You hear your phone ring, and see an unfamiliar number calling. It's someone from your area code, but no one you recognize. Despite your gut feeling telling you to ignore the call, you pick up thinking maybe it's an acquaintance or colleague you haven't added to your contact list. You answer and are instantly barraged with a recorded message informing you that to receive your stimulus check you must hand over all your personal information right then and there. Unfortunately, that's the scenario playing out across America today, and even though most people recognize the scame, some … [Read more...]
Archives for April 2020
Here’s Why Commercial Food and Supplies Aren’t Making it to Your Grocery Store
With most Americans now banned from eating in restaurants or going to many businesses where they might consume products, they are attempting to find those products at their local groceries for home consumption. Despite reports of vegetables being plowed under and milk being poured out by farmers who can't sell them, Americans instead find bare shelves. Jennifer Smith explains why in The Wall Street Journal: Images of empty supermarket shelves—while farmers dump milk and other foodstuffs—are delivering a stark lesson in the challenges of shifting goods from commercial to consumer supply chains … [Read more...]
Your Retirement Life: The Importance of Our Getaway Cars
When you want to get away from it all; a client reminds me of the importance of our getaway cars, as shown recently in the Grand Tetons. Originally posted on Your Survival Guy. … [Read more...]
Investing After the Coronavirus
Coronavirus Infects Stock Market: Part XXIX Imagine falling 200 feet while descending Mount Washington, slamming into a pile of rocks that prevents you from going over the edge—and needing a rescue. That’s the scary scenario one hiker found herself in recently. “It was these rocks that ultimately saved her from plunging into the ravine, a fall that would have likely proved fatal,” said Fish and Game Lt. Mark Ober Jr. in a statement. “Her companion was able to descend to her position, place a call for help and keep her warm with a space blanket until rescuers arrived.” The hikers were … [Read more...]
Fed Makes a Mockery of Corporate Bond Market
Howard Marks, the notable distressed debt investor, is out with a memo questioning the Fed’s decision to intervene in credit markets. The Fed panicked when it saw investment-grade bonds sell off a few percentage points last month. It decided to intervene under the auspices of providing liquidity to the market, but liquidity was not the problem. Bond prices were down because there were questions of solvency. Shutting down the economy for an indeterminate time will do that. There was and is plenty of liquidity in the bond market at the right price. We were an aggressive buyer of corporate … [Read more...]
Chinese Jeans Shipments to America Plummet
Arthur Friedman reports that shipments of denim jeans to America from China have plummeted by 63% in the first two months of 2020. He writes: U.S. denim imports were down significantly in the first two months of the year, and March portends to be nothing short of a disaster. U.S. companies imported 14.32 percent less blue denim apparel–97 percent of which is jeans–for the year to date through February for a value of $497.08 million. The drop-off was led by a 63 percent decline from China to $55.77 million, as factories shut down as coronavirus swept through the country. Many of those … [Read more...]
Coronavirus Could Reshape America’s Logistical System Forever
You never know what you're really made of until you're tested. Coronavirus has tested every facet of the American logistical system. With millions of Americans at home, doing their best to avoid going out by ordering online, the e-commerce infrastructure of America has been pushed to its limits. With all that pushing, some things have bent, and few have even broken. Major e-commerce businesses and brick and mortar companies with large logistical operations are looking at how to improve for the future. Part of that improvement, reports Paul Page in the WSJ's Logistics Report is the … [Read more...]
Goldman Sachs Strategist Called Out for Embarrassing S&P 500 Prediction U-Turn
Brian Sozzi of Yahoo! Finance took time today to call out Goldman Sachs strategist David Kostin for the quick reversal in his predictions for the S&P 500. Sozzi wrote: My oh my how a two-week long bear market rally and unprecedented stimulus actions by the Federal Reserve could change one’s thinking on stocks still dealing with the bruising coronavirus pandemic. Somewhat under the radar on Monday, veteran Goldman Sachs strategist David Kostin said his “near-term downside” scenario for the S&P 500 of 2,000 is “no longer likely.” Kostin’s call was initially made on March 22, the day … [Read more...]
“Remember, Never Touch Downed Wires & Report them Immediately”
Coronavirus Infects Stock Market: Part XXVIII You know life changes quickly in times like these. One minute you’re enjoying the quarant-time (my daughter’s word) and the next it’s 2:30 in the morning and you’re thinking about patio furniture—I was at least. We’re expecting hurricane-force winds today (perhaps not technically the 75mph hurricane-force threshold, but 72mph is close enough). Before bed, National Grid (the regional power company here) texted warnings, “Remember, never touch downed wires & report them immediately to 1.800.465.1212.” Sleep tight! Is the patio furniture … [Read more...]
The Fed Favors Wall Street over Main Street
The Wall Street Journal's editorial board explains in today's issue how the Fed's approach to coronavirus relief favors Wall Street over Main Street. They write: Financial markets reacted well to the news, but look below the price surface and the complications appear. The big winners included non-investment grade corporate bonds and real-estate investment trusts that will now qualify for Fed programs despite their credit risk. High-yield and municipal bond prices also rose. Growth companies like Amazon, Intel and Nvidia fell or were flat, and the overall market reaction was … [Read more...]