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Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
  • This Investing Trend Is Your Friend—Until It Isn’t
    Mona. said:@FD1000, glad to see that you got your relative to post.
    Not true, but as charlie chaplin said in 1936 when asked if he were a Jew:
    not so, I would be proud if I were one!
  • The Week in Charts | Charlie Bilello
    The Week in Charts (04/02/25)
    The State of the Markets, including...
    00:00 Intro
    00:29 Stocks
    16:43 Bonds/Fed
    23:38 Real Estate/Housing
    31:21 Commodities
    35:27 Currencies
    38:27 Crypto
    31:08 Intermarket
    50:28 Economy
    Video
    Blog
  • This Investing Trend Is Your Friend—Until It Isn’t
    "I never used momentum indexes; I only used typical funds but looked at the best risk/reward ones and kept changing according to uptrends, and several parameters."
    @FD1000,
    This may be surprising but the article isn't about you or your "system."
    It's about momentum investing in general.
    You posted messages very similar to the one from 9:40 PM many times.
    There is no need to post the same messages ad nauseum.
    Thank you for your consideration!

    I can post whatever I want, just as you post daily about tariffs ad nauseum. You may learn something if you pay attention because I have done it.
    BTW, why do you post the same thread on 2 different sites?
    April Fools .
  • This Investing Trend Is Your Friend—Until It Isn’t
    I find FD1000 a consistent messenger for thoughtful appraisal of the markets vageries.He is a valid poster unlike contentious foul mouthed JD who in one sentence uses vulgar non illuminating vindictive: "Piss off, B S, jackass." totally rude this churl must be proscribed from posting
    @FD1000, glad to see that you got your relative to post.
  • This Investing Trend Is Your Friend—Until It Isn’t
    @FD1000,
    I have to give credit where credit is due.
    You are the most prolific Thread Hijacker I have ever encountered!
    Congratulations, one more entry can be added to your logbook.
    I hope this recent accomplishment brings you great satisfaction.
  • This Investing Trend Is Your Friend—Until It Isn’t
    "I never used momentum indexes; I only used typical funds but looked at the best risk/reward ones and kept changing according to uptrends, and several parameters."
    @FD1000,
    This may be surprising but the article isn't about you or your "system."
    It's about momentum investing in general.
    You posted messages very similar to the one from 9:40 PM many times.
    There is no need to post the same messages ad nauseum.
    Thank you for your consideration!
    I can post whatever I want, just as you post daily about tariffs ad nauseum. You may learn something if you pay attention because I have done it.
    BTW, why do you post the same thread on 2 different sites?
  • M* mucked up with numbers today, end-of-day.
    Could you say where on Schwab you're looking? What I see as of 9:46PM is:
    https://www.schwab.com/research/mutual-funds/quotes/summary/wcpnx
    NAV	Change		Net Expense Ratio	YTD Return
    $9.68 +0.02 (0.21%) 0.65% 2.90%
    Quote data as of close 03/31/2025 As of 02/28/2025
  • Tariffs on Screws Are Already Hitting Manufacturers
    We've all been screwed by the current administration!
    Could not have said it better.
  • M* mucked up with numbers today, end-of-day.
    01 April, '25: There's an approx. $10.00 difference, after daily updates, between Morningstar and Schwab, when I look at my portfolio. Can't explain it. But between the two, I'll trust Schwab for accuracy. ....EDIT TO ADD: Ah, I seem to have found the screw-up: Morningstar has not yet (9:34 p.m. ET) updated the share price for WCPNX. Still showing yesterday's number. Weitz does seem to habitually post their own numbers later than others. But after 9:30 p.m., Morningstar still has not updated. It's a fumble, plain and simple.
