"De-densify." That's the word Harvard is using to describe its efforts to move people out of dorms and send them home. CNN's Carma Hassan and Brian Ries report: Harvard University is moving to virtual classes because of the novel coronavirus outbreak and the university is asking students to move out of their dorms in five days, according to university spokeswoman Rachael Dane. "Harvard College students have been asked to move out of their Houses and First-Year Dorms by Sunday, March 15, in an effort to de-densify our community," Dane told CNN in an email. All academic courses will … [Read more...]

One of the challenges of having high school kids in different schools is scheduling—they’re not on the same one—which is how Owen and I ended up skiing Friday at Attitash, NH, while Izzy was in school. My parents spend much of their winter in New Hampshire skiing (it’s early Saturday morning as I’m writing to you), and we had a great day together yesterday on the slopes. Part of the reason Owen and I had to get up to our cabin was to bring our gear back home for our trip out west later this month. If you’re a ski family, you tend to gather a lot of ski gear. As I rummaged through my … [Read more...]

When I was a junior in high school I spent a week as a crewmember on a schooner. One of my duties was taking a shift each night on watch. On calm nights it was pretty peaceful. But less so when the wind was up and the white caps lashed against the hull. On nights likes these, you had a more purposeful walk to the bow to check the anchor line. Our captain made the night watch a priority no matter the weather. I learned a lot from his seriousness and expertise. If you were to listen to the so-called experts, you would have sold your bonds a long, long time ago. Don’t listen to them. … [Read more...]

You’ll recall in Richard C. Young’s Intelligence Report how my father-in-law Dick would write about the Dynamic Maximizers—a portfolio dedicated to helping you keep what you’ve made. Well, you’re probably not surprised to read that the Dynamic Maximizers are up year-to-date while stocks are, of course, down—not only that, but the Dynamic Maximizers haven’t fluctuated nearly as much as stocks, period. They’ve been steady. There’s a lot of unrecognized value in stability in times of trouble. For one thing, it’s peaceful. No one knows how this coronavirus is going to rip through the … [Read more...]

You know about my desire for you to find the shelter and space you deserve. Somewhere away from the hustle and bustle of crowds. Whether you find that peace of mind in, the burbs, small-town America, a resort, or whatever is your idea of paradise, the key is to remember that, yes, it can be done. What is my definition of paradise? Well, a simple back of the napkin question is this: Can you have your own flagpole? Simple yet meaningful. As I told you in Part IV of this series, my client won the real estate arbitrage game when he decided to buy his little slice of heaven. Little, … [Read more...]

You’ve read about low bond yields. Well, the yields may be low, but bonds, they’ve protected portfolios like bubble wrap. (See the chart of Counterbalanced Total Returns below for the returns of bonds in years when the stock market has fallen). What investors forget time and time again, is that the key to investing is for you to get your money back. Not some of it—all of it. The income from interest on bonds, the dividends from stocks—they help you not only do that but also help you maintain your lifestyle. A lifestyle where you continue to do the things that matter to you like visit … [Read more...]