Wouldn’t it be incredibly helpful to you and your family if you could swipe your iPhone and instantly gauge the pulse of the nation? Risks to the economy? And do it on multiple levels? At your fingertips would be an intelligent way to take the temperature, if you will, of the country. I wanted such a tool and I thought you would too. And I wanted it to be about stuff I’m interested in and not some irrelevant government statistic. Allow me to introduce to you the Risk Analysis & Grouping Estimator or RAGE Gauge. Stay tuned over the coming weeks to learn how it’s constructed. … [Read more...]
This Guy “Earned” $3.9 Billion in 2011 and Asks Connecticut Taxpayers for Money?
The incompetent Gov. Dannel Malloy of Connecticut is providing taxpayer money, to the tune of $22 million, to keep Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater hedge fund headquartered in the state. This is the same Ray Dalio who was paid $3.9 billion in 2011 alone. Are you kidding me? This is what happens when the 2 and 20 gang teams up with politicians. This is not just a Democrat problem. It was started by a Republican as the WSJ points out: “Mr. Malloy’s Republican predecessor Jodi Rell raised the top marginal tax rate to 6.5% from 5% on individuals earning more than $500,000, and Mr. Malloy raised it again … [Read more...]
RIP Roger Enrico
From the WSJ: Born in the small town of Chisholm to Italian immigrants, Mr. Enrico won a scholarship to Babson College in Massachusetts, studying business administration, before enlisting in the Navy. He served in Vietnam, whereas a lowly ensign he said he convinced an admiral to build a fuel pipeline instead of flying in supplies, only for the pipeline to be repeatedly blown up. After a stint as assistant brand manager for Wheaties at General Mills Inc., Mr. Enrico joined chips-and-soda giant PepsiCo in 1971, initially helping market Funyans, an onion-flavored snack. He quickly was … [Read more...]
Who Says There’s no Inflation?
Over the weekend my kid’s asked for some money for ice cream. I gave them $20 and didn’t get much change. Who says there’s no inflation? … [Read more...]
Warning! Pension Funds Continue to Swing for the Fences
You really can’t make this stuff up. Pension funds refuse to read the writing on the wall: We are living in a reduced return world. It’s as simple as that. Yet instead of taking their lumps, and I’m not even talking about funding what they should have paid years ago into the plan, they are reaching for returns. If you’ve learned anything from my posts to you about investing, it’s that you cannot “hope” for the market to do something for you. You do not want to “reach” for returns. And yet that’s what pensions are doing. It’s not teachers, firemen, and policemen doing this. They leave it to … [Read more...]
Retirement State: Which States have the Highest Estate or Inheritance Tax?
There’s a lot of reasons for New Englanders to retire to Florida or New Hampshire. From the Tax Foundation: In addition to the federal estate tax of 40 percent (which is fourth highest in the OECD), many U.S. states levy their own estate and inheritance taxes. Estate taxes are charged against the estate regardless of who inherits the assets, while inheritance taxes are levied on the transfer of assets to heirs, based on the relationship of the inheritor to the deceased. In the case of inheritance taxes, spouses, children, or siblings often have different exemptions and experience … [Read more...]
Meet the One Person Every Business in the World Needs
Happy Memorial Day Weekend. Time for remembrance. Time for summer. Time to get to work. When I was a kid I had three different jobs: a paper route, cutting lawns, and scooping ice-cream. One person I met at all three was, “the customer.” At the first job, the paper-route, I didn’t see the customer every day, but I would if I missed a house, got bit by their dog, was late, or needed to collect money. At the second job, cutting lawns, I’d see them if I missed a spot, got stung by a bee from their bee box or needed to collect money. And at the third-one, scooping ice-cream, there was a never … [Read more...]
Jimmy Buffett’s: A Pirate Looks at 40
Make sure you have a chance to appreciate where you’re going and where you’ve been. Jimmy Buffett put on a pop-up show Monday in Austin, TX in preparation for his summer tour “I Don’t Know”. A client of mine is driving up to Nashville, TN for tonight’s sold-out show at the Ascend Amphitheatre. Here’s a great video of Buffett and Jerry Jeff Walker. Walker (Mr. Bojangles) was the person who gave Buffett refuge in Coconut Grove, FL after he fled Nashville. It was in Walker’s Packard that they drove to Key West for Buffett’s first visit. It was there where they met Phil Clark, the “Pirate” in … [Read more...]
Hedge Funds Fail
This week it was reported that Tudor Investment Corp., one of America’s most expensive hedge funds, will be cutting its very high fees from 2.75% of assets and 27 percent of profits to a still very high 2.25% and 25% respectively. Still much higher than most of the confiscatory fees one will find among hedge funds. After hearing this I recalled what Dick Young wrote in his Intelligence Report a couple months ago, Hedge Funds Fail. Hedge Funds Fail Given the above, it was with some astonishment that I read Tim Martin and Rob Copeland's recent Wall Street Journal exposé "Investors Pull Cash … [Read more...]
Joseph’s Garage Featured in Babson Magazine
You will love this story about the Joseph brothers featured in Babson Magazine Spring 2016. They run a third-generation business in Norwell, MA started by their grandfather in 1928. It reminded me of a family run gas station in Newport that closed not too long ago. Just like Cheers everybody knew your name, your kids’ names, and always had a dog treat handy. Technology can’t replace everything. The Joseph brothers don’t bother having business meetings. Many times, they can come to a decision without even saying a word to each other. Art and John, both ’84, are the third-generation owners … [Read more...]
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