Robert Cross, a professor of leadership at my alma mater, Babson College was recently quoted in The Wall Street Journal with some great advice on escaping "collaborative overload," in other words, too many shared projects at work. The projects demand meetings, conference calls and endless emails, but leave little time for actually getting work done. Lauren Weber and Lynn Cook report on Cross's view of the problem here: People with deeply rooted identities as high-performing workers are especially susceptible to collaborative overload, says Rob Cross, a professor of leadership at Babson … [Read more...]
America’s Best State for Business
I'm always on the lookout for information to pass along to you about where in America you can go to maximize your opportunity and standard of living. I write to the small business owners and savers of America who are trying to find a place where their money will be treated best by their government. States are always competing to attract the best businesses, but one state consistently rises to the top. Texas has been ranked by CNBC as the Top State for Business in America this year. Scott Cohn remarks that this is normal for the Lone Star State. This is familiar territory for the Lone … [Read more...]
Pensions are Still Hiding from the Truth
You can never save too much of your own money. As I wrote here on January 22, 2018, the pension funds many Americans are depending on are gambling with their money. For years I've been writing about how badly pension funds have been ignoring reality when it comes to return expectation (read a sample of these posts here, here, and here). Funds have a choice to make when they set their return expectations, they can: Shoot low, and require governments or companies to put more funding aside to fund the pensions, or Shoot high and gamble on having strong enough returns to make up for … [Read more...]
Your First Summer Job and Beyond
My first Summer job was scooping ice cream at Oxford Creamery in Mattapoisett, MA, where after every shift I'd mop the floors. I like this story from Tyler Bonin at The Wall Street JournaI. Bonin's advice for new grads is to "mop your way to success." It’s never too early to learn how to make yourself useful. He writes: Every commencement season, thousands of graduates are treated to something I call “standard keynote language.” Everyone can recognize these tiny, easily digestible nuggets of wisdom: “Don’t be afraid to take risks,” or “Be courageous.” And the classic: “Follow your passion.” … [Read more...]
Is Your State’s Pension System about to Collapse?
Katherine Loughead discusses state pension data from The Pew Charitable Trusts at The Tax Foundation. I've warned many times that states are under-funding their pensions and using unrealistic expected rates of return to hide their malfeasance (read here, here, here, and here). The low funding ratios are starting to bite. She writes: As of fiscal year 2016 (the most recent data available), states reported a combined $1.4 trillion in state pension plan funding deficits. Over the last two years, below-expected returns on investment and insufficient state allocations contributed to widening … [Read more...]
This State is Number One
I have a number of clients who live in Iowa and are glad they do, especially when reports like this one from U.S. News and World Report come out. Why would anyone stick around in a high tax blue state if they don't have to? This is not some statistical aberration. Folks want to live where their money is going to be treated with some decency and respect. Jeff Charis-Carlson writes about what makes Iowa so great: Iowa may be better known for its corn, caucuses and creative writing programs, but the Hawkeye state also leads the nation in efforts to bring ultra-fast internet access to every … [Read more...]
Illinois is About to Stick its Head Deeper in the Sand
For years Illinois has underfunded its five pension systems. For years I have been waving a red warning flag about the American pension charade (see here, here, here, and here for a small sample), but public pensions are controlled directly or indirectly by politicians. Those politicians don't ever want to subject their constituents to the painful measures it will take to fully fund pensions, and so rather than doing what is necessary to make the systems solvent long term, they place their faith in overly optimistic return assumptions. Illinois is trying one last ditch effort, using the … [Read more...]
You’ve Read the Last Issue of Intelligence Report: Back to Investors Yield: Part II
“Well I remember the mood of euphoria that gripped the stock market back in the holiday season of year-end 1965,” writes Dick Young in his September 1987 issue of Richard C. Young’s Intelligence Report. “I had just entered the investment business and was a broker at a Boston based member firm of the New Your Stock Exchange. It was an exciting period. The market had climbed by nearly 50% in a three-year period end 1965, and investors were spending their profits literally before they were booked. It was a period of casino mentality—no one could lose. The party ended with a thud, and the … [Read more...]
You’ve Read the Last Issue of Intelligence Report: Back to Investors Yield
“Well I remember the mood of euphoria that gripped the stock market back in the holiday season of year-end 1965,” writes Dick Young in his September 1987 issue of Richard C. Young’s Intelligence Report. “I had just entered the investment business and was a broker at a Boston based member firm of the New Your Stock Exchange. It was an exciting period. The market had climbed by nearly 50% in a three-year period end 1965, and investors were spending their profits literally before they were booked. It was a period of casino mentality—no one could lose. The party ended with a thud, and the … [Read more...]
Hartford, CT Downgraded to Junk Status
Imagine if your credit score got reduced to junk status and you quickly understand how municipal bonds work. Joseph De Avila reports at the WSJ that Hartford, Connecticut has had its credit rating downgraded further into junk status as the city looks like it may default on its obligations as early as November. He writes: S&P Global Ratings knocked down Hartford’s rating by four notches to CC. Moody’s Investors Service lowered its rating for Connecticut’s capital city by two notches to Caa3. “The rating agency actions today reflect the reality we’ve been emphasizing for many months, … [Read more...]
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