“We’re quite confident that (blockchain) has big, big implications in supply chain, transportation and logistics. In the area where FedEx makes its living, this could be a big deal.” That's what FedEx CEO Fred Smith told the Consensus 2018 conference in early May. The blockchain technology Smith is excited about was touted by many at the Consensus conference, and could be applied in a range of industries. Steven Norton reports for The Wall Street Journal: Speaking at the Consensus 2018 conference, panelists described how distributed ledger technology could create an immutable data source … [Read more...]
America Records Lowest Birth Rates in 30 Years
In 2017, the United States recorded its lowest birth rate in 30 years. Population growth was the second lowest in 79 years, only slightly higher than 2013. Bloomberg reports: The number of births in the U.S. declined for the third year in a row in 2017 to 3,853,472, the lowest level since 1987, the National Center for Health Statistics reported Thursday. Births were down 2 percent, or 92,403, from 2016. The birth rate for women aged 15 to 39 declined from 2016 to 2017 but rose in that same time period for those aged 40 to 44. Teenage birth rates fell 7 percent from 2016 to a record low … [Read more...]
Are the Good Times over for Card Lenders?
For years credit card lenders have been reaping profits, but rising losses and consumers who demand more rewards for their business have lenders on their heels. AnnaMaria Andriotis writes: “The easy money has been made in card lending,” said Don Fandetti, consumer finance analyst at Wells Fargo & Co. While cards remain highly lucrative for banks, the benefits of a rising interest-rate environment have been muted lately. The added revenue of cardholders paying more in interest payments each month has also been offset by growing competition from lenders trying to poach card customers by … [Read more...]
This American City’s Economy is Humming like it’s 1955
Reporting for The Wall Street Journal, Bob Davis finds that Elkhart, Indiana is a modern day boomtown. With an economy built on the RV industry, the surge in demand for motorhomes, coupled with faster economic growth is driving labor shortages and increased pay in the small city. Davis writes: ELKHART, Ind.—The self-proclaimed RV capital of the world gives a glimpse of what the American economy looks like when operating at full tilt. High-school students around here skip college for factory jobs that offer great pay and benefits. For-hire signs sprout like roadside weeds. And workers … [Read more...]
Are REITS a buy?
REITs have had a tough go of it over the last five years. The Vanguard Real Estate ETF is up only 21% over the last five years compared to an 81% gain in the S&P 500. On a price-only basis REITs have fallen in price over the last five years. Rising interest rates, shifting secular trends within select REIT sectors, and premium valuations have all contributed to the Vanguard Real Estate ETF’s middling performance, but as the WSJ writes here, some investors are now giving REITs a closer look. “The tide is turning very slowly. It’s not going to be a sea change,” said Jonathan Woloshin, head … [Read more...]
RAGE Gauge: Sell in May?
Sell in May? Not if you have a plan you don’t. Successful investing requires that you have a plan and the patience to stick to it. Being paid to be in the market through dividends from stocks, and interest from bonds, makes the waiting all the more palatable. Risk continues to be high. Stocks continue to feel like a popularity contest, especially the FAANGs. We know how that story ends. Originally posted on Yoursurvivalguy.com. … [Read more...]
Knife Attack: Your Survival Guy in Paris
“Did you hear the gun shots?” a friend asked. “No,” I said. When the knife attack occurred, we, like many other families on a Saturday night in Paris, were out to dinner. In fact, we didn’t learn about the attack until much later. In retrospect, I’m surprised no one at our restaurant told us about it or warned us. Part of me believes they knew the situation was under control and didn’t want to ruin our night or scare us. Or they just didn’t know about it. We learned about the attack back in our hotel room, flipping through the channels on the TV. Seeing the live report brought mixed … [Read more...]
The Chinese are Coming
MSCI unveiled a list of 234 Chinese A-share stocks that will be added to its emerging markets index. The MSCI Emerging Markets index is used as a benchmark for over $1.5 trillion in assets. MSCI had proposed adding A-shares to the Emerging Markets index three times since 2013, but was rebuffed by stakeholders — primarily large asset managers — concerned about their ability to move money more freely in and out of the country. The turning point came with the growth of the stock connect programme, which was created in 2014 but has expanded rapidly over the past few years. The dual trading … [Read more...]
$646 Million Art Sale Breaks Record
Do you remember the art auction I wrote to you about last month? The auction for The Collection of David and Peggy Rockefeller: 19th & 20thCentury Art broke the record for the largest single-seller auction ever. Buyers paid $646 million for the paintings from the Rockefeller collection. Kelly Crow reports for The Wall Street Journal: Before the series began, Christie’s told the Rockefeller family it hoped to get at least $650 million selling off the entire estate, which comprises roughly 1,500 lots. On Tuesday, the house’s sale of 44 paintings and sculptures nearly matched that … [Read more...]
Is Deutsche Bank a Big Short?
Steve Eisman, whose prediction of the 2008 subprime mortgage collapse was subsequently immortalized in book and film as "The Big Short," is telling investors they should short Deutsche Bank shares. Deutsche Bank is one of Europe's top five largest banks by assets. Mr. Eisman calls Deutsche Bank a "problem bank," and says it needs to shrink. Bloomberg's Peter Vercoe and Yvonne Man report: “Deutsche Bank is a problem bank,” Eisman said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Hong Kong. The German lender has “profitability issues,” and will probably have to raise capital next year, he said, … [Read more...]
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