“He was going to call for an S.O.S.,” a client told Your Survival Guy as I sat in the comforts of my office this week. “My friend refitted his fast trawler during the offseason and asked me if I wanted to go out on it,” he said. Now, being a boater, my client immediately realized this was not going to be a wine and cheese deal. This was a shakedown cruise. “I’ve had my fair share of those,” he said to me. “I kindly took a rain check.” “My friend brought along another captain,” he said. “He was twenty years old.” Uh oh, I thought. “They’re out there,” my client said. “And all … [Read more...]
Archives for June 2023
Virgin Galactic Completes First Commercial Flight
Virgin Galactic has completed its first commercial mission by taking four passengers into suborbital space and returning them safely back to Spaceport America. Space.com's Mike Wall reports: Virgin Galactic is up and running. The company aced its first-ever commercial mission today (June 29), sending four passengers to suborbital space and back. It was a landmark moment for Virgin Galactic, which has big ambitions in the final frontier. The flight lifted off from Spaceport America in New Mexico at 10:30 a.m. ET (1430 GMT) and reached suborbital space some 58 minutes later. After a few … [Read more...]
Taiwan Semiconductor Sends Reinforcements to Arizona Facility Construction Site
In its race to complete an Arizona semiconductor manufacturing facility, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has decided to send hundreds of its experts to shepherd construction through the most critical phases. Reuters reports: TAIPEI, June 29 (Reuters) - Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC (2330.TW) said on Thursday it is sending more workers from Taiwan to the U.S. state of Arizona to help build a massive $40 billion factory to ensure its "fast ramp up". The first Arizona chip fabrication facility, or fab, is scheduled to be operational by 2024. A second facility nearby that is … [Read more...]
Investing Mistakes to Avoid: #7 DEI DOA
Your Survival Guy puts in a solid effort to recycle his trash weekly. Rolling out the blue bin to the curb makes me feel good and a bit anxious, wondering if they can track me down for misallocated debris. But, when it comes to my money, I don’t want ESG (environmental, social, and governance) or DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) separated from the fiduciary responsibilities. Sure, ESG and DEI might feel good and provide good copy during PowerPoint presentations. But it’s more sizzle than steak. And what about their job as fiduciaries? It’s why I look at all this ESG and DEI as dead on … [Read more...]
Lira Sits at Record Lows as Central Bank Gives Up Support
Turkey's central bank has given up trying to support the lira as it has fallen to its lowest levels ever against the dollar. Reuters reports: Turkey's lira was mostly flat on Tuesday, after touching a new record low overnight, while bankers said the central bank's net reserves had marked their largest rise on record last week as it stopped using the reserves to support the lira. The lira touched a record low of 26.10 against the dollar early on Tuesday during low liquidity hours and later firmed to as much as 25.55. But it later gave up those gains to stand at 26.03 at 0857 GMT, compared … [Read more...]
Home Prices Fall for the First Time in at Least Six Years
It's been six years since home prices fell on an annual basis, maybe even longer. Since Realtor.com began keeping records in 2017, its index of home prices hasn't fallen on an annual basis until now. Liz Lucking reports in Mansion Global: In good news for U.S. home buyers, many of whom are exhausted by the ever-growing cost of owning, median home prices have slipped for the first time in years, according to a report Thursday from Realtor.com. Listing prices fell 0.9% annually in June, the first yearly decline since at least 2017, which is when the online property portal began tracking the … [Read more...]
CBO Projects Terrifying, Debt-Laden Future for America
In a recent report, the Congressional Budget Office has projected heavy debt equal to 181% of GDP for America by 2053. The AP's Fatima Hussein reports: The Congressional Budget Office is giving the world a concerning look at the U.S. government’s ledgers: ever higher deficits, greater government spending and tax revenues that only begin to increase when existing tax cuts expire. The nonpartisan agency estimates in its latest 30-year outlook, released Wednesday, that publicly held debt will be equal to a record 181% of American economic activity by 2053. That compares with a projected 98% … [Read more...]
China Props Up Ailing Yuan
Worried about its currency's weakness, The People's Bank of China has propped up the yuan even more than expected. Bloomberg News reports: China stepped in to support the yuan for a third time this week, once again signaling a limit to its tolerance for weakness in the currency. The People’s Bank of China set its daily reference rate for the managed currency at a stronger-than-expected level, as it did on Monday and Tuesday. The so-called fixing came in at 7.2208 per dollar, 311 pips stronger than the average estimate in a Bloomberg survey and the largest premium since … [Read more...]
Everyone’s A Long-Term Investor Until They Lose Money
You know, there’s a lot of living inside these charts. It’s easy to forget how much goes on in your life in a week, never mind a year. You can see above how the Dow Jones Industrial Average performed from 1965-1981. But back then, like today, you didn’t know what tomorrow would bring. A lot of what matters for your investment success is not how old this bear or that bull market is—it’s how old or young you are. Everyone’s a long-term investor until they lose money. When we’re young, just starting out, we’re trying to raise a family, pay the mortgage, and save as much as we can. … [Read more...]
Inflation Is Improperly Defined
In August 2009 I wrote: I do not believe in cost-push inflation. By example, union pressure to increase wages is not an inflationary event. An economy will adjust for higher wages without a general increase in the level of prices across the economy. Inflation is strictly a monetary event: i.e., too much money chasing too few goods. Milton Friedman was the dean of the monetary inflation fraternity. Whenever you come across an article on M.F., be certain to read with care as you will improve your understanding of a lot of things. Writing for Real Clear Markets, John Tamny echoes my sentiments, … [Read more...]
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