Looking to get away? As Your Survival Guy, I want you to try to be invisible while traveling abroad. Don’t be the one creating a scene in customs. As Covid rears its ugly head, make sure you’re up to speed on the requirements to enter a country and to return to the U.S. They’re not the same if, for example, you’re going to France and back. Cash is king. Make sure you have travel cash on hand. Don’t rely purely on traveler’s checks. Have a mix of small and large bills and know the exchange rate before and during your trip. Make sure you pack some patience. Missed trips because of Covid … [Read more...]
Archives for May 2022
Big Banks Adopting Blockchain for Short-Term Trading
Big banks BNP Paribas and JPMorgan are using digital tokens in their short-term trading operations. Eva Szalay reports for the Financial Times: JPMorgan’s blockchain allow banks to lend out US government bonds for a few hours as collateral, without the bonds leaving their balance sheets. Post-crisis regulatory requirements demand that banks hold large amounts of liquid assets — which can be bought and sold easily even during times of market stress — such as Treasuries as a safety buffer. By tokenising these assets banks can temporarily turn them into collateral for a few hours, but without … [Read more...]
Job Market Survival Advice for Graduates and for Those YOU Love
Your life is a work in progress. You spend it gathering different skills like a Swiss Army knife. When I was at Babson College, one of the courses we all took was Operations Management. In it, we studied the manufacturing process of how stuff’s made. We looked at raw materials, for example, and the factory floor. It was like Breaking Bad but legal. At the time, a tectonic shift was underway. Globalization was picking up steam. Our manufacturing base was being offshored to China. (Turns out, that wasn’t the best practice in terms of U.S. survival. Now look at where we are with our supply … [Read more...]
BULLWHIPPED? Inventory Overhang Could Slow Growth in Certain Sectors
Every retailer's worst nightmare is holding too much inventory in products that are no longer in demand. Inventory management is important at the national economy level too, as bloated inventories can lead to less production which is what makes up economic growth. Inventories overall still look low, but there are a couple of sectors where they have popped and could be troublesome based on recent headlines. Paul Page writes in the WSJ's Logistics Report: The notorious bullwhip effect is playing out in real time in America’s stores. Retailers in their earnings this week have reported a … [Read more...]
BUY THE DIPS? Can You Catch a Ginsu Knife?
You may be wondering, “Buy the dips?” Well, are you good with knives? Because trying to catch a bottom can be painful. And yet, that’s what seems to be happening. Ginsu investors flailing at falling knives with cuts and scrapes like Allstate’s creepy “Mayhem” guy. Bad stuff happens. Deal with it. Markets can be brutal for a long, long time. I’ve yet to speak with anyone who likes losing money. And yet investors make bets they can’t afford to live with on a regular basis. All of a sudden, they realize it was wrong. And I’m not talking about wrong for a few months. I’m talking years or a … [Read more...]
MARKET TURNING: Canada’s Housing Market Turmoil
Real estate buyers and sellers are finding themselves in new positions at the bargaining table after rate hikes by Canada's central bank have put the market in a spin. Ari Altstedter reports at Bloomberg: One of the world’s bubbliest housing markets is tilting from sellers to buyers with dizzying speed. A string of central bank interest rate hikes has flipped the switch on Canada’s white-hot real estate market, spurring the first national home price decline in two years. That has both buyers and sellers in some of the frothiest pocketsscrambling as they try to navigate an … [Read more...]
“I’ve Been with Richard Young for Over 30 Years Now”
Thought I’d share this email with you that I received from a client yesterday. Hi EJ, Thanks for your e-mail today. Thanks for all you do for your clients and our investing. I have taken your advice and been with Richard Young for over 30 years now and am very satisfied with all you have helped me with. As we know, this too shall pass. I am happy that we went conservative with my accounts a couple of years ago. You and your firm really look out for your clients and stay in touch on a regular basis! Thanks! Your Friend, Jeff Action Line: Are you getting the advice you deserve? Let … [Read more...]
All-Powerful Money Managers Voting YOUR Money Targeted by Senate GOP
You and Your Survival Guy have been watching the problems with ESG funds and all-powerful money managers voting your shares for years now. Finally, someone in Washington, DC, is realizing how bad this is for America. Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska plans to introduce legislation that will force money managers to allow investors to vote their own shares. The Wall Street Journal’s Angel Au-Yeung reports: A group of Republican senators is looking to curtail the power big asset managers like BlackRock Inc. and Vanguard Group have over public companies. In legislation to be introduced Wednesday, … [Read more...]
HORDING CASH: Funds Hold the Highest Level of Cash Since 9/11
In what may be an indication of how worried fund managers are about global risks right now, they have amassed a cash horde greater than any other since the 9/11 era. Despite their intentions at reducing risk, they may be closing the barn door after the horse is out. Chris Flood reports for the Financial Times: Cash holdings among global fund managers have risen to their highest level since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US in a shift that reflects large investors’ worries about the deteriorating outlook for stock markets. Cash balances have swelled to 6.1 per cent on average across the … [Read more...]
COMMODITY CRUNCH: Will Tesla Buy a Cobalt Mine?
The world's cobalt supplies are stretched thin as demand from electric vehicle automakers has surpassed that of smartphone producers for the first time. When asked about the crunch in cobalt supply, Elon Musk responded that Tesla may have to purchase a cobalt mine to secure its own supplies. The Financial Times' Neil Hume reports: Electric vehicles overtook smartphones and personal computers for the first time last year as the main source of demand for cobalt, a rare metal used in lithium-ion batteries. The automotive industry consumed 59,000 tonnes of cobalt in 2021, or 34 per cent of … [Read more...]