From On the Water: "Photographer Sergio Diaz shot and edited this beautiful video about false albacore fishing at the end of Long Island. The waters of Montauk host some of the best albie fishing in the Northeast in September and October, and fishermen from around the world travel there to experience it." Originally posted on Your Survival Guy. … [Read more...]
UK Cities Completely Berserk! “Everyone just Wants to Escape”
You know that in America people are racing to escape the city. But the USA isn't alone. Residents of London and other UK cities are looking to escape as well. Many are heading to Wales, where property is relatively inexpensive. Carol Peett, managing director of West Wales Property Finders told the Wall Street Journal's Ruth Bloomfield that “It has gone completely berserk here. Everyone just wants to escape.” Sound familiar? Bloomfield writes: With 870 miles of coastline and more than 1,500 square miles of national parkland, Wales, a country smaller than New Jersey, punches far above … [Read more...]
Going Up to the Country: Real Estate Heads out of Town
You have decided to escape the city, and now you're looking for what Laura Forman at The Wall Street Journal calls "location, location, isolation." She writes: Real-estate searches are looking a lot different lately. For years, home values have been greatly influenced not only by finished square footage and acreage, but also by walk scores and community. The pandemic is turning those factors on their head—at least for now. Airbnb, for example, is now touting its ability to enable users to work from anywhere, no matter how remote, after years of inviting its guests to “live like a … [Read more...]
Blue State Politicians Focus more on Ideology than Their States’ Economic Success
Blue State governors have gone wild, and they have driven their states to the highest unemployment rates in the nation. Look at the damage governors of blue states have caused, with unemployment in many of them in the mid-to-high-teens: Massachusetts (17.4%) New Jersey (16.6%) New York (15.7%) Nevada (15%) California (14.9%) Michigan (14.8%) Illinois (14.6%) Hawaii (13.9%) Pennsylvania (13%) Delaware (12.5%) Draconian shutdown measures and a refusal to do anything about the riots and looting that are tearing their constituents' cities apart have driven many … [Read more...]
Warren Buffett and the Power of Time
You have read here about the power of compounding, and patience. Both are functions of time. Warren Buffett calls investing over a long time horizon the "Methuselah Technique." Jason Zweig reports in the Wall Street Journal: This Sunday, Warren Buffett turns 90. The chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRK.B -0.18% is one of the most successful investors of all time, having amassed a net worth estimated at $82 billion. Yet he accrued nearly 90% of that sum after the age of 65. Investing well is important, but investing well for a long time matters even more. “I’ve long recommended,” … [Read more...]
Your Best Asset is What You Bring to the Table
Literally. You are the best asset you've got. Are you a farmer who can grow a crop of corn or tomatoes? Are you a skilled mechanic who could help neighbors repair their machines? The skills and production you bring to your community are what pay for your meals, home, and everything else. The money you use to make the transactions is just a means of transferring those skills to others. You've probably read about the current coin shortage in America. While that's inconvenient, businesses have been finding ways around it by using electronic payments or simply rounding to the nearest … [Read more...]
SEC Cracks the Floodgates to New Hedge Fund Investors
You may already be an "accredited investor," with more than $1 million in net assets (excluding your home) or $200,000 in annual income. If so, you've long had the ability to invest in hedge funds, where you get the privilege of paying the managers 20% of your profits and 2% of your assets. But now, the SEC is allowing many more Americans to play at the hedge fund casino. Paul Kiernan reports in The Wall Street Journal: The Securities and Exchange Commission deemed more investors capable of navigating the opaque world of leveraged buyouts, hedge funds and startups, a decision likely to … [Read more...]
Kudlow: This is No Time for Joe Biden’s $4 Trillion Tax Hike
I always love Larry Kudlow’s enthusiasm and can-do attitude. It’s the spirit for what our economy is built upon. Kudlow knows there's a fine line between success and failure, and that it's freedom that makes the difference. Before the unpredictable China virus hit American shores, Larry Kudlow had helped Donald Trump craft an economic policy that had driven unemployment levels to near record lows (see my chart below). In a speech to the Republican National Convention last night, Kudlow promised more tax cuts and regulatory rollback in Trump's second term. He specified: Payroll … [Read more...]
Investors Facing Long-Awaited ETF Industry Shakeout
You have probably invested at some point in ETFs or ETNs. The exchange-traded investments have thrived for decades now as a lower-cost and more efficient alternative to mutual funds. But after years of huge fund companies issuing new ETFs and ETNs by just throwing products at the wall to see what stuck, the industry is shaking out. The Wall Street Journal reports that this year alone 188 exchange-traded products have been shut down. Michael Wursthorn writes: Asset managers have closed more exchange-traded products than they have launched this year, a sign of how market gyrations have … [Read more...]
Despite COVID, Small Businesses More Optimistic in Trump Era vs. Obama Era
Even after the crushing punishment blue state governors have wrought on small business owners, they are still more optimistic under President Trump today than they were for nearly the entire Obama-era. Blue state governors have come out to protect the rich, but President Trump has worked hard to get America's small businesses running again. Some governors, like South Dakota's Kristi Noem, have helped. States like South Dakota that have remained open have fared better than the lockdown states. Americans working in the service industry also feel better now than they did in most of the … [Read more...]