed shares fell 98% Thursday after index compiler MSCI, MSCI +1.24% in a rare U-turn, dropped its plan to add the company to its indexes. MSCI said the decision followed further analysis and feedback from market participants about the stock, which had soared 3,800% this year. A Heard on the Street column Wednesday may have … [Read more...]
Archives for November 2019
RIP Jake Burton
In high school in the late 80s, my friends and I were part of the snowboarding revolution that Jake Burton was pioneering. I remember in my ski club taking a van full of skis, snowboards, and classmates to Canada. A 10-to-12-hour slog from Marion, MA to Quebec, a brutal drive. But it was all worth it once we were snowboarding from morning to late afternoon for the long weekend. It was such a great feeling because while most were skiing—we were snowboarding. It just wasn’t that common to see a lot of snowboarders at the time. Those were special memories from high school. Snowboarding on … [Read more...]
LVMH Puts a Ring on Tiffany & Co.
French luxury mega-conglomerate, LVMH has announced a deal to buy American luxury icon, Tiffany & Co. The deal is valued at $16 billion. The Wall Street Journal reports: LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA said Monday it had reached an agreement with Tiffany that values the U.S. company at $135 a share, a day after The Wall Street Journal reported that the companies had reached a preliminary agreement. The $16.2 billion deal gives LVMH a classic American brand that has struggled with weak demand at home and abroad. It is also a bet on China’s economy and its consumers, whose … [Read more...]
Beat Investment Danger with This Strategy
In the 21st Century, investors have been subjected to a roller coaster ride. From the dot com crash to the housing bubble, the financial crisis, and the Trump Bump, the market has proven volatile. Be wary of these violent market swings. It is easy to become complacent in bull markets, but if recent bear markets are any guide, that complacency is dangerous. More than anything else, to beat that danger you need a consistent approach. I wrote in February 2010: Consistency through cash flow—that is the goal at our family investment management company and that is my primary goal for you in … [Read more...]
Phone Scams are Getting Better: Here’s How to Protect Yourself
Just this week alone, two investors told me they have recently received calls that were believable scams. The robocall scams that regularly target your phone are evolving. As criminals learn what works and what doesn't, they make adjustments and adapt. Falling victim to a phone scam can change your life, for the worse. Here's the story of one victim as told by Sarah Krouse at The Wall Street Journal: The FBI agent sounded official on the phone. He gave Nina Belis his badge number and a story about how her identity had been compromised. She gave him her life’s savings. For most … [Read more...]
Live Within Your Means and Debt Free
Live within your means, and debt-free. That's the advice everyone should adhere to. A debt-free life will reduce stress and provide peace of mind. Many Americans struggle to achieve financial security, and as they get older, it becomes even more difficult to do. Alexander Tanzi reports in Bloomberg, that the majority of Americans 65 and older are at "risk of not being able to pay for basic needs." He writes: That’s according to new estimates of financial insecurity among Americans 65 and older from the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The Elder … [Read more...]
Dividend Kings: Are Dividend Kings the Best Dividend Stocks to Buy?
What are Dividend Kings, and should you invest in Dividend King stocks? You may have heard of Dividend Achievers or Dividend Aristocrats, but what exactly is a Dividend King? And are Dividend Kings the best stocks to buy? Dividend Kings seems to be an outgrowth of the Dividend Achievers and Dividend Aristocrats lists started by Moody’s and S&P. As a reminder, Dividend Achievers are companies that have increased their annual dividend payments every year for at least ten consecutive years. Dividend Aristocrats are S&P 500 companies that have increased their dividends for at … [Read more...]
Your Retirement Life: Rainbow Bridge Awaits You
One of the best parts of helping people in retirement is getting to be a part of their retirement life. A client recently sent me this picture, and said: "Above is a snap of Rainbow Bridge taken from a nearby alcove that held some old signatures." It was great to be able to share that moment he had worked for his whole life. The beautiful Rainbow Bridge National Monument is in Utah on the edge of Lake Powell. If you want to make it part of your retirement life, you can learn more about it here. Originally posted on Your Survival Guy. … [Read more...]
It’s Not Just the Rich Democrats Are After
On The New York Times' Upshot blog, Neil Irwin explains that Democrats' tax plans wouldn't affect just the uber-wealthy, but also many of the high-income professionals who populate the very states Democrats represent. He writes: Much of the Democratic primary race has focused on taxes aimed at the billionaire class — policies devised to reduce inequality and fund progressive goals on health care and education. But there’s also a less discussed tax increase in leading Democratic policy proposals that would affect not just a tiny sliver of the ultra-wealthy, but also millions of high-income … [Read more...]
Trump Looking for “Big” Deal with China
President Trump is looking for deeper concessions from China before he rolls back existing tariffs and cancels scheduled new tariffs. David Lawder reports for Reuters: A “phase one” trade deal between the United States and China was supposed to be a limited agreement that would allow leaders from both countries to claim an easy victory while soothing financial markets. But it may morph into something bigger if U.S. President Donald Trump agrees to Beijing’s demands to roll back existing tariffs on Chinese goods, people familiar with the talks say. China’s commerce ministry said this … [Read more...]
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