Robots are coming to the workplace in ways they have never done before. Automating backroom tasks could eliminate many jobs, but will also augment the productivity of others, leading to greater incomes and larger economies. The World Economic Forum recently released its Future of Jobs 2018 report, and Sara Castellanos explains the results here: The Future of Jobs 2018 report, released Monday, predicts that by 2025, more than half of all current workplace tasks will be performed by machines, as opposed to 29% today. But the impact of machines and algorithms on the entire workforce will … [Read more...]
The One Mistake Some Investors Never Learn From
One of the investing mistakes that some make in high growth glamour stocks is extrapolating today’s growth rates and profitability forward without accounting for future competition. High growth markets with high returns on capital attract competition. And too seldom is the impact of increased competition accounted for in future results. Tesla is the largest car company in America even though it produces a fraction of the cars that Ford or GM produces. That is partly because investors aren’t baking enough competition into their calculations of future profits. The same scenario appears to be … [Read more...]
Coca-Cola Getting Back to its Roots
In the early days of Coca-Cola, there were trace amounts of the drug cocaine in the drink. Once the drug was found to be unsafe, the company removed it. Today though, the Coca-Cola Co. is exploring adding a new drug to its drinks, cannabis. James Fontanella-Khan and Alistair Gray report in the Financial Times: Coca-Cola is exploring entering the budding cannabis drinks business, as the iconic beverage company seeks new opportunities to offset slowing soda consumption. The world’s largest beverage group by revenue is “closely watching” the cannabis drinks sector, which uses the … [Read more...]
The Prospect of a Decade Long Asset Boom Reversal is Worrying
Writing at the Financial Times, Michael Mackensie explains that a reversal in the the decade long, quantitative easing fueled boom in asset price is worrying. He writes: The stellar ride asset prices have enjoyed since the demise of Lehman Brothers dominates the financial system. And the prospect of a reversal is rightfully worrying. Years of ultra low, and in some cases negative, interest rates, alongside massive quantitative easing programmes, have been a grand experiment in monetary policy. Low rates have compelled investors to seek higher returns from riskier assets such as equities, … [Read more...]
Patience and Profits in Pipeline Shares
According to Energy Transfer Partners CEO Kelcy Warren, making money in pipelines right now is so easy a monkey could do it. That follows a strong earnings season for pipelines, a booming U.S. oil industry, and regulatory relief from the Trump administration. In The Wall Street Journal, Ryan Dezember reports on these developments, writing: From a peak in August 2014, the Alerian MLP index lost 63% before bottoming out in February 2016. MLP shares rebounded somewhat alongside rising U.S. oil prices but were dealt a fresh blow in March. On March 15, the Federal Energy Regulatory … [Read more...]
Cable Killer: Verizon to Begin 5G Rollout
Verizon is rolling out 5G internet and TV service in October to an initially small number of American cities. 5G is the next major advancement in Internet technology and will compete directly with cable. Verizon has said its internet will give users faster speeds than cable, without the wires. Bloomberg's Scott Moritz reports: Verizon Communications Inc., taking a key step toward rolling out speedier internet and pay-TV service across the U.S., will start offering a fifth-generation package on Oct. 1 in four cities, with signups beginning this week. Would-be customers in those initial … [Read more...]
How to Play the Online Shopping Trend without Betting on Amazon
The shift toward online shopping is a formidable trend that shows few signs of slowing anytime soon, but outside of Amazon (which appears to be priced for perfection) there aren't a lot of good ways to gain exposure. JP Morgan's real estate arm has found one. The company is playing the ecommerce trend by investing in industrial real estate, but not the typical warehouses that Amazon and others use to store their goods. JP Morgan is buying freight-transportation properties. These are properties that are used to move, prepare, or sort goods for delivery. Think truck terminals and … [Read more...]
Swexit? Sweden’s Euro-Skeptics Win Big
In Sweden this weekend, the anti-immigrant, euro-skeptic Sweden Democrats made major gains. Neither of the larger center-left or center-right coalitions were able to break the 50% threshold in parliament, and the Sweden Democrats could have influence in the days ahead. Bloomberg reports: Europe’s political outsiders chalked up another milestone in the Swedish election as a rise in support for nationalists showed the battle lines being drawn right across the continent. While the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats fell short of some pollsters’ projection, they still posted the biggest gains … [Read more...]
The Future of Verizon is Providing Internet, Not Filling it With Content
With the coming departure of Verizon's internet point man, Tim Armstrong, and the stated focus of Verizon's new CEO Hans Vestberg on building out the company's 5G network, it looks as though the wireless giant is reining in its online ambitions a bit. Former CEO Lowell McAdam had made providing content to customers' phones a major priority for Verizon, but the strategy pursued by Armstrong led to the purchase of AOL and Yahoo, two elder statesmen of the Internet. With the two companies only generating 5% of internet ad revenue, they couldn't compete with bigger rivals like Google and Facebook. … [Read more...]
Trump Orders Treasury to Lower RMDs for IRAs and 401Ks
In an August 31 presidential order, President Trump asked the Treasury Department to consider increasing life expectancy rates for retirement accounts. The move could lower the required minimum distributions from those accounts, and leave more money leftover for heirs. Allyson Versprille reports for Bloomberg: If Treasury increases those rates, which haven’t been updated since 2002, it would strengthen an estate-planning strategy known as the “stretch IRA,” in which an owner extends the ability to postpone paying taxes on money in his or her IRA by passing it to a non-spouse beneficiary, such … [Read more...]
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