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 […]
Anne Doremus
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 […]
Spinning Our Wheels…
The holiday season brings warm recollections of leisurely time spent with family and friends. But increasingly I have been wondering if these memories are more relics of the past than an accurate portrayal of the average worker’s experience today. Average annual hours worked has fallen over the last six decades across much of the industrialized […]
Spending in Retirement – the Big Unknown…
Retirement planning can be devilishly difficult. It requires you to think about what your life will look like many years ahead, trade-off spending today for spending in the future and, at some level, face mortality – all endeavors most of us would rather avoid. One of the biggest challenges is forecasting your spending. A standard […]
Fighting the Last Battle…
Learning from past mistakes is generally a good thing. But sometimes efforts to avoid past fumbles can result in a failure to anticipate the next big thing. The general consensus today is that excessive risk taking by large financial institutions led to the 2008-2009 financial collapse. The idea that losses at one institution can spread […]
Taking the Long (and not so long) View…
The latest copy of the SBBI Yearbook just hit our desks. This annual publication, something of a bible for investment professionals, provides detail on more than eight decades of capital market returns. Much of what we have come to expect from stock, bonds and real estate – both their risk and return characteristics – is […]
Globalization in the Crosshairs, Again…
Globalization is once again under fire. In the past, developing nations often complained that the benefits of increased global trade flowed disproportionately to the developed world. Today the shoe is on the other foot. Wide swaths of the American public are reacting favorably to Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders’s proposals to reign in free trade […]
Pampering Our Pets
Americans have long led the world when it comes to spending money on pets. A recently released survey by the American Pet Products Association shows that this position remains secure with overall pet-related spending reaching a record $60.3 billion in 2015. As the chart below shows, this total represents a 25% increase from just five […]
The Next Tool in the Tool Chest
Historically, the U.S. economy has grown about 3% a year. But since 2008, there has been a marked downshift to the 1%-2% range. How best to get the patient up and out of bed? Growing the nation’s workforce would spur economic growth but the prospects here appear limited due to our low birth rates and […]
Companies That Earn Their Keep
As Value investors, we spend our time looking for good companies that sell at a discount to their fair market value. Defining a “good” company is the first step in this process. Factors such as a strong market position and capable management are hallmarks of a quality company but can be subjective and hard to […]
“Nothing Fixes Low Prices Like Low Prices…”
I just returned from the annual OGIS conference in New York where a wide range of U.S. based oil and gas companies presented to the investing public. The event is always an excellent way to gauge the health of the industry and this year proved no exception. A year ago, the upbeat presentations featured colorful […]
The Unanticipated Impact of Low Oil Prices
Most of us are well aware of oil’s recent, precipitous decline. Happily, prices at the gas pump are now below $2/gallon, home heating bills this winter have been less painful and airlines, in a show of generosity, are once again handing out free pretzels. The negative impact of lost energy sector jobs and profits are […]
