You have been telling me about the inflation you're seeing in your life. It's not good. Inflation can throw all the calculations of a well-planned retirement into chaos. Even people who are still working need to readjust in the face of higher prices. When those old dollars you saved after working hard aren't worth as much as you'd thought they'd be, life gets trickier. Now, Roger Bootle, the man who officially declared inflation dead in a 1996 book title The Death of Inflation: Surviving and Thriving in the Zero Era (no relation to my monthly Survive & Thrive newsletter, which you can … [Read more...]
California Losing Most Residents to Texas and Arizona
New data from the IRS adds some detail to what America already knew from the Census--people don't want to live in California anymore. On net, California lost more taxpayers and dependents than any other state between 2018 and 2019. Eight million people left the state during that time, with 165,355 fewer moving in, making for the state's largest loss. Those numbers don't even include the mass exodus caused by COVID-19. Texas and Arizona were the most popular destinations for California refugees. Cole Lauterbach reports for Just the News: Texas was the primary destination for California … [Read more...]
The Fed Has Forever Changed the Corporate Bond Market
Citigroup points out here exactly which day the Fed crossed the red line of intervening in private markets. Every economic downturn will now come with the baseline expectation that the Fed will step in to save overleveraged companies and the investors who lent to them. Citigroup estimates the Fed-put in investment-grade corporate bonds is worth about 0.30%. What about free markets and free-market capitalism? Apparently, both are a relic of a bygone era. Alex Wittenberg reports at Bloomberg: The Federal Reserve will keep its “invisible presence” in the corporate-bond market even after … [Read more...]
Inflation? Yes, Your Survival Guy Paid This For…
Inflation? Yes. Your Survival Guy paid $19.50 per pound for fresh cod last week. I know you’re seeing inflation too because you’re telling me about it. How about buying a boat? New ones are back-ordered for months because of a shortage of resin and off-the-charts demand for new boats. How about used boats? This is anecdotal evidence, but the for sale listings in the back pages of On the Water magazine are scarce. In the past, there would be several pages worth of listings. The most recent issue? Two pages. You can’t find a boat today. Not to mention a good fishing rod and reel to go with … [Read more...]
Your Emails and Comments on Med School Talk
In my conversations with you, you're telling me you liked Your Survival Guy Presents to Prestigious Med School. I turned it into a Special Report: How To Invest After Graduating College so you can give it to someone you care about who's just starting out with their career. If you haven't read the piece, you can read it here: Excerpts from my Wednesday presentation to recent grads and associates of an esteemed NYC med school. I love hearing from you. This week I'm choosing two emails to share with you because of their unique perspectives: One from a doctor client remembering when he first … [Read more...]
Can Robinhood and SoFi Bring IPOs to the Masses?
For most of history, initial public offerings have been a walled garden for many investors, who were unable to gain access to their benefits. That may start to change if Robinhood and SoFi Technologies get their way. Telis Demos reports for The Wall Street Journal: Small investors seem more influential than ever these days. So as the initial public offering market heats up, efforts to get those investors a bigger seat at the table is a hot idea. It’s also not a new one. Upstart brokerages Robinhood Markets and SoFi Technologies recently said they would give their customers access to IPOs. … [Read more...]
Inflation and Destruction of the U.S. Dollar University
Biden's backdoor student loan forgiveness is as clear as day even though headlines read otherwise. With inflation running hot, team Biden is actually thinking about forgiving student debt by destroying the dollar. When you run out seven percent inflation (not impossible) for ten years, debt is half of what it was. Coincidence? Hardly. While Biden ratchets up inflation to pacify the radical progressives and students who put him in office, the American middle class will suffer. Kristin Tate writes in The Hill: The sharpest tax President Biden is levying upon Americans is one that was … [Read more...]
The Plan to Make Food Delivery Profitable, Eventually
Food delivery has not been a very profitable business in the past. In fact, net income has been elusive. Laura Forman reports in The Wall Street Journal on the plan to change that, eventually. She writes: They say those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. But in food delivery, DoorDash DASH -4.10% and Uber Eats are trying to avoid repetition. Last month, Grubhub GRUB -1.91% Chief Executive Matt Maloney called food delivery a “crummy business” in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, something he has been quoted as saying in cruder terms years earlier. Grubhub was … [Read more...]
2020 Exposed the Madness of Living in Big Cities
America's big cities are normally a balanced churn of people arriving and people departing, but 2020 tipped the balance. Residents rushed to escape the city, with Americans eager to build islands for their families away from the riots, looting, and COVID lockdowns imposed on them by governors gone wild. Other Americans who would normally have moved into the city were too afraid or just didn't want to deal with COVID restrictions, and mass unrest. In big blue cities, where the wealthy are treated like a piggy bank for politicians focused on their own legacies, departures soared. With remote … [Read more...]
The Reach for Return at Pension Plans and Endowments
In the last few years with bond yields so low, institutional money managers at endowments and pension funds have had to reach for return in areas they normally would eschew in order to hit their targets. Robin Wigglesworth reports on the industry's tactics, and what the future may bring at the FT, writing: Institutional money managers are grappling with a grim investing outlook, sending them on a hunt for the next big idea decades after the late David Swensen triggered a revolution when he arrived at Yale’s endowment in 1985. It is a pressing problem. Asset allocators like Swensen — who … [Read more...]