Coronavirus Infects Stock Market: Part XXIV Once again, you’ve been telling me all week how much you miss Richard C. Young’s Intelligence Report. That’s OK. I’m used to it especially in times like these. But don’t despair. If you’ve followed Dick’s advice, through thick and thin, you’re in the catbird seat today, because one of his most enduring messages has always been to be a prudent investor and to know thyself. To know thy risk tolerance like you know your family. (Sorry about the sheltering in place!). It takes faith to invest. It takes a little push forward to get you out of … [Read more...]
The Sophistication of Simplicity as it Relates to Your Money
You’ve read my series You Invest, They Win. In a wonderful op-ed in the Weekend WSJ was “The Joy and Wisdom of Simplicity,” by Fay Vincent: The other day I found someone citing Henry David Thoreau’s advice from “Walden”: “Simplify, simplify.” I began to think of some seemingly simple yet unusual statements I had encountered. I once asked the late Las Vegas tycoon Kirk Kerkorian if he was troubled by the enormous debt he ran up to finance his corporate takeovers. He was then trying to gain control of Columbia Pictures Industries, where I was CEO. His simple answer stunned me. “Look, that … [Read more...]
A Lesson from Legends: “Don’t Confuse Activity with Achievement”
The Boston Celtics reached yesterday’s NBA trade deadline without making a trade. “Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge keeps a John Wooden book on his desk,” explains the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach, “and he likes to think back to one of the legendary UCLA coach’s famous quotes when the NBA trade deadline arrives.” Himmelsbach writes: Don’t confuse activity with achievement,’’ Ainge said. “It might be that the best thing you ever did was stand pat. Red [Auerbach] told me in my first year doing the job, ‘The best trades I ever made were the ones I didn’t make. I held … [Read more...]
Sunbelt States Finding Solutions for a Swarm of Tax Refugees
The biggest problems in low tax southern states are ones high tax states wish they had, too much growth. Low tax states have become so desirable for movers and retirees that they are now looking for places to put all the people seeking an escape from the city where they can live small, cheap and safe in America. In The Wall Street Journal, Valerie Bauerlein profiles one town dealing with a mass influx of newcomers who are looking for a better America. She writes of Lake Wylie, South Carolina: Since 2000, Lake Wylie has tripled in population to 12,000 on the strength of its good schools, … [Read more...]
Escape the City: Live Small, Cheap, and Safe in America
After decades of urbanization, Americans are beginning to rebel against the "bigger is better" mentality of city-living. Seeking a smaller, more affordable, sustainable, and secure lifestyle, some are venturing out from the mega-cities in search of a different life. A number of techniques have become popular in an effort to save, especially scaling down the size of one's home. Living small and saving big is even better when it's coupled with living in a state that treats you more like a human than an ATM machine it can withdraw money from. Carey L. Biron explains this trend at Thompson … [Read more...]
Your Retirement Life: Living Small and Saving Big
One of the first things you notice when moving from a high-tax coastal blue-state to a low-tax red-state is how much farther your money goes. You can buy a bigger house for example, but you don't need to. I’ve been following the small house movement for years and I enjoyed this piece written by Katherine Roth for the AP on finding one the “right” size. She writes: With the current trend toward de-cluttering and downsizing, there are plenty of books about how to winnow down possessions to the few that are truly necessary and loved. This book shows how you can live well once that’s … [Read more...]
Rich State, Poor State Rankings: This One Tops New England
If you like the mountains (summer or winter) then you need to visit North Conway, NH. Becky and I have a cabin in Bartlett just up the road and have spent a ton of time in North Conway even before we had a home in the area. If you’re a skier you have plenty of slopes to enjoy within 40-minutes or less including Bretton Woods—ranked by Conde Nast Traveler as the #6 resort in the U.S. and Canada. This week Stephen Moore and his partners Arthur Laffer and Jonathan Williams released the 12th edition of their annual Rich States, Poor States report. The best-ranked state in New England was New … [Read more...]
Music That Will Make You Feel the Tropics
Wishing for some tropical weather like I am? Then let Jimmy Buffett’s Tin Cup Chalice bring you there. Hard to beat Doyle Grisham’s pedal steel play at minute 2:07. OFFICIAL CORAL REEFER LINER NOTES A1A IS THE BEACH ACCESS ROAD THAT RUNS OCCASIONALLY ON AND OFF U.S. 1. IT CAN TAKE YOU TO SOME OF THE PRETTIEST BEACHES IN FLORIDA EAST OF SAINT AUGUSTINE, RIGHT THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF “WRINKLE CITY” BETTER KNOWN AS MIAMI BEACH AND ENDING SUDDENLY 90 MILES NORTH OF HAVANA AND FOUR BLOCKS FROM MY HOUSE. PETER WHORF CAME TO KEY WEST TO TALK ABOUT MY IDEAS FOR THE COVER. AFTER SEVERAL HARD SKULL … [Read more...]
Fidelity Ends its $500M Relationship with Ken Fisher
Darla Mercado reports at CNBC: Fidelity has terminated a $500 million relationship with Fisher Investments, bringing the total yanked from the money manager to almost $1.8 billion. Officials at the giant Boston-based asset manager confirmed it would end its relationship with Fisher on Monday, in light of inappropriate comments founder Ken Fisher made at an investment conference on Oct. 8. Fisher managed $500 million in assets for Fidelity’s Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund. “Fisher Investments does not provide investment advisory services for any portion of the assets of … [Read more...]
Deep State Fears: Taibbi “We’re in a Permanent Coup”
I've followed Matt Taibbi's career for some time. One of his best lines was about Facebook, which he called "a giant blood-engorged tick hanging off your frontal lobe." Taibbi is no conservative, at least not from what can be deciphered from his writing, so his recent endorsement of the idea that the Deep State is after President Trump takes on all that much more seriousness. He writes: I’ve lived through a few coups. They’re insane, random, and terrifying, like watching sports, except your political future depends on the score. The kickoff begins when a key official decides to buck the … [Read more...]