Are Apple's App Store restrictions an "abusive power grab?" That's the charge by Horacio Gutierrez, chief legal officer of Spotify. Bloomberg reports: Music-streaming service Spotify Technology SA and Match Group Inc., which operates online dating apps, accused Apple Inc. of squeezing software developers that depend on its App Store to reach customers by extracting monopoly profits and squashing competition. Executives from the two companies, along with Tile Inc., which makes a tracking device for consumers, urged lawmakers at a Senate hearing Wednesday to tackle the dominance of Apple and … [Read more...]
Archives for April 2021
When Stocks Drop by 33.9%, 49.1%, or Even 56.8%
There’s a time when you’re most vulnerable as an investor. It’s not when you’re knee-deep in work, with retirement waaay off in the distance. It’s when, as you dream about retirement, you look at your statement and do some mental math: when can I retire? You realize, hmmm, I’ve got some money, but I need “X” dollars to retire. I need to make “X” percent on my portfolio to get there. Now, with this dream in mind and a portfolio full of stocks, your palms get a little sweaty when the market drops by 800 points or so. You’re paying a little closer attention to the down days. Maybe a little too … [Read more...]
Chinese Taking Aim at Tesla
Tesla investors have high hopes for the Chinese market, but with homegrown competitors, Tesla is likely to face ongoing resistance. The WSJ explains here that Tesla has been facing mounting criticism of quality issues in recent months. If Tesla’s aren’t high enough quality for the Chinese market, what does that say about their prospects in the developed world? Trefor Moss reports: SHANGHAI— Tesla Inc., TSLA -1.35% hit by a widespread outcry over its handling of consumer complaints in China, has issued a public apology and pledged to set up a customer-satisfaction unit as the electric-car … [Read more...]
What Is Your Purchasing Power Going to Be?
What is purchasing power? Well, if you bought your house in the 60s or 70s, you know exactly what it’s not today—it’s not power. It’s more like weakness. Take a look at the median income and median real estate sales through the years, and you tell me what’s happened to purchasing power (weakness). Remember, the “median” eliminates the big outliers that can skew the average. Median is the middle number. For example, in a sample of 30 houses, the 15th house is the median. You can see on the chart that from 1963 on, the growth of the median price of a house has outpaced the growth of the … [Read more...]
There Are Plenty of Ways to Invest in This Market
You have plenty of ways to invest in this market if you’re A) dividend-centric (I am) and/or B) looking for a proxy to some of your bonds. Take a look at the charts below and understand what’s happening in the market today. Stocks by Dividend Decile Here you see a breakdown of stocks by dividend yield decile. The 8th Decile, not the tenth, had the better performance from 1975-2020. Caitlin McCabe reports at The Wall Street Journal on today's bull market: A greater number of stocks have been propelling the U.S. market higher lately, a signal that—if history is any … [Read more...]
Prices Are Going Up
Consumer products giant Procter & Gamble has announced it will be raising prices on its products this fall. Sharon Terlep reports in The Wall Street journal: Procter & Gamble Co. PG +0.55% this fall will start charging more for household staples from diapers to tampons, the latest and biggest consumer-products company to announce price hikes. The maker of Gillette razors and Tide detergent cited rising costs for raw materials, such as resin and pulp, and higher expenses to transport goods. The announcement, which came as P&G disclosed its quarterly financial results, follows … [Read more...]
How Did You Save So Much Money? I Really…
When I ask you, “How did you save so much money?” your answer tells me a lot about you. Because, when you respond, “I really don’t know, to tell you the truth, just hard work and saving like crazy,” I know it’s not what you did to save money, but what you didn’t do. Yes, you had to work. How else were you going to put food on the table? And yes, it would have been easier to do nothing. But that’s not how you roll. Yes, winning the lottery would have made things easier for sure. But, most of you made your money slowly, year after year, and it never got easy. After a while, you realized … [Read more...]
NJ Deli $35k in Sales, $100 Mil Valuation
In times like these everyone looks like a winner. What could possibly go wrong? Investors have driven the market valuation of an over-the-counter traded company that owns one deli in Paulsboro, New Jersey to $100,000,000. The deli only generated sales of about $35,000 in the last two years. Recently, hedge fund manager David Einhorn used the stock as an example of the mania taking place in markets today. CNBC's Jesse Pound reports: The Paulsboro, New Jersey-based Your Hometown Deli is the sole location for Hometown International, which has an eye-popping market value despite totaling $35,748 … [Read more...]
TIPS Not the Best Inflation Hedge Today
By Noska Photo @ Shutterstock.com There are better places for investors looking to avoid inflation pressures in their portfolios than TIPS. Alexandra Scaggs reports in Barron's: Investors in search of ways to protect their income against inflation may need to look further than they think: The market created for that purpose may not be a great choice, for either income or returns.Treasury inflation-protected securities, or TIPS, have attracted investor cash this year as investors bet that a mix of economic reopening and U.S. government stimulus will drive prices higher in the U.S. Funds … [Read more...]
Work to Make Money/Invest to Save Money
The U.S. government must finally wise up and put an immediate end to the insane double taxation of dividends. The government, facilitated by the Fed, is in an ongoing war to destroy the value of the dollar by printing money beyond any reasonable rate of expansion. Simply take a look at real estate prices to witness the explosion in liquidity. Do not let the government destroy the value of your retirement. Demand that the government ends the double taxation of dividends! Originally posted October 17, 2017. With the exception of the large sums of money that I invested in zero-coupon … [Read more...]