Apple is gearing up to produce or acquire its own video content. The company is looking for around ten TV shows to finance. The $1 billion effort might seem small compared to the scale of Apple's market cap of over $830 billion, but the effort could have a big effect on competitors like Netflix, Amazon and HBO. The market for internet delivered original video content is still young, and a big new entrant like Apple could upend its balance. Tripp Mickle explains the effort by Apple, writing: The budget will be in the hands of Hollywood veterans Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg,poached … [Read more...]
Are Apple and Facebook Stock Finally Losing Their Luster?
For years now hedge funds, institutions, and retail investors have been loading up the shares of a very small sliver of the stock market. The shares I'm referring to are the so-called FAANG stocks, and others like them. FAANG stands for Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google (now known as Alphabet). As the valuations of these stocks have pushed their company market shares ever higher, they have become a disproportionately large slice of the various indices they are included in. (Read more here and here). But now it appears that some hedge funds have tired of buying the FAANGs and … [Read more...]
Amazon is Killing Malls, Here’s How They’re Fighting Back
America's malls are dying. Malls built around antiquated big box retailers are fighting for their lives. The big retail stores are having their lunch eaten by Amazon.com. For malls looking to reinvent themselves, experiences matter. Malls offering movie theaters, gyms, arcades, and better dining options are finding more success. AFP reports: Yet mall developers dismiss talk of their demise despite today's retail industry travails. "I will tell you, it's not a very fun environment," David Simon, chief executive of the real estate investment trust Simon Property Group, said recently … [Read more...]
My Concerns with the Vanguard Effect on Your Family’s Survival
You gotta love low prices. Look at what Amazon has done to retail with my Bezos Law. Look at what Vanguard has done to lower investment fees, a revolution known as the “Vanguard effect.” The Vanguard Effect drove down prices on index funds, making them much more affordable than actively managed funds. With interest rates set by the Federal Reserve so low, and stock prices climbing with seemingly no end, index funds have been racing higher in price. The high valuations on index funds could leave investors and their families in trouble after a bear market correction. Low fee … [Read more...]
What Investors Tell Me in 17 Seconds Without Saying a Word
You may be surprised by this, but one of the most common things I hear from prospective clients of Richard C. Young’s investment firm is this: “I’ve been reading him for years and I have no debt.” I have no debt. And with that I know I’ve found someone I can work with. Over the past 19 years of talking with thousands of prospective clients, it often takes me about 17 seconds to know if we’re going to have a happy relationship. It’s simply something I’ve figured out over the years. It’s not scientific. It’s not an algorithm. It’s more a feeling. I guess it’s more about one’s … [Read more...]
RAGE Gauge: Is This the Calm Before the Storm?
Is this the calm before the storm? Why bother getting into the prediction business when you can safely navigate these waters with a well crafted plan? It begins with you. Are you protecting your money as well as you can? Now is the time to look out into the ocean and think long and hard about what you're doing. Remember, when the storm warnings come you need to have the discipline and conviction to ride it out. Having spent many an hour sailing the local sea of Newport, Buzzards Bay, and Vineyard Sound, storms turn seconds into minutes and minutes into hours. You hope it will end … [Read more...]
What You Missed Friday Night at the Newport Jazz Festival
The Newport Jazz Festival got the party started Friday night with Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue. Shorty, aka Troy Andrews, is the grandson of Jessie Hill who is known for the classic song "Ooh Poo Pah Doo.” Shorty closed his Newport show with a get up and dance version of his funk and soul sound with “Do To Me” heard throughout the colonial streets of downtown Newport. It was awesome. Here it is along with his take on his grandfather’s classic. Do To Me Ooh Poo Pah Doo … [Read more...]
Greenspan: Bond Bubble on the Brink of Bursting
Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan issued a warning to investors on CNBC this morning, that the bond market, and along with it the stock market, are in danger of collapse. Greenspan blamed the abnormally low interests rates being set by the Federal Reserve for the danger in markets today. Greenspan predicts the change in the market will be "rather rapid." … [Read more...]
Is There a Defense Against My ‘Bezos Law’?
If you're a regular reader, you are familiar with my Bezos Law. The law states that for every industry Jeff Bezos enters, costs go down. Now a Morgan Stanley analyst named Brian Nowak has outlined what it takes to protect a business from the type of disruption caused by the Bezos Law. Nowak theorizes that a set of factors he calls BRIAN, can protect a business from being overtaken and disrupted by Amazon. The factors are listed here by Business Insider: Bespoke products that are unique and require lots of customization. Examples of industries include luxury goods and intimates. Morgan … [Read more...]
Can GOP Succeed on Tax Cuts?
After the GOP's epic Obamacare repeal failure, Americans are wondering if the party can fulfill its other big promise to voters, tax cuts. Specifically the GOP has focused on cutting America's corporate tax rate, the highest in the developed world. The high rate harms American businesses, especially small businesses that can't afford to navigate through tax code loopholes to lower their rates. Today on Bloomberg, Sahil Kapur details the movement in Washington around a potential tax bill. Kapur writes: The House GOP tax blueprint backed by Ryan calls for a 20 percent corporate rate, … [Read more...]
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