The phrase, guns or butter, sometimes stated as guns and butter, refers to the political dynamics in a federal government’s allocation to defense versus social programs, when deciding on a budget. Both areas can be critically important to a nation’s economy and election outcomes. Historically, the electorate has tended to favor social programs. However, this … Continued
The horrors of war can never be understated. Loss of life, grave injury, and the trauma of mortal threats never leaves ones soul. We pray for the well-being of all Ukrainians. While sobering, as investment professionals we are called at all times to weigh the investment climate with an eye towards our fiduciary obligation to … Continued
Perhaps not the best slogan for an advertising campaign, but may reflect the current, and perhaps near term, status of electric vehicles (EVs) compared to internal combustion engines (ICE). This may continue to be an issue as the world’s vehicle industry begins to roll out a significant number of new EVs. Initial demand, based on … Continued
John Kerry, the U.S. special envoy on climate change, recently said, “We’re in trouble, I hope everyone understands that.” He went on to say, “The world is not on a good track to meet a global goal to avoid the worst impacts of climate change”. Actually, we may be going in the wrong direction. Both … Continued
To paraphrase Lee Iacocca’s sales pitch, “If you can find a better car, buy it”. This is how the economy works. There has been considerable media focus on the so called “Great Resignation”, a term created to describe the large number of people who are quitting their current jobs. The important thing for investors to … Continued
The administration is currently in the process of approving a $52 billion dollar infusion into the computer chip industry, in order, they would have us believe, to address the current shortage of chips. It is generally accepted that it takes about two years to add significant chip capacity. The worldwide industry is currently making … Continued
And the well-known Frank Sinatra song continues, “sitting on a rainbow got the string around my finger.” If Mr. Putin sings in the shower, this might be his favorite melody, as he watches the West dangling at the end of his string (gas pipeline). If you’re looking for a solution here, you can stop reading … Continued
There has been a noticeable increase in efforts to bully big oil into reducing fossil fuel assets and to apply similar pressure on big banks to not finance fossil fuel projects. We discussed this issue in our blog of June 2, 2021 “Fossil Fuels: Big Companies Divest, Small Companies Invest.” Now we have an article … Continued
Over the last several years we have posted a number of blogs, most recently on September 22, 2021, “Sea Power”, relating to the importance of freedom of the seas, particularly with regard to the risks surrounding the critical Malacca Strait and the increasing adventurism of China in the South China Sea. Apparently the Chinese have … Continued
Investors are continuously subject to extravagant projections by those who are seeking to attract financing. These can range between borderline, or even outright fraud, think Theranos, or relatively minor, and often unintentional estimate shortfalls, such as a slippage of time lines. Think the ever shifting timeline for the start of production for Tesla’s cyber truck … Continued
It is generally accepted that, over the last two years, a significant number of Americans have left the workforce for a wide variety of reasons. As a result, workforce participation has seen a material decline. Among those who have left, it appears that a number chose early retirement, perhaps over health concerns or because a … Continued
Investors typically seek to build portfolios that focus on companies with pricing power. Without that, as costs increase, margins can be squeezed. Currently, we seem to be in a period of rising costs, particularly for labor and certain commodities. Companies are likely to look first to productivity gains and raw material substitution, but, sooner or … Continued
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