As I drove to Ace Hardware to fill my propane tank before grilling steaks Saturday, I listened to the radio.
Weekend radio is usually junk. Crank doctors and crank money managers fill the airways with gibberish. I find myself listening just to know of what to be skeptical.
Hearing the substance of the program saying: Trump is popular, but how long will the stock market record highs? GDP, Low Unemployment and other variables are meaningless until you consider 2008 and how the bond market was weird... like it is today.
Seemed odd coincidence considering how dismissive Bob Sullivan was of GDP and other variables just the day before, but Bob was hung up on savings being an indicator, rather than government bond yields.
I see a housing bubble. I don't think Twitter and Facebook are going to be strong companies long term. I hate Amazon for I see it as being the reason Sears, Kmart, and Toys "R" Us have declined or disppeared. I am very skeptical of cryptocurrency.
Imagine Twitter without Donald Trump. That's the end of Twitter.
Monday, August 27, 2018
Saturday, August 25, 2018
Economic variables are garbage?
The other day, journalist Bob Sullivan pondered whether the economy would tank if Trump news was truly bad.
Just kidding, he seemed amazed the markets aren't tanking because Trump is on the verge of impeachment.
Perhaps the latter is mind reading, but he said he suspects the markets don't care about Trump's legal issues or the matters are already baked into the markets, hence the shrug.
Today, Bob wrote a confusing piece about the economy's strength or weakness being impossible to say based on standard indicators.
Maybe, I am mind reading, but I get the impression Bob doesn't think the economy is doing well. He dismisses the stock market, low unemployment and GDP... Perhaps his being a journalist is why he is not convinced the economy is doing well.
I'm not saying it sucks to be a journalist, but print media is vanishing, aside from The Athletic, I mean.
Just kidding, he seemed amazed the markets aren't tanking because Trump is on the verge of impeachment.
Perhaps the latter is mind reading, but he said he suspects the markets don't care about Trump's legal issues or the matters are already baked into the markets, hence the shrug.
Today, Bob wrote a confusing piece about the economy's strength or weakness being impossible to say based on standard indicators.
Maybe, I am mind reading, but I get the impression Bob doesn't think the economy is doing well. He dismisses the stock market, low unemployment and GDP... Perhaps his being a journalist is why he is not convinced the economy is doing well.
I'm not saying it sucks to be a journalist, but print media is vanishing, aside from The Athletic, I mean.
Thursday, August 23, 2018
Modern slavery in America
I saw the other day a prisoner strike was planned throughout the USA. Prisoners were uniting to protest slavery. Prison reform is an interest of mine, so I bookmarked the story. It's easier to blog on the desktop but my bookmarks are on my phone, so google brought up the most recent strike related story, meh. The slavery gist is there in the content, but the headline is about caging people like animals. The argument seems to mock the undocumented child separation situation at the border, considering no one wants known criminals being free to rape and kill innocent women and children.
Regardless, the 13th Amendment abolished slavery but excluded punishment for crime. Given the cost of incarcerating criminals is obscene, I don't consider their argument about working for "slave wages" sound when they cost the taxpayer a teacher's salary while not compensating those they harmed.
Prison reform is very much needed, but at the same time, I want my family to not be the victim of a crime. When I saw the news that the body of Molly Tibbets was found, I was sad. When I heard that she had in fact been stalked and murdered, I was angry. The whole immigration status of Molly's murderer is a moot point to me, for what happened to Molly and her family is horrible. Anyone capable of taking another person's life in such a manner probably deserves to be locked up like an animal. I might even turn a blind eye to such a monster being dragged out into the street and publicly executed.
I have a bad feeling that the immigration status of the Molly's killer will conflate the "build the wall" argument with prison reform. Prisons have walls. America is not a prison state. I have nothing against immigrants coming to the country legally. Maybe the porous nature of our borders gives the illusion immigration laws don't exist? If there are continuous walls, then there can be gates where documentation can be taken upon entrance. If documentation exists, then the illegal element gets eliminated.
Regardless, the 13th Amendment abolished slavery but excluded punishment for crime. Given the cost of incarcerating criminals is obscene, I don't consider their argument about working for "slave wages" sound when they cost the taxpayer a teacher's salary while not compensating those they harmed.
Prison reform is very much needed, but at the same time, I want my family to not be the victim of a crime. When I saw the news that the body of Molly Tibbets was found, I was sad. When I heard that she had in fact been stalked and murdered, I was angry. The whole immigration status of Molly's murderer is a moot point to me, for what happened to Molly and her family is horrible. Anyone capable of taking another person's life in such a manner probably deserves to be locked up like an animal. I might even turn a blind eye to such a monster being dragged out into the street and publicly executed.
I have a bad feeling that the immigration status of the Molly's killer will conflate the "build the wall" argument with prison reform. Prisons have walls. America is not a prison state. I have nothing against immigrants coming to the country legally. Maybe the porous nature of our borders gives the illusion immigration laws don't exist? If there are continuous walls, then there can be gates where documentation can be taken upon entrance. If documentation exists, then the illegal element gets eliminated.
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Will Trump news tank markets?
As you may know, I'm a consumer of news via multiple Twitter profiles which gives me a wide range of views. I happen to like reading Bob Sullivan, though his politics aren't exactly aligned with mine, I value his insight, just as much as I feel about Dejan for things related to baseball.
Today, Bob expressed surprise at the markets.
