There's an ocean of natural gas in Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale formation, but you wouldn't know it based on the paltry natural gas infrastructure running from the area into the nearby population centers of the Northeast. Despite troves of cheap natural gas only a short way away over land, 20% of New England's natural gas is delivered via expensive liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments to Boston's Everett LNG terminal. Freight Waves, an industry journal, reports that in Westchester County, New York, nearly on top of the Marcellus Shale play itself: Con Edison (ED: NYSE), a New York utility … [Read more...]
Did Crypto-currency or Bad Governance Beat These Investors?
Buyers using the QuadrigaCX exchange to invest in crypto-currencies are waking up to the possibility that their money may be gone forever. What happened, you ask? The system, like all crypto-currency systems presumably, was encrypted, but in the case of QuadrigaCX, only one man knew the password, and he's dead. Gerry Cotten, founder of QuadrigaCX took the password used to access customers' $145 million in digital assets with him to the grave. Without the password, it appears there is little the company can do to access customers' assets. Coin Telegraph reports: The exchange only has … [Read more...]
Has Anyone Asked About Democrats’ Plans to Grow the Economy?
The Democrat presidential primary race is shaping up to be a competition about which candidate makes the better case for confiscatory wealth taxation. By that measure, Elizabeth Warren has taken an early lead with a planned wealth tax that would take $2.7 trillion over ten years from Americans who had earned it, paid taxes on it, and invested it. Not to be left behind, Democratic Socialist Bernie Sanders has announced his plan for a steep increase to the estate tax, again on wealth that had been earned, possibly by multiple generations, and on which taxes had already been paid. Reuters … [Read more...]
Underfunded Pensions and a Devil’s Bargain
In Pontiac, Michigan, pensions for public employees have been underfunded for years, and the city is going to raise taxes to help fund pension payments. This same predicament is playing out across America, with pensions in many states and cities woefully underfunded, and with pension boards who overestimate returns to paper over the problem. Like many pensions, those in Pontiac are restricted on the proportion of assets that may be invested in equities compared to fixed income and other securities. The current limit is 40% of assets may be invested in equities. These limits are in place … [Read more...]
Preventing the Next Natural Gas Outage
I've been writing to you lately about the gas outage in Newport, Rhode Island that my family and 7,000 others suffered during the cold snap last week. Needless to say, losing heat and hot water in the winter is an uncomfortable experience at best. Thanks to the support of a solid network of friends and family, my family was able to endure the outage, but many residents had it rough. In Minnesota, residents are in the grip of the Polar Vortex, and extreme low temperatures are causing them to draw on their natural gas supplies at a rapid pace. Xcel Energy, the area's utility company, is … [Read more...]
Your Retirement Life: Looking for Tax Freedom? Here’s Where to Find It
With tax season here, it's helpful to examine your own tax situation and understand the alternatives. Read this post I wrote on July 5, 2018 for guidance. As Americans near retirement, they are always looking for ways to maximize their savings. At the top of the list of options is avoiding punitive taxation at all levels. There isn't much most people can do about federal taxes (other than vote), but Americans are gifted with a choice of 50 states and a handful of territories from which to choose where to live. I have been encouraging Americans to explore their options when it comes to … [Read more...]
The Silver Lining to Your Cash
I like having a little silver in my pocket especially when times are desperate. And I also like some in my portfolio. We may not see a rally in silver this year, but it’s coming off it’s best December in almost two years, up 9.1 percent, making me happy I own some. For me, silver is a counterbalance to my cash. And if the Fed’s going to sit tight on rates and silver is at its smallest output since 2013, it might be time to pay attention. Marvin Perez reports at Bloomberg: Think of it as a potential silver lining for investors. A deepening shortage is promising to help boost prices as … [Read more...]
What You and Tom Brady Might have in Common
No one can beat Father Time. But, I thought Andrew Beaton wrote an excellent article titled “How Tom Brady Conquered His Great Opponent: Age,” in the WSJ this week. As Beaton explains: “Brady has adjusted his game to compensate for all the things that a quarterback loses as he ages. He makes up for decreased mobility and diminishing arm strength by throwing the ball quickly and short. He avoids injury the same way, and as a result is rarely hit.” What all investors can learn from Brady is that, as we age we too need to adjust our portfolios to avoid the big hits so we can say: "We’re Still … [Read more...]
Survive and Thrive February: Rush’s “YYZ” and Triangle in the Percussion Section
Dear Reader, You know the triangle is a special instrument. It’s small, yet important. Like the cherry on a sundae. It has a place. But when you’re a drummer in a high school band and you see the sheet music for the Nutcracker and you’re playing the triangle you know it might be a light day. That’s why anyone in a high school band around Christmas in the early 1980s might be familiar with the sound of the all-important triangle not from Tchaikovsky but from the band Rush and their song “YYZ.” If you know the song, then you can hear the beginning right now: Drummer Neil Peart … [Read more...]
Your Survival Guy: Out of Gas in Newport, Now What?
Your Survival Guy: Out of Gas in Newport: 80% back on the Grid Your Survival Guy: Out of Gas in Newport Day 5 (and 5 to go) Your Survival Guy: Out of Gas in Newport Day 4 Your Survival Guy: Out of Gas in Newport Now that Newport, RI is back on the natural gas grid, I want to share with you a conversation I had with an owner of a successful natural gas operation. He said that the problem basically comes down to the fact that the green movement is spending the money and has politicians in its back-pocket. The utilities aren’t spending the money for political messaging. As a … [Read more...]
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