When was the last time you rented a U-Haul? You know those big moving vans, not a pickup truck for weekend projects. I’m guessing it was to move a son or daughter or perhaps your family. I’ve rented a big moving van twice in my lifetime, and both were big moves. The first time was moving from Boston to the suburbs when I was working at Fidelity Investments and bought a multi-family. The second was when we moved into our home in Newport, RI. Typically, when you rent big moving vans, it’s a big, big, deal. You’re leaving one life behind for a new one. It’s not like the flocks of snowbirds … [Read more...]
Archives for January 2022
EV MARKET: It’s Getting Crowded in Here
New entrants are rushing into the EV space. The latest is Sony. The dash to sell EVs should tell EV investors something about the barriers to entry in the business and of the ultimate profitability in the industry. Based on the frothy share prices of EV firms, nobody appears to be listening to the message. Bloomberg's Takashi Mochizuki and Yuki Furukawa explain Sony's dive into EVs, reporting: Sony Group Corp. is exploring the commercial launch of its own electric vehicle, joining tech rivals like Xiaomi and Foxconn in a rush into the red-hot industry. Sony Chief Executive Officer … [Read more...]
Evergrande’s Situation Just Keeps Getting Worse
Troubled Chinese developer, Evergrande, has seen its fate go from bad to worse. News of its financial troubles has scared away potential customers, and now, local authorities are accusing the firm of illegal permitting activity and demanding it demolish thirty-nine buildings. Anniek Bao and Elaine Yu report for The Wall Street Journal: The crisis engulfing China Evergrande Group EGRNF -2.62% deepened, as the embattled property developer said it had been ordered to tear down dozens of buildings on an extravagant man-made island in southern China. At the same time, Evergrande released data … [Read more...]
Apple: Market Thinks Big is Beautiful…For Now
Yesterday, Apple surpassed $3 trillion in market cap. That’s a lot of iPhones. Did you know that with $3 trillion you could own ALL of McDonald’s, Walmart, AT&T, Philip Morris, Berkshire Hathaway, Procter & Gamble, JPMorgan Chase, Starbucks, Boeing, Deere, and American Express combined? Notes Spencer Jakab in The Wall Street Journal’s “Heard on the Street” column, “A lot would have to go wrong all at once to torpedo that diversified group of blue-chip stocks.” Spencer continues: Aside from the concentration risk, the rise of mega companies has been bad for stock returns in general. … [Read more...]
Older Automakers Gearing Up to Take on Tesla with Electric Vehicles
Tesla has surely paved the way to a new understanding of electric vehicles, but its production is still very small, and limited to a narrow range of vehicle options. Mega-automakers like GM, Volkswagen, and Mercedes-Benz are preparing to compete with Tesla more directly by ramping up their battery supply lines and developing new models. Ben Foldy reports in The Wall Street Journal: Auto makers are trying to control more of the supply chain for electric vehicles, forging new partnerships with raw materials producers and investing in facilities that make chemicals for batteries. General … [Read more...]
DISASTER? Your Survival Guy’s Gas Stove is Broken
Happy first Monday of 2022. Your Survival Guy’s gas stove is broken. Not a great way to start the week. But the good news is there’s still natural gas. We have heat. This isn’t like the disaster a few years ago where we lost heat on the coldest day of the year due to a disaster with the supply of natural gas. This is a “me” problem (the best kind for you). A piece to our gas stove pilot is shot and needs replacing. Now, Your Survival Guy’s gas stove happens to be an Aga. You know those porcelain stoves in an English farmhouse with doors on the front, cooktops, and a chimney? That’s us. It’s … [Read more...]
BOND BLOWUP? Don’t Lend Your Money to Blue States
OK, blue-states are drowning in pension debt that may or may not be paid—think Illinois. And yet these cities and states are issuing more debt in the form of municipal bonds. Is that good or bad for investors? Last year the S&P Municipal Bond Index was up 1.76%, but when you dig into the guts of it, there are plenty of reasons, at least for me, to be concerned. Number one on my list is the average duration of the fund—with its 212,627 constituents—is 12.13 years. This isn’t covered in the article I quote below, but it’s a major factor in the fund’s future performance if interest rates … [Read more...]
Chinese Companies Driving Emerging Markets’ Leapfrog Past America on Cashless Payments
Chinese companies like Alipay and WeChat are helping emerging economies leapfrog past the United States with electronic payments. Nick Huber reports at the Financial Times: Although digital wallets are not new, they grew in prominence during the pandemic amid a decline in cash and in-store card payments using point-of-sale terminals — and a rise in consumers’ preference for contactless transactions. Globally, cash was used for 20.5 per cent of in-store “point-of-sale” transactions in 2020, one-third lower than in 2019, according to research by Worldpay, a payments group. An increasing … [Read more...]
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