Pipeline companies have an advantage that you don't always hear about. It starts with the high barriers to entry for building pipelines. If new companies can't get permits to build additional pipelines, the value of existing pipelines, and the companies that own them, increase. Lack of permitting is a supply shortage created by the government. Here's the part you don't normally hear about. Democrats like Joe Biden prefer to give far fewer permits for pipelines. Who does that help? It helps pipeline companies with existing capacity while hurting new entrants. The Wall Street Journal's Jinjoo … [Read more...]
A FAST Way to Lose SLOW Money
You read in these pages (read here, here, here, here, and here for starters) how you can end up paying twice for investments. The first charge is the mutual fund or ETF expenses like the expense ratio (and god forbid 12b-1 fees and other loads). Then there is the fee investors pay to their advisers. All in all, it can add up to more than two percent a year. It’s like ordering a Happy Meal and paying the guy in front of you to place your order. You can do better than that. Now, many advisers are taking their clients' money to invest in "model portfolios." Dawn Lim reports for The Wall … [Read more...]
Will the Transition to Electric Vehicles Hit Auto Dealerships Profits?
About 150 U.S. Cadillac dealerships are exiting the brand rather than making the investments Cadillac is requiring to sell electric vehicles. If electric vehicles are the future of transportation as we are told, auto dealerships may suffer. While the vast majority of sales at auto dealerships come from new and used cars, about half of gross profits come from the service and parts department. The problem for auto dealerships is that according to Consumer Reports, electric vehicles cost about half as much to maintain as internal combustion engine vehicles. Few businesses would be able to … [Read more...]
Can Barnes & Noble Boss Save Traditional Bookselling?
Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg investigates Barnes & Noble's plan to save traditional bookselling, led by CEO James Daunt. He reports: A year ago, John Radford had little control over the book selection at the Barnes & Noble store he manages in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Executives in New York decided which titles to carry. The retailer’s 600-plus stores were expected to follow that blueprint. Mr. Radford had to stock dozens of James Patterson and John Grisham books, even though there wasn’t that much local demand. Often, he’d have to return about half the inventory after a few months. These … [Read more...]
Right to Work South Carolina Attracts Massive Investment from Walmart
You know that giving employees the Right to Work makes a big difference. Companies that can negotiate one-on-one with employees can invest in the most promising talents, and remove anyone trying to get a free ride. Giving employees the Right to Work kills the disease of forced unionism. It's possible no state has done a better job of capitalizing on its reputation as free from Big Labor's negative influences than South Carolina. Just take a look: Right to Work South Carolina is Flooded in Jobs Where to Live to Make a Living? Try this Southern Gem The Workers of Boeing in SC … [Read more...]
Content is King and AT&T Owns a Lot of It
At Bloomberg.com, Kelly Gilblom reports on Warner Brothers' plan to release its movies on HBO Max (an AT&T owned company) at the same time that it releases them to movie theaters. Gilblom writes: Warner Bros., one of Hollywood’s biggest studios, plans to release all its major movies next year in theaters and on HBO Max at the same time, a dramatic change that shows just how much Covid-19 and streaming have disrupted the industry. The 17 films affected by the shift include the new installment of the “Matrix” franchise, the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical “In the Heights,” and the DC Comics … [Read more...]
Survival Guy Greetings from Key West at Sunset
Your Survival Guy is just getting by down here in beautiful Key West. This sunset pic above is from high above Louie’s Backyard last night where Becky and I had a chance to reflect on life for a while. Because it’s times like these you need to take some time for YOU. You need to take a step back. Take a deep breath. Look out into the ocean and figure out how YOU are going to keep moving forward. It’s too easy to dwell on what’s wrong. It’s unhealthy to be stuck inside your brain. Instead, I want you to be thankful for what is RIGHT in your life. Today, I want you to make time for you. … [Read more...]
In Case You Needed Another Reason to Avoid Nasdaq Stocks
The Nasdaq stock exchange, the second-largest exchange in the world, wants to impose a quota system on corporate boards of companies that list on the NASDAQ. Nasdaq is serious…and specific. The new rule would require boards to have a minimum of one woman director and one minority or LGBTQ director. Small firms could apparently get by with two women. Do we really want to start affirmative action for American business? One can only hope the entrepreneurs that start businesses choose NYSE or other exchanges to list instead of submitting themselves to NASDAQ’s social mission. Here’s … [Read more...]
John Mackey’s Simple Message: Elevate Humanity Through Business
Whole Foods CEO John Mackey wants the world to know that capitalism is the “greatest thing humanity’s ever done.” Capitalism has raised more of the world out of poverty than all other systems of economic organization combined. Mackey is now selling his book, in which he makes the case for capitalism by changing the narrative of capitalism to "show that it’s about creating shared value, not for the few but for everyone.” The book is called Conscious Leadership: Elevating Humanity Through Business. The Editorial Board at the Wall Street Journal writes of Mr. Mackey: Mr. Mackey offered … [Read more...]
Driverless Car Rollout Will Take Years and Billions of Dollars
The Wall Street Journal's Stephen Wilmot explains the time and capital it will take to make driverless cars a reality. He writes: Driverless cars are moving out of science fiction and onto U.S. roads. But this is just the start of a long journey before they fulfill their transformative potential. Signs of very early-stage commercialization are emerging from the corporate science projects that want to remove human drivers from vehicles. Alphabet’s Waymo seems furthest ahead with its “robotaxi” project in the suburbs of Phoenix. Customers used to have to sign a nondisclosure agreement to … [Read more...]
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