You’re seeing the great escape from cities unfold in real time. Where are New York city slickers going? Palm Beach, Miami, and Naples to name a few. The Wall Street Journal editors lament the recent assassination of two NYPD officers, writing: A second New York police officer died of his wounds Tuesday after being ambushed on Friday night while responding to a call about a domestic dispute. Wilbert Mora, who was 27 years old, died after being shot in the head by an assailant who kicked open the door of a bedroom and opened fire on officers. Another officer, 22-year-old Jason Rivera, died … [Read more...]
Archives for January 2022
Can ESG Work Without a Bubble?
Can an investing model created to supply certain companies with easy money work when there isn't a bubble in the market? That's the suggestion of James Mackintosh in The Wall Street Journal, who says that in a bubble-less world, ESG investing won't make the difference it intends to. He writes: A full-blown ESG bubble would surely encourage investment in things that count as “good” ESG, especially low-carbon energy. Every other bubble in history has been accompanied by a corporate spending boom, whether on canals, railways, the internet or mines, as existing companies take advantage of cheap … [Read more...]
ONLY FIVE DAYS LEFT: America Dangerously Low on Semiconductor Chips
America's stocks of semiconductor chips are down to only five days worth, a perilously low number that usually stands nearer to forty days supplies. Josh Zumbrun and Alex Leary report in The Wall Street Journal: U.S. manufacturers and other companies that use semiconductors are down to less than five days of inventory for key chips, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, citing the results of a new survey. In 2019, companies typically maintained 40 days of inventory for key chips, according to the Commerce Department report. Now for the same chips—defined as 160 products that companies … [Read more...]
CAUTION: This Rate is Lower than the Great Depression
Let’s get right into this. Yesterday you saw the stock market make a complete reversal after being down enough to have the talking heads going crazy. What to do? How about this: “don’t just do something, stand there?” In times like these you need to think like a Rich Man, not a Poor Man. It’s the Rich Man who doesn’t need the market, and if it’s a buying opportunity, he buys. That’s how Your Survival Guy wants you to think about markets, ALWAYS. Do you go crazy when the value of your home changes month to month? It might be nice to see what you could “get” on Zillow, but if you sell where … [Read more...]
Is Biden’s Antitrust Team About to Get Serious?
After decades of pretty lenient enforcement, there are signals that the Department of Justice's antitrust cops could be getting serious. Stefania Palma reports in the Financial Times: The US Department of Justice has warned that it will seek to block more anti-competitive deals after Joe Biden’s administration pledged to crack down on companies exploiting their market power. Jonathan Kanter, in one of his first speeches as head of the justice department’s antitrust division, on Monday said his unit should, in most cases, seek to block tie-ups that were “likely to lessen competition” rather … [Read more...]
Uncertainty Driving Investors Into Gold
Investors are fleeing from global uncertainties like war and pandemic into a historical safe haven, gold. Hardika Singh reports for The Wall Street Journal: Rising geopolitical tensions in Europe and a slide in major U.S. stock indexes has sent investors rushing into the haven metal. On Friday, they poured a record net $1.6 billion into SPDR Gold Shares, GLD +0.50% the world’s largest physically backed gold exchange-traded fund, according to Dow Jones Market Data. When individuals buy shares of an ETF backed by physical gold, they are buying a stake in a trust. The ETF tracks the metal’s … [Read more...]
DON’T GET BIT: Careful When Investing with the Big Dogs
Investing with the big money management firms might not always work out for individual investors. Read below the experience of one investor who faced a massive surprise tax bill after investing with Vanguard. Jason Zweig reports: One investor posted there: “I think I’m screwed by Vanguard resulting in an enormous tax bill…. I feel that Vanguard guided me down this path which is frustrating.” In the Bogleheads area on Reddit, another online forum, an investor posting as “Sitting-Hawk” said he received about $550,000 in distributions in Vanguard’s Target Retirement 2035 fund. So he owes … [Read more...]
As Turks Flee Lira, Erdogan Opens War Against Cryptocurrencies
For policymakers using currency debasement as a "solution" to their problems, there could be nothing worse than cryptocurrency. Its status as a "hard" currency alternative to fiat money makes cryptocurrency a friend to people living in hyper-inflationary environments. The anonymity of many cryptos also makes them desirable for people in oppressed nations. That combo is hitting Turkey like a double-whammy. Laura Pitel and Eva Szalay report on Turks flocking to cryptocurrency in the Financial Times, writing: Despite having a masters degree and a stable job, a middle-class lifestyle has felt … [Read more...]
BUY THE DIP? No One Wants to Save the Stock Market
Despite tumbling stock prices, options traders don't appear eager to step in to buy the dip. Reuters reports: Even as stocks tumbled, however, there were few signs in the options market that traders were expecting the sell-off to abate soon. "I am not seeing much along the line of 'quick end to the sell-off'," said Chris Murphy, co-head of derivatives strategy at Susquehanna International Group. "It still looks pretty fearful," Murphy said. On Monday, overall trading in put options, typically used to place defensive or bearish bets on stock and index prices, outnumbered trading in … [Read more...]
Why You AWLAYS Need This in Your Portfolio
Your Survival Guy wants you to understand that you own bonds so you can invest in stocks. As the late, great, Ben Graham explained about portfolio allocation, investors need to fall within a 70-30 mix of stocks and bonds, or vice versa. In other words, even the most aggressive stock jocks need to have some bonds as an anchor to windward. You might be shocked at how much of a cushion having just 30% in bonds can provide for a portfolio in a market decline. But check out Your Survival Guy's Deadliest Markets This Century for proof. And for the most conservative, or wealthy among us, … [Read more...]
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