By American standards, Newport is an old town. Since it was incorporated as a town in 1639, and later as a city in 1784, a lot has happened here. There's a range of impressive history, including the historic mansions built by America's titans of business, the Kennedy wedding, but also some intriguing history from the Revolutionary War and the post-war era that followed. Newport celebrates its history with a number of events each year, and one of those events that appeals to people interested in America's founding era is the annual reading of a letter from George Washington to the … [Read more...]
Archives for August 2022
“WE WENT IN TOO SOON”: Pension Fund Writes Off Major Crypto Investment
A Canadian pension fund, the nation's second-largest, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), is writing off its investment in cryptocurrency lending platform, Celsius Network. The write-off will be $150 million. Explaining the disaster, the fund's chief executive, Charles Emond, explained that "we went in too soon into a sector that was in transition." Scott Chipolina and Josephine Cumbo report in the Financial Times: Canada’s second largest pension fund manager has written off its $150mn investment in crypto lending platform Celsius Network and conceded it went into crypto “too … [Read more...]
DEVASTATION: Tsunami Simulation Study Frightens Coastal Dwellers
A new study of the potential impacts of a Tsunami hitting Seattle has given residents of the area a stark reminder of the risks they face in the event of tectonic movement in their area. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has released a terrifying new study that projects the impacts of a tsunami caused by a major earthquake on the Seattle Fault. The DNR reports: The report finds tsunami waves would reach the shoreline in fewer than 3 minutes in many places on the eastern side of Bainbridge Island, Elliott Bay, and Alki Point. The report shows inundation from such a … [Read more...]
Where’s All the Natural Gas Going to Come From?
Asian markets have long been big recipients of seaborne liquified natural gas (LNG) shipments from exporting countries like the United States. Now, though, European nations are attempting to buy from the same supplies of LNG. The result is a battle brewing in the market to secure gas supplies. Shotaro Tani reports in the Financial Times: The battle between Asia and Europe to lock in gas supplies is stepping up a gear, heightening the risks of a further surge in prices that would add fresh fuel to the cost of living crisis. Japan and South Korea, the world’s second- and third-biggest … [Read more...]
Fear is a Terrible Emotion: How You Deal with It MATTERS
Look, this isn’t about me. It’s about you. I’m Your Survival Guy, not someone else’s—I’m all yours. I want you to succeed. I want you to live your dreams. And that doesn’t mean I want the other guys to fail. This isn’t about them. This isn’t a zero-sum game like trading stocks. This is about your success. There’s enough of it to go around for all of us. Your investment success is all yours. Work to make money. Invest to keep it. But how? Fear’s a big roadblock. It gets in the way of action—and for good reason. Bad stuff happens. There’s a reason your lazy cash is sitting on your couch. It’s … [Read more...]
The Victims of a Decade of Easy Money
As the Fed raises rates, and money becomes harder to obtain, the metaphorical tide is receding, and anyone swimming without pants is about to be caught. The editorial board of the Financial Times suggests that this will impact the on-demand economy the most. Streaming services, ride sharing, home food delivery, and businesses with similar models will be hardest hit. They write: For viewers, one of the joys of Netflix has been the ability to gorge on hours of top-class TV without ever encountering an ad. Now, the streaming giant is introducing a new subscription tier that runs adverts … [Read more...]
What Happens if the Chinese Blockade Taiwan?
Despite its small size, Taiwan was America's ninth largest trading partner in 2020, with total U.S./Taiwan trade reaching $105.9 billion that year. The little country's heavy reliance on trade has made it the world's fifth-largest holder of foreign exchange reserves at $483 billion, and the thirteenth largest holder of gold reserves with 423.6 metric tons. So what happens if such an important part of the world's trade is blockaded by aggressive neighbors? The Wall Street Journal's Chun Han Wong and Yang Jie try to answer that question, writing: Beijing considers Taiwan, a democratically … [Read more...]
Buying A Boat: Who’s Looking Out for You?
You may know my recommended strategy for buying a boat. It’s a team effort that starts with finding the boat, and continues on to include other challenges like getting it surveyed, having a place to dock it/moor it, winterizing it, and storing it, to name a few. Here's a sample of what you'll learn in my series How to Buy a Boat. How to Buy a Boat: Part I "One weekend I brought a friend with me and we were all in the little 9 foot Boston Whaler. I think we decided to stop and have lunch so my dad asked my friend to throw the anchor over. And so he did. We were still drifting so my dad … [Read more...]
Is It Time to Talk About the Defects of Index Funds Now?
Is it time to talk about the defects of index funds now? That's the question being asked by Hunter Lewis in Barron's. He writes: Index funds have had a spectacular run. They collected $8.5 trillion in retail investment dollars by the end of the first quarter of this year, according to Morningstar, more than all active strategies together. Along the way, they became the dominant investment idea. Yet the stock market’s recent dip into bear-market territory raises new questions for these popular funds. Will indexing recover and go on to scale new heights? Or has the time come to consider its … [Read more...]
Your Survival Guy’s Favorite Number is 72: Here’s Why
Your Survival Guy had the pleasure of attending a Babson College cocktail party last night at the New York Yacht Club here in Newport, RI. It was a beautiful night. The recent heat wave had broken the night before. The wind was light from the southeast, coming in over the trees, making Newport Harbor look so inviting for boaters with hardly a wave to be seen. Our son will be a freshman at Babson in a couple of weeks. When asked if he has any family members that attended Babson, he replied, “Yes, my grandfather, uncle, mom, and dad.” It's hard to believe Becky and I graduated in 1994. I … [Read more...]