I really don't see the Cohen and Manafort criminal news being bad for President Trump, thus not bad for the markets. Mr. Trump was implicated as having his attorney pay blackmail. If the attorney knew it was a crime to pay blackmail, then why did he do it? Seems odd how much effort Cohen put into his shell company to pay the blackmail, if everything related to the outcome was illegal.
Russia collusion is missing in the stories. Without Russia collusion, how can there be obstruction? Firing FBI personnel seems like obstruction until you consider they were doing sketchy FBI work.
I wonder how long Cohen lasts in prison. Majority of "white nationalists" are in prison, right?
Bob Sullivan has a lot in common with DK. Both are journalists who spent considerable time working for established news outlets, only to set out on his own. Both think their opinion should be the last word.
Bob's venture doesn't seem to be doing too well.
Considering 90% of all news about Trump had been negative back in March, it's probably a good thing Bob has given up on being a paid market observer if he considers the market's current "shrug" head scratching, right?
Today, Bob expressed surprise at the markets.
I really don't see the Cohen and Manafort criminal news being bad for President Trump, thus not bad for the markets. Mr. Trump was implicated as having his attorney pay blackmail. If the attorney knew it was a crime to pay blackmail, then why did he do it? Seems odd how much effort Cohen put into his shell company to pay the blackmail, if everything related to the outcome was illegal.
Russia collusion is missing in the stories. Without Russia collusion, how can there be obstruction? Firing FBI personnel seems like obstruction until you consider they were doing sketchy FBI work.
I wonder how long Cohen lasts in prison. Majority of "white nationalists" are in prison, right?
Bob Sullivan has a lot in common with DK. Both are journalists who spent considerable time working for established news outlets, only to set out on his own. Both think their opinion should be the last word.
Bob's venture doesn't seem to be doing too well.
Considering 90% of all news about Trump had been negative back in March, it's probably a good thing Bob has given up on being a paid market observer if he considers the market's current "shrug" head scratching, right?
Monday, August 20, 2018
Fidelity IRA
Gold has dropped a bit. I expect the housing market to be a bubble... thus I think FSAGX is a buy with it being under $18.50.
Since I don't add to my Fidelity IRA, I utilize SPHIX to grow my account. It's a rather stable mutual fund... but I like it because it has a monthly dividend equal to 5.3% growth.
I've developed a system of selling SPHIX to buy FSAGX, for I expect the latter to bounce back from its recent low of $15.77. I've held onto FSAGX long enough to have lost money, only because it had been north of $47 prior to the fiscal cliff crisis fizzled and I held onto a huge chunk after the last bump of $27+ following the Brexit vote. At least, I sold big 2 years ago, and am now cautiously buying. I expect it to go further down to around $15.37, but it bounced up Friday to $16.11.
Since I don't add to my Fidelity IRA, I utilize SPHIX to grow my account. It's a rather stable mutual fund... but I like it because it has a monthly dividend equal to 5.3% growth.
I've developed a system of selling SPHIX to buy FSAGX, for I expect the latter to bounce back from its recent low of $15.77. I've held onto FSAGX long enough to have lost money, only because it had been north of $47 prior to the fiscal cliff crisis fizzled and I held onto a huge chunk after the last bump of $27+ following the Brexit vote. At least, I sold big 2 years ago, and am now cautiously buying. I expect it to go further down to around $15.37, but it bounced up Friday to $16.11.
Thursday, August 16, 2018
401(k) Millionaire
Affirmations dictate I will someday be a millionaire. USA Today published that Fidelity has a record number 401(k) millionaires.
I probably think about my 401(k)s too frequently, but I want to retire one day. I'll 40 soon. I've had 401(k) at 5 different jobs. Usually, I worked part-time, so the 6-10% didn't amount to much upon my severing ties. $1,200 from Target. $1,200 from the hospital. $8,000 from the career college. $5,000 from the car wash. I've rolled those into an IRA at Fidelity. I'm not adding to it since my employer utilizes Vanguard, so I'm pretty conservative with my Fidelity stash. It's been up towards $20k and down towards $13k, which seems volatile rather than conservative, but I've a long view approach based on gold and high interest mutual funds with dividends.
Meanwhile, I'm attempting to max out contributions into my Vanguard account. At $18,500 a year for 25 years, I expect to be very close to my "goal" of being a millionaire. Probably won't be much given inflation, but it's a goal. Everything else I'm doing with my finances is systems based to make the 401(k) be viable means of retirement.
I probably think about my 401(k)s too frequently, but I want to retire one day. I'll 40 soon. I've had 401(k) at 5 different jobs. Usually, I worked part-time, so the 6-10% didn't amount to much upon my severing ties. $1,200 from Target. $1,200 from the hospital. $8,000 from the career college. $5,000 from the car wash. I've rolled those into an IRA at Fidelity. I'm not adding to it since my employer utilizes Vanguard, so I'm pretty conservative with my Fidelity stash. It's been up towards $20k and down towards $13k, which seems volatile rather than conservative, but I've a long view approach based on gold and high interest mutual funds with dividends.
Meanwhile, I'm attempting to max out contributions into my Vanguard account. At $18,500 a year for 25 years, I expect to be very close to my "goal" of being a millionaire. Probably won't be much given inflation, but it's a goal. Everything else I'm doing with my finances is systems based to make the 401(k) be viable means of retirement.
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