It’s breathtaking looking at prices today and thinking about what things are really worth. I know, I know, worth is whatever someone else is willing to pay. What a bore. But, what if you’re not in this to be a seller? What if your interest is the wellbeing of your family, and selling isn’t your end game? Where, instead, you’re caring for your investments, like your love for a child, in perpetuity. Would you ever sell your child? Most of the time, the answer is no. Thanks for the memories! When you’re working in a family business, as I do, you understand the fear of disappointment real … [Read more...]
How Amazon Violates Anti-Trust Rules
Dana Mattioli and Joe Flint explain Amazon's questionable behaviors in The Wall Street Journal, writing: Executives from HBO Max complained about Amazon’s behavior during the negotiations to the House Antitrust Subcommittee investigating Amazon’s business practices, said people familiar with the probe. Amazon’s Mr. Evans said that there are occasions, including its talks with HBO, when companies are interested in exploring partnerships across multiple Amazon businesses. A former longtime senior AWS executive said that in recent years AWS has discussed how to better leverage its cloud … [Read more...]
Why Service Is King in 1(800)# Teenage Wasteland
Service is King, even today when many financial firms treat it like the Joker. Try getting a copy of your 1099, or figuring out a K-1. What you’re faced with is, perhaps, hours in a phone queue maze with no satisfactory answer. Some of these firms, not Fidelity, are too big and end up failing simple tasks. Other’s are left offering funds that are too big (like some of Vanguard’s) and then fail to meet the needs of investors (such as ESG funds from BlackRock and others) while trying to save the world. All you want is what you asked for, is that so hard? For some, in a word, yes. Action Line: … [Read more...]
Long Live the Dividend King
Procter & Gamble is the one true dividend king and has now extended its rule by increasing dividends once again, this time by 10%. MarketWatch's Claudia Assis reports: Procter & Gamble Co. PG, -0.13% said late Tuesday its board has declared a 10% increase in the consumer products giant's quarterly dividend. The dividend of 86.98 cents a share will be payable on May 17 to shareholders of record at the close of business on April 23. Shares of Procter & Gamble rose 0.1% in the extended session after ending the regular trading day down 1.3%. … [Read more...]
Inflation? Yes.
You don’t need to read the latest Producer Prices report to see that inflation is here. All you need to do is go for a walk around your neighborhood to see home prices, go shopping for groceries, or open the utility bills, and you see higher prices for all. Pandemic or not, prices are higher. You don’t have to be a genius to understand what China’s attempting to accomplish with its foray into digital currencies. Tired of buying worthless Treasuries, they want a plan B. What happens when China steadily tries to replace the dollar as the reserve currency? Both China and the U.S. government … [Read more...]
Banks Prepare for Boom
Ben Eisen reports in The Wall Street Journal that banks are preparing to loosen up money they've been holding for lending into a major economic boom. He writes: The accelerating economic recovery is likely to boost bank profits. Encouraged by government efforts to pump money into the economy and signs that Americans are spending more, the largest financial institutions are expected to release some of the rainy-day money they set aside after the coronavirus pandemic hit. That will offer a jolt to their income in the first three months of the year. JPMorgan Chase JPM -1.65% & Co., … [Read more...]
Fidelity Investments #1: Hires 4,000 Focuses on YOU
The financial services business is booming. The keyword being “services.” Because as millions of existing and new retirees look for help, the demand for service is stretching some firms’ capacity to help them. Not Fidelity’s, because, as you know, Fidelity is #1. With all the talk about robo-advisers, one fact remains with automated services; nothing can replace a live conversation with a financial adviser. I know my customers. I know when their emotions are high, and that’s something I don’t see a robot catching. Service is a huge part of getting your finances right. I know you don’t … [Read more...]
Larry Summers: Stimulus “Substantially Excessive”
If even Larry Summers thinks the current stimulus being poured on America's economy is "substantially excessive," you can bet it's way more than necessary. Here are some of Summers's comments from a recent interview with FT's Martin Wolf: If you look at the economy at the beginning of this year, prevailing forecasts were that Covid would reduce wages and salaries to American households by $20bn-$30bn a month, with that figure declining over the year. So, that would be a $250bn-$300bn hole in wages and salaries over the course of the year. So, I look at this hole and then I see $900bn of … [Read more...]
It’s as Simple as 4%? No, Not Anymore
In my conversation with you this week, we talked about the appropriate draw rate from your portfolio. We discussed how the days of a four percent draw are history. With interest rates nailed to the floor, you need to adjust accordingly. Thankfully, most of you have, I hope. Take a look at Dick Young’s investment North Star. That, in a nutshell, is how savers are penalized by Washington. Now, look at the dividend yield on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Do the math. A simple back of the napkin calculation of a 50/50 portfolio yields a fraction of what it used to. These are not easy … [Read more...]
Wall Street’s New Sub-Prime Borrower
Zero percent interest rates create many distortions that today’s central bankers seem to ignore. Ben Bernanke’s successful campaign to shift the blame from the Fed to Wall Street for the last financial crisis has emboldened his successors. A careful study of financial history shows that almost every mania has been enabled by a flood of liquidity. The problem as was identified over 100 years ago by Walter Bagehot is that “John Bull can stand many things, but he cannot stand two percent.” Wall Street has found a way to fill that need. As the WSJ reports here, Wall Street is now selling new … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 197
- 198
- 199
- 200
- 201
- …
- 640
- Next Page »