    *Also: M* still shows WBALX in green, i.e., showing a profit on the day. In fact, it ended up "flat" on the day. I continue to use M* to check on my single stocks a couple of times through the day, when I'm too lazy to sign-in at Schwab. Morningstar is, I find, rather continually "behind" a real-time display, but at least I get an indication about whether my stuff is up or down or flat. A better source I've uncovered is Barron's.
    https://www.barrons.com/market-data/stocks/blx?mod=searchresults_companyquotes&mod=searchbar&search_keywords=blx&search_statement_type=suggested
    https://www.barrons.com/market-data/stocks/et?mod=searchresults_companyquotes&mod=searchbar&search_keywords=et&search_statement_type=suggested
    Just go to the magnifying glass at top-left and type-in your selected security.
  • M* mucked up with numbers today, end-of-day.
    So as not to further offend, I am reproducing below two of your posts in toto. The only editing I've done is to highlight the two sections I have questions about.
    With respect to the first (FLPSX pricing) I previously asked: "Speculation or did you check Fidelity's prices at Schwab prior to 7PM EST last night?" You chose to ignore the question, preferring instead to comment on my writing style.
    With respect to the second highlighted segment (trying to avoid posting negative information about businesses), I think your second post below addresses it. Still, I invite clarification. If I've misunderstood what appears to be negative information posted about TRP, I apologize.
    Post 1:
    @msf,
    In my first post in this thread, I had originally included that on many days Fidelity website does not update marks in time and I end up using my Schwab account to look up Fidelity funds' marks. I edited that part out to avoid coming across as too much information (or tainting @crash's post as a complaining session).
    Your FLPSX ($40.21) and other Fidelity funds' marks were updated at Schwab prior to 7PM EST.
    In any case, I did not read @crash's post as complaining or ragging on M*. I read it as him trying to be helpful so members do not assume they are looking at final marks for the day.
    P.S.: I think people should feel free to complain about companies they do business with and let other members figure out the person posting. I certainly am trying to avoid posting negative information about businesses or other matters to avoid offending someone else because everyone has their favorites (for whatever reason) and I am getting too old trying to be helpful.
    Post 2 (from a week ago):
    I was recently notified by USPS Informed Delivery that a letter from TRP will be delivered. When I did not receive the said letter, I contacted TRP which said in writing that no letter or document was sent from TRP and that USPS must be making up non-existent letters. Two days later my neighbor brought over the TRP letter.
    I have marked electronic for all correspondence from TRP but they keep sending stuff, including Quarterly statements, by USPS.
    If not for the free M* premium membership, I would move my holdings out of TRP.
    I would trust USPS over TRP for service reliability.
    BTW, it is after 9PM EDT and Schwab has yet to update its own fund prices, let alone Fidelity's prices:
    SNXFX: https://www.schwab.com/research/mutual-funds/quotes/summary/snxfx
    SWPPX: https://www.schwab.com/research/mutual-funds/quotes/summary/swppx
    FLPSX: https://www.schwab.com/research/mutual-funds/quotes/summary/flpsx
  • NewsMax, Inc. (NMAX)
    Newsmax/NMAX was a mini-IPO (Reg A+, Tier 2).
    It seems that the underwriters mispriced it (on hindsight) and may have left a lot of money at the table (or not*).
    There are 89+ million shares and only 7.5 million were offered at $10 IPO price (only a few selected got that price before the trading began).
    Company and underwriters will be more careful in the future.
    *2024 revenues were only $171 million, losses -$72 million.
  • Tariffs on Screws Are Already Hitting Manufacturers
    So now we get into too much money chasing too few goods available from domestic supply; and that's inflationary.
    Or they can suck it up and pay the higher price for foreign screws; and that is inflationary.
    There's more to the story than screws: Dinky linky.
    The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing PMI registered a reading of 49.0 in March, down from February's 50.3 reading and below the 49.5 economists polled by Bloomberg had expected. Readings above 50 for this index indicate an expansion in activity, while readings below 50 indicate a contraction.
    The prices paid index surged to 69.4, up from 62.4 the month prior and the highest reading since June 2022, reflecting companies' continued increase in costs. Economists had expected a reading of 64.6.
    Scary graph at the link.
