Five years ago this week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated to its low of 6,547.05. Think about that. Undeniably, the economic outlook at the time was perilous. Concerns persisted long after that dark day in March of 2009. One year later, I was speaking at the MENSA annual gathering and my presentation was titled, … Continued
Wikipedia defines “the path of least resistance” as the physical or metaphorical pathway that provides the least resistance to forward motion. This can also be used to describe certain human behaviors and is often used as a metaphor for avoiding personal effort or confrontation. We see this every day. For example, in the criminal justice … Continued
Bitcoin. All comments and questions are welcomed. Bob Bilkie, CFA
The Affordable Healthcare Act (ACA) has triggered a significant increase in discourse on the issue of “health insurance”. This may be something of a misnomer. Wikipedia defines insurance as ”the equitable transfer of the risk of loss, from one entity to another in exchange for payment”. Let’s look at some familiar examples, auto, home and … Continued
Energy is a key cost consideration for many businesses. Natural gas is generally considered to be the least worst of the widely available fossil fuels. Thanks to new technologies, the U. S. has an abundance of natural gas at very attractive prices. Natural gas can be easily and economically transported by pipeline. However, ocean transport … Continued
In finance, the efficient market hypothesis asserts that financial markets are “informationally efficient” and reflect the available information. Sometimes it is difficult to completely discern what the markets actually know. Consider the cruise industry and Norovirus. Norovirus is a very contagious virus, it is the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis in the U. S. … Continued
There has been a debate of long standing between recognized economists as to whether unemployment benefits and other programs are an essential safety net or an incentive to “choose” not to work. While this remains complicated and controversial, a recent report from the CBO, Congress’s official score keeper, suggests that Obamacare will cause approximately 2.5 … Continued
There has recently been a heightened interest in the appropriate level for the minimum wage and whether it should be increased. Clearly, this is a highly political discussion, with strong views on both sides. That is probably healthy, but investors should set aside their opinions and direct their attention to the possible affect on their … Continued
The stock market started off February with the worst drop since 1982, according to CNBC. January was similarly weak. What does this mean? It is hard to say except that emotions run high in investing and following a stellar year of investment gains for stocks in 2013, nervous investors (traders) with a short term focus … Continued
A recent article in The Wall Street Journal reported that a number of hedge fund managers have been investing in the art market, often seeking newer or out of favor artists with a view to the traditional trading approach of “buy low, sell high”. This is not surprising, as hedge fund managers have a long … Continued
The North American International Auto Show is currently in Detroit and a quick look suggests that the major theme is “bigger and faster”. The car of the year is the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, a street legal rocket, and the truck of the year is Chevrolet’s Silverado, a 5,000 lb. behemoth. The industry has made great … Continued
Can’t is not a synonym for “won’t”. A recent article in U.S. News & World Report by Robert Berger made some interesting points with the provocative headline “Would You Give Up Cable to Retire Early?”. http://tinyurl.com/nw9s987 The key point in his article was based on the effect of compound interest. He postulated that the average … Continued
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