Major oil and coal mining companies are selling billions of dollars of assets to bolster their finances, to reduce carbon emissions and to gain favor with ESG (environmental, social and governance) investors. The buyers: typically smaller competitors that are wagering that fossil fuels will remain the world’s main energy source and that underinvestment by larger … Continued
Yield hunting is a term used in the financial community to identify efforts to preserve a desired yield on fixed income investments that are no longer consistent with changed market conditions. For example, long-time investors may consider 4% as the historical and appropriate yield on the 10-year treasury, when the actual yield, in today’s environment … Continued
As our elected officials keep rolling out trillion dollar spending plans, allegedly to be financed by proposed increases in taxes on corporations and the wealthiest individuals, one might wonder, what happens if revenues fall short? None of the details relating to planned spending and tax increases have been released, and it will probably be several … Continued
Much has been said about an apparent mismatch between unemployment data and the forest of help wanted signs around every corner. While there are a number of possible explanations, many have suggested that overly generous, no questions asked, unemployment benefits may be, at least, part of the problem. While most of the stimulus disbursements have … Continued
Anxiety is a normal human emotion, until it goes to extremes and leads to the potential of irrational behavior. “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. This was President Roosevelt’s (FDR) response to the public’s fears during the Great Depression and reflected FDR’s conviction that the U.S. would emerge as a stronger, … Continued
Supply and demand theory postulates that the relationship between supply and demand determines pricing and capacity adjustments. This is true, but more likely to develop over the long term. Supply/demand imbalances can have many causes and it is incumbent on investors to understand the underlying factors. For example, the early 2020 apparent lack of TP … Continued
A theme seems to be emerging as we monitor the release of information made by public companies’ earnings reports and shared forward looking guidance – the decision to increase prices on their products and services. A company’s decision to increase prices can be made based on current or anticipated increased costs of production. The time … Continued
That should be obvious. While current unemployment data is confusing at best, and may be obscuring the probability that the U.S. is looking at a longer term labor shortage, employers should be recognizing the long-term importance of being an employer of choice. Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, one of the country’s largest private employers, … Continued
With the current atmosphere in Washington, it might be a good time to recognize that some federal, state and local taxes are partially or substantially voluntary, and/or deferrable depending on personal choices. For example, capital gains tax liabilities are currently triggered by the sale of an asset at a profit. Any liability can be entirely or … Continued
That depends on how you define raisin. There has been a significant increase in the number of exchange traded funds (ETFs) offering a focused emphasis on current fashionable investment themes. While a diverse portfolio may offer the best long term results, many investors, at least with part of their portfolios, are seeking opportunities to concentrate … Continued
With the increasing probability that the federal corporate income tax rate is going up, we are seeing the usual, politically based projections, as to who will pay the higher rates. Some are saying that it will be investors and others are saying that it will be labor. It may well be everyone. All taxes charged … Continued
Over the last several quarters we have seen an increase in market activity by individuals who seem to take pride in how much they don’t know about the stocks they are trading. This is not investing. Perhaps it is trading, wagering or just plain “rolling the dice.” Over the short run, this may not be … Continued
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