In August, builders began construction on 1.14 million new homes. The numbers didn't hit consensus estimates made by economists polled by Bloomberg, failing to hit even the lowest estimate of 1.17 million starts. The question is whether or not the miss is a blip, or the beginning of a slowdown in a residential housing market that has been pulsing with activity. … [Read more...]
$25 Million Ain’t What it Used to Be
Barron’s cover story, “Penta Millionaires: The New Rising Class” reports in 2015 there were a record one million households with more than $5 million in investable assets, up 5% from 2014. This should be fun. Let’s guess how much of this new wealth will actually stick. I’m not talking about the Pentas' necessarily. I’m thinking more about the $25 million crowd. Imagine their burn rate—fueling those jets is expensive! What caught my eye is the story of a Mr. Anthony Alves, 54, who sold his New Jersey company, Oasis Foods, putting his net-worth well over $25 million. “It was life-changing,” … [Read more...]
The Start of a Merger Frenzy in the Pipeline Sector?
There are few publicly traded businesses that have better economics than oil and gas pipelines. The business is simple. The pipeline companies dig a hole, lay some pipe, and collect a relatively stable revenue stream that is often inflation adjusted. The barriers-to-entry are high, and maintenance capital spending requirements are low. The downside: investors in pipelines have to periodically deal with their fellow shareholders losing their heads and causing unnecessary price volatility. The most recent bout of volatility came last fall when the Alerian MLP index lost 40% over about a six … [Read more...]
Can There Be Any Future for Intel, EMC, Dell and HP?
Wired digs into the past and examines the future for these computer giants. What you read will surprise you. Wired tells readers: HP. DELL. EMC. Intel. The giants of computer hardware aren’t what they were ten years ago. Heck, they’re aren’t even what they were five years ago—or, for that matter, just a few months ago. These hardware giants realize that the technology landscape is shifting. With the rise of smartphones and tablets, PCs are far less important. With the rise of cloud computing services from Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and others, many businesses can build websites and … [Read more...]
One of World’s Largest Traders won’t Touch These Funds
Virtu Financial, one of the world’s largest electronic market makers says it won’t touch bond ETFs because they are too hard to trade. Bond ETFs have become increasingly popular over recent years. Many individual investors have been flocking to bond ETFs. They are a major component of robo-advisor portfolios. Bloomberg reports that assets have increased five-fold since January of 2010 to about $600 billion. So why is one of the world’s largest traders avoiding this booming market? From Bloomberg: One of the world’s largest electronic market makers won’t touch increasingly popular … [Read more...]
York Water Company, 200 years of Infrastructure Expertise
Energy & Infrastructure profiles one of America’s earliest public water utilities. The York Water Company is not new to the public utility business. In fact, the York, Pa.-based company is the oldest investor-owned utility in the country, getting its start nearly 200 years ago. York serves 48 municipalities within York and Adams counties, which are located about 100 miles west of Philadelphia. The Company provides customers with safe, dependable, high-quality water, wastewater and related services. York has two reservoirs, Lake Williams and Lake Redman, which together hold up to … [Read more...]
Fidelity and Vanguard above the Fray
It seems like every week there’s another big bank paying another billion dollar fine. One thing that’s for sure is that the fines will continue and the customer will end up paying for them. Two names that seem to be above the fray are Fidelity and Vanguard. I have accounts at both and suggest the same for you. Here are links to both: Fidelity Investments Vanguard … [Read more...]
Your Retirement Life: Porsche Heads into the Fire!
Your Retirement Life is my brand-new series featuring stories from you. I want to know what you’re up to. [inlinetweet prefix="" tweeter="" suffix=""]We can only learn from each other.[/inlinetweet] Please share Your Retirement Life by emailing me at: ejsmith@youngresearch.com I received this great email yesterday: "EJ, Our Porsche is a 1986 911 Turbo which I purchased new 30 years ago. It’s in great condition and we love taking it on the terrific driving roads in the Rocky Mountain West. This past weekend a neighbor couple, in their 360 Ferrari, joined my wife and me for a … [Read more...]
The Permian Basin: Everything Is Bigger in Texas
ExxonMobil gets to the heart of why the Permian Basin is so important to every American. The United States is now the world’s largest producer of energy coming from oil and natural gas…thanks in no small part to bountiful reservoirs inside a sedimentary formation known as the Permian Basin. The Yates Field, where oil was first discovered in 1926, still operates today, producing more than 7.4 million barrels annually. According to the most recent Energy Information Agency’s assessment, the Permian Basin holds 722 million barrels of proven reserves, more than twice the number (387 … [Read more...]
Massachusetts 3.9% Unemployment not Helpful
Yesterday, The Boston Globe headlined the 3.9% unemployment rate for Massachusetts. The participation rate, which is the percentage of the entire population of an area that is either working or wants to work, tells the real story. … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 495
- 496
- 497
- 498
- 499
- …
- 632
- Next Page »