I was in Costco just a day after the Super Bowl and there was a whole table of New England Patriot Super Bowl winning T-shirts. These had obviously been produced some weeks in advance. There must have been an equal number of Atlanta Falcon T-shirts somewhere. So where do all the Falcon T-shirts end up? […]
News
A Tale of Two Train Systems…
On January 1st of this year, the New York subway opened its long-awaited Second Avenue line with much fanfare. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was on hand, people cheered, and, as The New Yorker’s Nick Paumgarten wrote in a recent piece, the mood on the train that day was positively “giddy.” The reason for the […]
In Spreadsheets We Trust…
I have to admit to not paying much attention to Bitcoin. I assumed the cyber-currency’s gyrating value and somewhat shady reputation would eventually lead to its demise. But despite recent speed bumps (see below), this digital currency refuses to die. Today, the outstanding value of Bitcoin currency is approximately $16 billion. It remains particularly popular […]
The 2-Minute Thought: Is Any Human Endeavor Getting Less Competitive? Investment Is No Exception
In 1969, Harvard accepted 20% of about 6700 applicants. It wasn’t easy to get in then, but it sure beat what it’s like now. In 2015, there were 37,307 applicants to Harvard, and the acceptance rate was 5%. Harvard’s director of admissions said there were far more qualified candidates than the university could take. Over […]
The 2-Minute Thought: Is Retirement Bad For Your Health?
A 2010 study done by three researchers at the University of Zurich found that retiring early could increase the chances of serious health issues and premature death. Specifically, it estimated that each year of early retirement was associated with a 1.8 month decrease in lifespan, and it highlighted a higher incidence of cardiovascular disorder – […]
The 2-Minute Thought: The Clouds Part for Value Investors
The dozen or so year-end letters to investors I’ve read so far suggest that the clouds finally are parting for value investors. There is a positive tone in the letters that contrasts sharply with early 2016. Value investors buy undervalued out-of-favor securities based on careful fundamental research. An important part of that practice is being […]
The 2-Minute Thought: Unraveling how we see immigration
Attitudes on immigration are complex. With recent news flow so focused on politically charged atmospheres around the world, it is easy to believe that the globe has turned against immigration. But attitudes within regions are variegated. And large swaths around the world support immigration more than they oppose it. A 2015 Gallup World Poll done […]
Make America Great Again…
I assume this means jobs. So exactly where are the jobs of the future going to be in America? The Economist took a stab at this in their “The World in 2017” edition late last year. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics produces a survey every two years looking at current jobs and where the […]
The Best Investment Decisions are Always Very Uncomfortable…
Why? Because when prices are really cheap, the stories are absolutely awful. The flip side of the coin, however, is that when prices are cheap, expectations are low and with even the slightest improvement in sentiment, stocks can jump sharply. Remember back in January a year ago? The S&P 500 declined 4.9% in the first […]
Why We Love Our Jobs… Or Don’t…
In Glassdoor’s yearly survey of the best places to work, California-based chain In-N-Out Burger always does surprisingly well. This year, In-N-Out Burger ranked as the seventh best place to work in the nation. In Silicon Valley it was number three, surpassed only by number one Facebook and number two Google. It tied with LinkedIn and […]
Navigating The Retail Maze…
The 2016 Holiday season did bring some good cheer. Retail sales for the November-December period increased 4% when compared to 2015. In many respects, this result was not surprising considering the recent positive data on job gains, average hourly earnings and household net worth. But a look behind these optimistic numbers shows that the negative […]
The 2-Minute Thought: Stock valuations seem high so you should . . . do nothing?
The good news is that U.S. stocks have had a great run – and especially so since the November election. The more worrying thought is that they look more expensive. We know that when stock valuations are high, returns in future years are lower — and vice verse. From over 100 years of stock data, […]
