The finance industry has been fixated on the emerging robo-advisor trend. The concept sounds easy, right? You simply give your money to a robot and it takes care of the rest. Algorithms created by math geniuses do all the trading, and you reap the rewards of low fees and decent management. Then the reality check. Wouldn't you like to know what's going on with your money? What if your algorithm is losing your money? Who are you going to talk to about it? Robot-advisory firm Betterment has already been forced to add humans to the mix. Rather than robo-advice, it's offering "hybrid" advice. … [Read more...]
The Losses at Amazon
After spending one day as the world's richest man, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is watching shares drop in price considerably in pre-market trading today. Last night Amazon announced its profits for the most recent quarter were a mere $628 million on revenues of $38 billion. That's a 1.7% margin. Despite generating over $900 million in profits from its Web Services segment, Amazon's international retail operations lost money, dragging profits down to $628 million for the quarter. Shira Ovide writes at Bloomberg that despite the poorer than expected performance, Jeff Bezos is doing exactly what … [Read more...]
Is America About to Make Great Things Again?
If you have been reading the news this week you may have gotten some mixed messages on the future of American manufacturing. The big news is the announcement from Foxconn (the Taiwanese manufacturing giant that built most of your iPhone) that the company will build a $10 billion LCD display screen plant in Wisconsin. The move was touted by the president, and the factory could potentially employ 13,000 people. Reuters reported: Trump praised Foxconn chairman Terry Gou at a White House event, asserting: "If I didn't get elected, he definitely wouldn't be spending $10 billion ... This is a … [Read more...]
Can Competitors Use Robots to Beat Amazon’s Logistical Dominance?
In 2012, Amazon recognized the value of a robot producing company known as Kiva Systems. The robots became a centerpiece of Amazon's logistical system, toting shelves of goods from the warehouse floor to lines of humans who would pick out the right items and send the robots back again. Now Amazon's competitors in retail will get their chance to catch up. Some of the same team of roboticists who worked for Kiva Systems is back with a new invention known as the Chuck. The new robot cart helps warehouse workers by carrying many items, and leading the humans around the warehouse to the … [Read more...]
Can Money Buy Happiness?
A new study from Harvard Business School says it's possible money can buy happiness. More specifically using money to buy free time can make people happier. The researchers surveyed people in the U.S., Canada, Denmark and The Netherlands to find out "whether—and how much—money they spent each month to increase their free time by paying someone else to complete unenjoyable daily tasks." Then those surveyed responded to another questionnaire about "time stress." Karen Kaplan summarized the results at the LA Times, writing: Survey-takers were asked whether they paid other people to do … [Read more...]
Could Vanguard Take its Show on the Road?
Vanguard's CEO, Tim Buckley, is being urged to take Vanguard's low cost model into more foreign markets. You probably haven't had the time to research the investment options available to foreigners, but in short they tend to be expensive and narrow. That's just the kind of market that screams for the low cost model Vanguard brings to its customers. FT's Chris Flood writes of Buckley: In May, Vanguard announced it would sell its funds directly to UK retail clients in a move that will intensify the competitive pressures facing rival asset managers. Liberum, the brokerage, predicted that a … [Read more...]
The World’s Largest Government Program is in Trouble
In a time dominated with news on the fate of Obamacare and any potential replacement, Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute keenly refocuses attention on what is the world's biggest government program, and one that is headed for a fiscal train wreck: Social Security. The program will soon have an annual budget of $1 trillion, a budget larger than that of all but six countries on earth. But Dan points out the scary fact that the program will have a shortfall of $44.2 trillion between now and 2095. He writes: And for those who want to know about the gap between the inflow and outflow, here’s … [Read more...]
Do Millennials Spend their Money Differently Than You?
It turns out, Millennials have some different shopping habits than GenXers or the Baby Boomers. They're very interested in motorcycles and eating out, but not very interested in clothes or cars. … [Read more...]
Getting to the Tennis Hall of Fame
Want to get to the International Tennis Hall of Fame? Work hard, practice and dedicate your life to the game or visit my office and walk across the street after our meeting. This week is the Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open. This was yesterday's "shot of the day" at the tournament. … [Read more...]
Are EnerVest Investors at Risk?
The energy hedge funds of private equity firm EnerVest are said to be worth "essentially nothing" to its investors by the Wall Street Journal. But the firm's senior vice president Ron Whitmire says that's just not true. According to Houston Chronicle reporter Jordan Blum, Whitmire "disputed that assertion, arguing that upcoming asset sales will create the necessary value to pay off much of its debt. That may not alleviate the concerns of investors who have seen their financial bets largely disappear. Whitmire declined to comment on what EnerVest is telling its investors, citing … [Read more...]
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