President Trump gave a speech at 3:30 today, declaring a National State of Emergency to speed the coronavirus response. Trump mobilized the private sector and slashed regulations and antiquated red tape designed for a different time to increase the amount of testing that can be done. There will be a website ready by Sunday that will help Americans decide if they need to be tested, and where they can go to get a test. Companies including Wal-mart, Walgreens, CVS, Target, Roche, Becton Dickinson, Thermo Fisher, SYNERGY HomeCare, and Quest Diagnostics have volunteered to help millions … [Read more...]
Invest with Balance
Diversification and patience are essential to long-term investment success. Put all your chips on one stock and you risk financial ruin if that stock ends up being the next Enron or AIG. Buy without providing time for the investments you select to work out and you may experience the same outcome. A diversified portfolio that includes stocks and bonds is ideal for retired investors and those approaching retirement. Balanced portfolios are less volatile and less risky than all-stock portfolios. Balanced portfolios also help those investors who no longer have the safety net of a regular … [Read more...]
Coronavirus Infects Stock Market: Part XIV
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CBS News' Norah O'Donnell that life may not get back to normal for up to two months. Two months is a long time. Here's a bit of the back and forth between O'Donnell and Fauci: O'DONNELL: We know the symptoms of COVID-19 are dry cough, fever and shortness of breath. If someone has those symptoms, should they go to the emergency room? FAUCI: No, thank you for the question. They should stay home, call the health care provider, call their physician or even call the emergency room and say, these … [Read more...]
Fed Turns Non-QE into QE
From the Federal Reserve Bank of New York: Statement Regarding Treasury Reserve Management Purchases and Repurchase Operations March 12, 2020 The Open Market Trading Desk (the Desk) at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has released a new monthly schedule of Treasury securities operations and has updated the current monthly schedule of repurchase agreement (repo) operations. Pursuant to instruction from the Chair in consultation with the FOMC, adjustments have been made to these schedules to address temporary disruptions in Treasury financing markets. The Treasury securities … [Read more...]
Coronavirus: What’s the Latest?
We continue to monitor developments in the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Traders, speculators, and even some investors who have taken on too much risk are clearly in panic mode. Panic and portfolio management are like ammonia and bleach. Mix them, and you create a toxic brew. Preparation is the key to keeping calm during a market rout. Investors with balanced portfolios are in much better shape than those who are leveraged and long all-stock portfolios. We continue to monitor the coronavirus and the corresponding economic fallout carefully. We aren’t doctors or virologists, … [Read more...]
Richard C.Young’s Old Line “4% Rule”
It’s Possible Californians Have Had Enough of Taxes and Debt
For over a century, if you were looking for a better America, California was where you headed. From the Gold Rush days of 1849, to the post-World War II boom of California's suburban crowd, the state's beauty, resources, climate, and wildness attracted droves of Americans. Now though, Americans are fleeing California. The reason for their departure is that California's government makes living hard in the Golden State. Mismanagement in the state has led to increased risk of wildfire, the erosion of workers' rights, dystopian streets full of homeless Americans, frequent power outages, and … [Read more...]
Bitcoin: A Store of Value?
We hear a lot about Bitcoin being the new and improved "digital gold." Bitcoin is a store of value the bulls contend. Maybe, but since the market peaked on February 19th, Bitcoin is down more than 30%. For the year, Bitcoin is down 14%. How about that old barbarous relic, gold. Gold is up 7% on the year. … [Read more...]
Margin of Safety Still Matters: High-Yield Bond ETFs Crater
For much of the last five years, junk bonds have outpaced short-term investment-grade bonds. Ultra-low interest rates, quantitative easing, and a central bank set on rescuing investors during every episode of market turbulence emboldened investors to reach for yield in high-yield bonds. We advised against such a strategy. Risk must always be evaluated before return. Turns out, easy money can’t cure coronavirus. The iShares High-Yield Bond index just gave up more than 5-years worth of return advantage over the Vanguard Short-term Investment Grade fund. It only took a couple of weeks for … [Read more...]
Coronavirus Infects Stock Market: Part XIII
"De-densify." That's the word Harvard is using to describe its efforts to move people out of dorms and send them home. CNN's Carma Hassan and Brian Ries report: Harvard University is moving to virtual classes because of the novel coronavirus outbreak and the university is asking students to move out of their dorms in five days, according to university spokeswoman Rachael Dane. "Harvard College students have been asked to move out of their Houses and First-Year Dorms by Sunday, March 15, in an effort to de-densify our community," Dane told CNN in an email. All academic courses will … [Read more...]
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