    Higher prices, less demand, fewer jobs. But wait! There's the gig economy. So unemployment won't look quite so bad. The new and improved stagflation lite.
    Don't worry Ma, it's only politics as usual.
  • Private-Equity Wants a Piece of Your 401(k)
    Vanguard already partners with HarbourVest to offer private equity investing for its clients.
    Clients must have $5 million in Vanguard assets, in addition to meeting qualified purchaser
    and accredited investor regulatory standards¹.
    I assume Vanguard seeks a PE strategy accessible to a larger segment of the investor population.
    https://investor.vanguard.com/wealth-management/private-equity
    ¹ Clients must meet the qualified purchaser and accredited investor standards under federal law,
    typically showing that their net worth is over $1 million or their annual income has been more than
    $200,000 in the last two years.
  • Tariffs on Screws Are Already Hitting Manufacturers
    Following are edited excerpts from a recent report in The Wall Street Journal:
    Levies on steel and aluminum are reaching deeper in supply chains and spawning a hunt for domestic producers
    Rising costs for screws are rippling through manufacturing supply chains. President Trump’s tariffs implemented this month on steel and aluminum imports have scrambled the supply chains of companies that make everything from car parts to appliances and football helmets to lawn mowers. The latest tariffs cover a wider range of imports, including the screws, nails and bolts that serve as the connective tissue in manufacturing.
    That has set off a hunt to find domestic supplies of some of manufacturing’s smallest components. Manufacturing executives said the U.S. doesn’t have the plants to churn out the amount of steel wire or screws and other fasteners needed to displace imports. The production capacity we need doesn’t exist here in the U.S.,” said Gene Simpson, president of fastener maker Semblex. “It’s a select group of suppliers.”
    About $178 billion of steel and aluminum products imported by the U.S. last year are now subject to a 25% tariff, according to Jason Miller, a supply-chain management professor at Michigan State University: “It’s a shockingly large number of parts”. American companies also can no longer petition the Commerce Department for tariff exemptions on specific products that aren’t sufficiently available in the U.S. The enlarged tariff pushes up the cost of a 10-cent screw from China to 17 cents for an importer.
    At AlphaUSA, about half the of the materials that the Michigan-based auto-parts manufacturer purchases are fasteners. Many of them are made outside the U.S., particularly in Canada, which is now subject to the 25% duty after being exempted for years. President Chuck Dardas saidt he company’s customers are very religious about their quality standards, and often request specialized parts for assembly lines. Dardas added that many U.S. companies that make fasteners purchase the steel for them from Canada as well.
    Price-sensitive customers
    The situation for the auto industry became more complicated Wednesday, when Trump announced an additional 25% levy on imports of car and auto parts. The effects of the tariffs are expected to be felt quickly, as many suppliers have said they are unable to absorb added costs from new levies. And companies that use screws and other metal parts covered by tariffs say their customers won’t tolerate price increases. Some construction contractors may delay projects until they get a handle on how to blunt the effects of import duties.
    Simpson’s firm Semblex produces fasteners for automobiles, industrial lighting, farm equipment and heavy-duty commercial trucks. To make those fasteners, the company uses specialty steel wire. It imports more than half of the wire it uses, mostly from Canada. As tariffs make imports more expensive, American steel wire producers are raising their prices at the same time. Simpson said cost increases for steel are difficult to quickly pass along to customers, especially in the automotive industry where prices are often locked in monthslong contracts.
  • Liberation Day! What’s the play?
    We're gonna win so much, you may even get tired of winning.
    And you'll say, 'Please, please. It's too much winning.
    We can't take it anymore. Mr. President, it's too much.'
    - Donald Trump, April 12, 2016
    This is so funny!
  • This Investing Trend Is Your Friend—Until It Isn’t
    I find FD1000 a consistent messenger for thoughtful appraisal of the markets vageries. He is a valid poster unlike contentious foul mouthed JD who in one sentence uses vulgar non illuminating vindictive: "Piss off, B S, jackass." totally rude this churl must be proscribed from posting