I hope you’re getting outside and enjoying some beautiful weather this spring. Here in New England it feels like a switch was flipped Sunday when temps jumped into the mid-80s and higher—too hot to walk the dog—but lately its been cool nights, warm days, and blue skies. Perfect for getting outside or launching your boat for the season. Will you be teaching a grandchild how to do something this summer? I hope you’re thinking about your investments and your life—where you are on your journey. We’re all in this together. Do you remember when you first started out as an investor? There’s … [Read more...]
Archives for May 2021
Clean Energy Stocks Overcrowded as Bad as Dotcom Tech Stocks
A new analysis by MSCI finds that clean energy stocks are as overcrowded as technology stocks were just before the bursting of the dotcom bubble. Steve Johnson writes for the FT: Ownership of renewable energy stocks is as crowded a trade as technology stocks were at the height of the 1999 dotcom boom, according to index provider MSCI. The claim follows a flood of investment into the sector, with global inflows into clean energy exchange traded funds surging to $14.7bn in the six months to the end of March, according to data from Morningstar, up from just $1.3bn in the same period of … [Read more...]
Congratulations 50 Year-Old Phil Mickelson Winning PGA Championship
You know that I encourage you to say "not yet" to retirement and that once in retirement you should continue to live an active life and do something. You should even keep working if you can. Phil Mickelson has embodied that idea, to become the oldest man to win the Wanamaker Trophy at 50 years old. WEEI reports: Phil Mickelson, who entered the week as the 115th-ranked golfer in the world, needed an exemption to gain entry to next month’s U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in his hometown of San Diego. After going one-and-done in the FedEx Cup Playoffs last summer, Mickelson competed on the PGA Tour … [Read more...]
China Attempts to Tamp Down Commodities Inflation
China's government is attempting to push back on commodities inflation, starting with iron ore prices, where, according to the communist government's National Development and Reform Commission, there is rampant speculation driving prices. Thomas Hale reports for the Financial Times: The price of steelmaking ingredient iron ore fell sharply after China signalled it would focus on efforts to cool soaring prices, warning of “excessive speculation” as concerns grow over rising inflation. The National Development and Reform Commission, China’s economic planning agency, said on Monday it would … [Read more...]
Your Survival Guy’s Summer Job, Inflation & You
One of my best business experiences was serving fish and chips and scooping ice cream at Oxford Creamery in Mattapoisett, MA, where I grew up. I remember feeling anxious before each shift, knowing I’d be missing out on some fun with my friends, and knowing how slammed work would be. That was especially true on a Friday night when the fish and chips special (with fresh cod from the boats in New Bedford) was the best around. With the line out the door, I had no time to think about missing out on fun with my friends. Waiting on a group of hungry customers fresh off the beach focuses the … [Read more...]
Are Regulators Waking Up to the Threat Crypto Poses to Fiat Currency?
After the Chinese government took a hard stand against cryptocurrency use in that country, the Biden administration is also clamping down on the use of cryptocurrencies as a tax evasion tool. The Financial Times reports: The US Treasury said cryptocurrency posed a “significant detection problem by facilitating illegal activity broadly including tax evasion”, echoing comments from the European Central Bank this week, which said that cryptocurrencies’ “potential use for illicit purposes” were a cause for concern. The US proposal is part of a Treasury report showing how Joe Biden’s White … [Read more...]
STUFF is BOILING OVER: Are You Paying Attention?
Listen up, are you paying attention? Stuff is boiling over around the world. It’s time you prepare accordingly. In talking with a client yesterday, we discussed whole life insurance. I don’t love it. I much prefer term life which we both agreed on (for me, I just want it until my kids are out of college). He said, “You know, that’s exactly what Peter Lynch used to recommend.” You remember Peter Lynch, don’t you? Author of One Up on Wall Street and famed manager of the Fidelity Magellan fund? His name was legendary in the halls of Fidelity when I was working there (Fidelity #1). In thinking … [Read more...]
Volatile Plunge Reveals Weaknesses in Crypto Speculation
Cryptocurrencies took a nasty plunge yesterday after Chinese authorities cracked down on their use. That institutional response, shortly after Elon Musk revealed that Tesla would no longer be using bitcoin in transactions, was a double whammy that took the wind out of cryptocurrencies across the board. Since the drop, crypto prices have recovered some of what they lost, but nowhere near all. The Wall Street Journal reports: The recent price fall has accelerated after three Chinese entities published a statement that financial institutions shouldn’t accept virtual currencies for payment or … [Read more...]
Your Survival Guy: Cryptos, Stocks, Bonds & YOU
Other than what someone's willing to pay you, where does a cryptocurrency's value come from? Because when it comes to sources of value, with dividends from stocks and interest from bonds, you know where you stand. With cryptos, you hope someone doesn’t jump the line. When a company pays you a dividend (or a bond pays you interest), it worries about meeting its obligations to you. It sees you, unlike the anonymity of cryptos, banging your tin cup on the boardroom table saying: “Show me the money.” When a company issues stock, it’s giving up ownership, and with a bond, it’s taking on debt. … [Read more...]
Legendary Silicon Valley Investor: ‘SPAC Fad Indicative of Later Stages of Cycle’
Gary Silverman interviews legendary Silicon Valley investor Sand Roberston for the FT. Silverman writes of the interview: Sandy Robertson is worried about what’s happening in the markets these days, and that matters. Few people in the financial world have seen more than he has. Robertson is best known as a pioneering dealmaker in Silicon Valley, where he helped start two of the “Four Horsemen” investment banks that dominated technology underwriting in the 1990s — Robertson Stephens and Montgomery Securities. But his career dates to the 1960s, when as a Smith Barney broker covering Nebraska … [Read more...]