Your Survival Guy' sees in The Wall Street Journal that dogs are now convincing their owners to fly private. Who knew dogs could talk? The ease of moving pets via chartered flights is yet another catalyst moving air travel away from commercial—as if it were on purpose. How hard will it be for the green mafia to ground the private jets once commercial air is in ruins? Don't worry, Taylor Swift will be fine. The woke won't ground her personal air force because she leases them out to friends. Swell. Field of Dreams: You Too Can Live Like a Billionaire Oh, the woke. Living their "best … [Read more...]
Archives for August 2022
Despite All the Money Involved, Crypto Is Still a Wild Market
Cryptocurrency markets are still in the "wild" stage of their development, despite all the money involved. In the Financial Times, Lex analyzes the state of the crypto market today, writing: In percentage terms, the cryptocurrency crash of 2018 was worse than the winter that is currently gripping crypto markets. The difference this time round is the amount of money involved. In 2018, about $700bn was wiped from the market’s high point, according to price-tracking site CoinGecko. So far this year, the crypto market’s value has fallen by more than $1.2tn. To that total can be added millions … [Read more...]
BIDEN UNCONVINCING: Saudis Holding Fire on Spare Capacity
Despite a meeting with Joe Biden, the Saudis and the UAE have decided to limit their production of crude oil to save capacity for potential shortages in the winter months. The statement referred to "the severely limited availability" of spare capacity, saying that meant it needed to kept it in reserve for "severe supply disruptions". At first glance, that reads as an acknowledgement that OPEC’s leader Saudi Arabia has almost no room to raise output, as mentioned by French President Emmanuel Macron in a conversation with U.S. President Joe Biden last month. Three sources, speaking on … [Read more...]
Your Seats Await at Newport’s Castle Hill
Your seats await at Newport’s Castle Hill where you can watch the boat traffic come and go along Narragansett Bay. This is the entrance to Newport. Everyone passes Castle Hill whether it’s after a long journey crossing the Atlantic, returning from the Newport/Bermuda race, a weekend cruise to the Vineyard, or a day sail out to Brenton Reef. Above, you’re looking across the Bay to Jamestown, RI. Action Line 1: Come spend some time in Newport and bookend either side of your trip by visiting me at 98 William Street. I’ll help you live like a local. There’s plenty for you to … [Read more...]
Big Corporations Making Big Investments
Big companies in many sectors are making big investments in things like real estate, equipment, and technology. The Wall Street Journal's Hannah Miao reports on their growing capital expenditures, writing: The biggest U.S. companies keep stepping up their spending on capital projects, an encouraging signal to investors in an uncertain economic climate. Companies from Google parent Alphabet Inc . to General Motors Co. to PepsiCo Inc. are among those that have increased spending on big-ticket items, such as real estate, equipment or technology, to fuel growth. The investments are generally … [Read more...]
Field of Dreams: You Too Can Live Like a Billionaire
Did you miss Major League Baseball’s trade deadline? Who could blame you? Let the billionaires have their fun. Let the Washington Nationals’ Lerner family squabble with agent Scott Boras over what generational player Juan Soto is worth. Will his new home with the San Diego Padres land him that $500 million deal in a couple of years? The suspense is like watching paint dry. But that’s the life of the billionaires. They, too, need a reason to get up in the morning. Look, I’m Your Survival Guy, not some billionaire team owner. But I too have my team. Sure, it’s fantasy football. But this will … [Read more...]
HEDGE FUND CARNAGE: Second Worst Performance Ever
Hedge funds are suffering from the second worst year of performance on record, after only the Financial Crisis year of 2008. Leading the losses are funds with Long-short positions. Laurence Fletcher reports in the Financial Times, writing: Hedge funds are heading for one of their worst years of performance on record, leaving investors frustrated with how many managers have failed to offset sharp falls in equity and bond markets. Funds were down 5.6 per cent on average in the first six months of 2022, according to HFR. While a narrower HFR daily index of performance shows them clawing back … [Read more...]
Just 21 Countries Account for 80% of World Energy Consumption
The United States and China together account for 42% of global energy consumption, followed by Russia and India which together account for another 11%. Along with the next seventeen smaller energy users, those 21 countries consume 80% of global energy. John Kemp reports on analyzing this energy consumption for Reuters, writing: Just 21 countries accounted for 80% of the world’s total primary energy consumption in 2021 (“Statistical review of world energy”, BP, 2022). China and the United States are true energy giants, together accounting for more than 42% of world consumption. India … [Read more...]
Do You Have $500,000 in Savings? Avoid This Nightmare
Do you have $500,000 in savings? Is it working for you, or is it stuck in the summer doldrums taking up space in your house? Don't let another day go by without seriously considering a conversation with Your Survival Guy about putting your lazy cash to work. Look, there's a reason I'm writing to you, and that's to help you survive and thrive in all aspects of your life. But it's easy to let the money stuff sit around and do nothing. You can only read so much. At some point, you gotta do something. Inertia is the investor's worst nightmare. Take, for example, the huge move in interest … [Read more...]
How to Stabilize Stablecoins
In an extensive article in the Financial Times, Willem Buiter and Anne Sibert explain the benefits and problems with stablecoins, and how to maximize and solve them respectively. They write: As the world of decentralised finance continues to grow, there is much demand for a digital currency fit for use in blockchain-based applications with near-real-time, peer-to-peer global settlement that can be used as a medium of exchange. However, most cryptocurrencies are too volatile for this and there are also issues with central bank digital currencies. CBDCs may not be based on the distributed … [Read more...]