Japan has intervened in its currency market for the first time since 1998 to stablilize the yen. Kana Inagaki and Leo Lewis report for the Financial Times: Japan intervened to strengthen the yen for the first time since the late 1990s on Thursday, after the currency tumbled to a 24-year low on pledges by the central bank to stick with its ultra-loose policy. Masato Kanda, the country’s top currency official, said the government had “taken decisive action” to address what it warned was a “rapid and one-sided” move in the foreign exchange market. It was the first time Japan had sold dollars … [Read more...]
Archives for September 2022
You’ve Created Your Own Kingdom, Your Everlasting Life
What can we learn about lifelong wealth from the passing of Queen Elizabeth II? For one, as I wrote to you yesterday, “to do nothing is the hardest job of all.” If you think about your lifelong endeavor of compounding, like I most certainly do in my life, then you rise above the day-to-day noise like a heavenly spirit. You see life for what it is, a gift. A gift to be cherished. Because your gift can live on forever in the name of your children, your children's children, and theirs. When you separate your emotions from your money, you’ll find it will be difficult to separate it from … [Read more...]
Are Private Equity Funds Turning into a Pyramid Scheme?
According to Mikkel Svenstrup, chief investment officer at ATP, Denmark's largest pension fund, the private equity industry is looking more like a pyramid scheme. Kaye Wiggins reports for the Financial Times: A top executive at Denmark’s largest pension fund has compared the private equity industry to a pyramid scheme, warning buyout groups are increasingly selling companies to themselves and to peers on a scale that “is not good business”. Mikkel Svenstrup, chief investment officer at ATP, said he was concerned because last year more than 80 per cent of the sales of portfolio companies by … [Read more...]
God Save the Queen: To Do Nothing Is the Hardest Job of All
Last night, Becky and I watched episode four, season 1 of The Crown on Netflix as we honor the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. During the episode, a blanket of fog covers the streets of London, overwhelming hospital beds with residents gasping for air. Prime Minister Winston Churchill is under immense pressure to “do something,” but he holds firm with his belief that the fog is an act of nature, and an act of God, and that it will lift. Your Survival Guy: Long Live Queen Elizabeth II When Churchill’s young secretary is fatally struck by a bus, he arrives at a busy hospital where someone … [Read more...]
Is the Energy Sector Fooling Investors?
At The Wall Street Journal, James Mackintosh suggests that the strong performance of the energy sector is making the stock market look better than it should. He writes: Soaring profits at oil companies and miners are making earnings look better than the reality of the rest of the stock market, and distorting Wall Street’s favorite valuation tool, the ratio of price to forecast earnings. Strip out the energy sector and the expected rise in earnings for the S&P 500 this year drops from 8% to just over 1%, according to data from Refinitiv’s IBES. Strip out miners and other commodity … [Read more...]
On the Docks at the Newport International Boat Show
Happy Monday from Your Survival Guy. Hope you had a great weekend. As I mentioned to you Friday, this was boat show weekend in Newport. The weather was beautiful. Wish you were here. And if you are here, it’s still not too late to pop in and see me for a cup of joe. With that said, I thought I’d show some shots from the docks. Become a compounding machine and the choices are far and wide. Action Line: If you want to visit me in Newport, click here to get in touch. Until then, you can get to know me better by subscribing to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, where I push you to … [Read more...]
Tech IPO Drought Now Longest in History
Never in the history of the tech market have there been so few IPOs of large firms. In the past 238 days, there have been no tech IPOs worth over $50 million, a new record. Nicholas Megaw reports for the Financial Times: The stock market downturn since the start of the year has caused the longest drought in US technology listings this century, with experts cautious about the pace of a revival even after tentative signs of life in other sectors. Wednesday will mark 238 days without a tech IPO worth more than $50mn, surpassing the previous records set in the aftermath of the 2008 financial … [Read more...]
FedEx Warns of GLOBAL Recession
FedEx has seen a sharp drop off in the number of package deliveries and has warned of troubles ahead for the economy. Esther Fung and Will Feuer report in The Wall Street Journal: FedEx Corp.’s warning of a sharp drop in package deliveries set off fresh worries among investors about the outlook for the global economy, sparking another down day in stock markets on Friday. The delivery giant’s shares lost 21% Friday—its biggest one-day percentage drop ever—after the company said a macroeconomic slowdown had led to lower volumes of goods moving around the world in recent weeks. All three … [Read more...]
Boat Show Weekend in Newport, RI with Your Survival Guy
Happy Friday from Your Survival Guy. This is boat show weekend in Newport. If you’re in the market for a boat, come on down or plan on it for next year. I recommend coming to town on Thursday night, seeing the boats Friday/Saturday or Sunday, and making time to see Your Survival Guy before or after. The weather’s beautiful, and if boating’s not your thing, there are plenty of other activities going on in September. It’s going to be a gorgeous weekend. Here’s what’s going on this weekend. FRIDAY Audrain Auto Museum open 10am-4pm The Breakers open 10am-5pm The Elms open 10am-5pm Marble … [Read more...]
China’s Property Markets Are in Turmoil
Investors are losing confidence in China's property markets. Smaller cities are being especially hard hit by a decline in home prices. Jacky Wong reports for The Wall Street Journal: September and October are usually the peak season for China’s property sales. But things are looking different this year—and not in a good way. Until Beijing works up the gumption to intervene more decisively to restore confidence, the slow drift downward of the market—and the broader economy—seems likely to continue. Chinese housing prices continued to fall last month. New-home prices declined 0.3% in August … [Read more...]