Here Jack Bogle offers insight on asset allocation which can help you become a more successful investor Diversification is the cornerstone of a prudent investment program, but when you diversify, most often something in your portfolio is performing poorly when other assets you own are performing well. Many investors instinctively want to get rid of the under-performing assets and buy more of the assets that are going up. That would of course defeat the purpose of diversification. As Jack notes here, he is invested about 50% in stocks and 50% in bonds and half the time he worries why he has … [Read more...]
Trump Hotel Chain: American Idea is a Great One
Donald Trump, Jr. speaking with supporters of his father, Donald Trump, at a campaign rally at the Sun Devil Fitness Center at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. “American Idea” hotel chain? Sounds great to me. I was tuned into this story while scanning Drudge Report last night. "On the campaign trail, President Trump’s children rolled through dozens of small towns across the country, reveling in the adoration of the crowds. But they were less enamored of the budget-friendly hotels along the way, an assortment of run-of-the-mill offerings that were barely distinguishable from one … [Read more...]
Amazon’s Brick and Mortar Bookstore Still Driven by Data
Amazon.com is opening brick and mortar bookstores known as Amazon Books, like a 4,000 square foot location at The Shops at Columbus Circle in New York City. The shops, despite being physical stores are still driven by Amazon's data on internet book sales. Tonya Garcia reports at Market Watch: Amazon Books will have about 20 associates and stock 3,000 books, all presented with their covers forward and accompanied by a placard featuring a customer review and a bar code that can be scanned using the Amazon AMZN, +0.43% app for pricing and additional information. Every book in stock will have … [Read more...]
Don’t Invest like a Herd Animal
Investing in the consensus isn't always the right course of action. Beware when the financial press and the majority of analysts agree on something. It can be a sign that the opposite is true. This idea was fleshed out nicely in 2008 by Stephen McClellan in Full of Bull: Do What Wall Street Does, Not What It Says, To Make Money in the Market. Now you can see evidence of the phenomenon of herd investing again in the case of Europe. The Financial Times reports that Europe's strong performance is a big surprise among investors and economists. Chris Giles and Claire Jones write: The consensus … [Read more...]
Could Self-Driving Trucks Save Lives?
If you have watched the Disney/Marvel movie Logan, you may have noticed the self-driving freight trucks cruising the highways alongside Hugh Jackman's eponymous mutant character. That part of this near-future sci-fi depiction of America in 2029 may be just over the horizon. Kristen Lee of Jalopnik interviewed Nick Pugh, who designed the look of the trucks for the movie. She writes: The ensuing autonomous truck was just a container with two little robot bottom parts that had wheels with motors on them. They could link up and trail 20 containers at a time or just tow one. The scene with the … [Read more...]
June RAGE Gauge: Sell Your Winners
Not much has changed in the last month. That’s the conclusion in reviewing the data points in June’s RAGE Gauge. As I mentioned in last month’s gauge, investors seem to be complacent and that feeling continues today. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly investors forget about the devastation markets can bring. They troll the internet for articles that support their points of view. And all is right in their world. Until it isn’t. This is the perfect time to imagine the market falling by 40% to see what that would feel like. How would your overall portfolio handle it? Have you done enough … [Read more...]
Mega-Trend: Millennials Associate Homeownership with the American Dream More So Than Generation X or Baby Boomers
Alan Berger and Joel Kotkin, authors of Infinite Suburbia, recently had a good interview with the Hyperloop One blog on the resurgence of suburbia. I thought this was interesting: From 1980 to 2003 in the U.S., rural landmass conversion to urbanized areas was about the size of New York State. From 2003 to 2030 the conversion is estimated to be the size of Utah. That's a mega-trend. I think part of the problem with the initial conversion to suburbia was too little attention to quality of life. And to make improvements harder, suburbia had its haters—mostly academics and wealthy city … [Read more...]
Muni Bonds at Risk
Illinois is on the brink of having its credit rating cut to junk status. On June 1, S&P Global downgraded the state's credit to one notch above junk. The ratings agency also said it may downgrade further this summer if the state's legislators and governor can't agree on a budget soon. Eric Platt writes for the Financial Times: The state’s general obligation bonds, debt often considered sacrosanct by investors, are now rated triple-B minus by S&P, its lowest investment grade. S&P’s smaller rival Moody’s downgraded Illinois on Thursday, too, to Baa3, also a single level above … [Read more...]
OPEC Boosting the Oil Industry, In America
As OPEC members dutifully hold back on oil production, American producers are stepping in to fill the gap in production left by the cartel. Oil boom-bust areas like Williston, North Dakota, which was hit hard by the drop in oil prices, are now booming once again. If America has become the new swing producer in oil markets, OPEC will have trouble getting a firm grip on oil prices ever again. NPR reports on the boom in oil country: There are more than twice as many U.S. rigs drilling for oil as a year ago, a turnaround that's felt keenly in places like the Bakken oil patch in North Dakota. … [Read more...]
Can Trump and Congress Cut a Deal on One of America’s Most Nagging Problems?
The USPS has long been a third rail in American politics. Many have attempted to make the needed changes, and now it's President Trump's turn to try to reform the mail. The new budget from the Trump administration sets out some measures it estimates will save the USPS $47 billion over the next decade. Limiting Saturday delivery is one of the most controversial. The real problem with the post office balance sheet is its mandate to prefund retiree healthcare benefits. With that rule in place, it may be hard to cut enough costs to make the service profitable. Congress has been resistant to … [Read more...]
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