Wikipedia defines hypochondria as a condition in which a person is excessively and unduly worried about having a serious illness.  Hypochondriacs become unduly alarmed about any physical or psychological symptom they detect, no matter how minor the symptom may be, and are convinced that they have, or are about to be diagnosed with, a serious … Continued

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

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

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

Wikipedia defines cynicism as an attitude characterized by a general distrust of other’s motives.  Investors would be well served by maintaining a healthy level of skepticism regarding other’s motives when evaluating projections and other factors surrounding an investment decision.  Think Theranos. Consider the recurring attacks on the safety of cruising.  Now the CDC says don’t … Continued

Natural gas is an important raw material in a wide range of economic activities, including heating, electric power generation, plastics, manufacturing processes and agriculture.  For example, fertilizer prices, responding to significant cost increases for key chemical ingredients such as natural gas, have more than doubled over the last year.  This can have a two pronged … Continued

Years ago the print media was proud of its record of providing a thorough and accurate portrayal of current events.  Agitators with an agenda were referred to as “yellow journalists”.  Today we have a highly polarized electorate, catered to by an equally polarized media, which no longer believes in “all the news that’s fit to … Continued