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.
Hi Anna,
I'm quasi-retired also and so have put much of my portfolio onto cruise control. feh. Better things to do I guess.
I'm afraid you're right on all counts. Washington will be deadlocked as they leap merrily off the fiscal cliff. Afterwa…
Howdy folks,
Actually, Uncle Ben made some interesting comments - huge issue is lack of aggregate demand (er, not enough folks buying widgits); credit not reaching main street; and that they were hoping that QE3 would improve the wealth effect - we…
Reply to @Shostakovich:
Actually, someone around here was stashing away rare and collectible watches. Get them with pm's and some bling and you're actually diversifying. I'll keep me old submariner bought on r&r in hongkong in '68 for $97…
Hi Shosh,
Sure. I like both natural resources and any other 'real assets' as a hedge against inflation. Keep in mind that what is referred to as price inflation is in reality currency deflation, or devaluation, if you will. Indeed, if you com…
Howdy,
I still love the untrue urban legend about Mr. Gorsky. It went that after landing on the moon Armstrong said in one of his broadcasts, 'Good luck, Mr. Gorsky'. Folks of course wondered who was Mr. G? A russian? Armstrong would never say …
Howdy folks,
Congrats Tom. Boulder is one of the finer places to live. Tough thing about so many wondeful places is that there are no jobs in paradise so you need to 'bring your own' income stream. That said . . . lucky dog.
rono
Howdy guys,
I think you're both correct. The author cites a lot of good reasons that no doubt impact the willingness, or lackthereof, of average citizens to invest. er, #6 is too far down the list.
The game is rigged. Period. Deal with it. …
Howdy Mark,
Geez, trying to avoid the Grand Ole Party in Tampa, you decide you'd rather go to Key West for a bloody hurricane.
Reminds me of a story of John Muir who during his time in the high sierra, was once up around 10K+ when a winter storm…
Hi Anna/Mark,
Yeah, so much of this has been talked about for years in the finers circles (yeah, FA resembles that remark). That said, I did hear one political commentator yesterday refer to the 'celebration of ignorance' being marked by so many t…
Howdy Mark,
Great choice. The Last Resort. Pace of life so slow it doesn't even move. Invented the late brunch under the Banyan tree. EVERY day you must head down to Mallory Dock for the sunset. Hundreds gather for a worldclass eyeball freefor…
Howdy,
Spot on discussion. I quit watching Kudlow years ago and can no longer stand Kernan in the morning. I think he's sucking up to Ruppert. I watch Bloomberg for business news and even then I can still remember Gary Smith saying that he nev…
Howdy,
I was amazed that yesterday on CNBC all they talked about was going back to paper trading. It's not the software, nor computers that are the problem . . . things happen. The problem is the lack of accountability for the people, companies a…
Howdy folks,
Great discussion. Some of you have run the numbers on what comes first and that's crucial. However, the nut is having as much diversity in your retirement as possible . . . so that you have both additional options AND resiliency. …
Hi folks,
We just went with Consumer Cellular and got their one and only smart offering - a Motorola Bravo. It's OK for cheapskates and the digitally challenged (like the kid). Gee, we only switched over this past May as our contract expired with…
Howdy campers,
Natural resources are a key part of any portfolio - say 7-10% or so. However, with most people this is pretty much a fixed allocation as trading them is murder. I still have a tendency to nibble around the edges with momentum play…
Hi Mo,
Hope you're doing well. Indeed, I agree. Way too much gov't involved in economic things. The limited resources the states have should be spent for education, protecting the environment and building infrastructure. You take care of these …
Howdy folks,
Geez, I'm a lifelong democrat (voting that is)that voted for Obama and I really can't see any difference between him and Georgie. I'm not kidding. And you've got the reli-nazis wanting to roll back the bill of rights and the magna ca…
Hi guys,
I'm holding and looking for opps to pick up physical bullion in small quantities. I've been pretty much established in my position for years and repeat that 'everyone should have some gold in their overall wealth portfolio. 3% on up, dep…
Howdy folks,
Geez, Bill said, ""It's what we call the cleanest dirty sheet, and at the moment the cleanest dirty shirt is the United States," Gross told CNBC's "Street Signs." "It's Treasurys, it's those 1.75 percent 10-year Treasurys that are defi…
Howdy all,
I grabbed a little GASFX and FCG and we'll see what develops. I doubt anyone would get stopped out at these levels, but . . . it's down a tad today but that's OK.
peace,
rono
Geez, I've been planting trees.
Krugman has identified an issue but it's one of those myths that the spin doctors are producing. Oh, if we demonstrate fiscal responsibility and constraint - that we're getting our financial houses in tiptop order -…
Howdy,
How about Arnie? I think he's still in the top 10 of annual earners in sports. He's got a bunch of businesses and a finger in a lot of things. It's funny because we were just comparing him with Magic and the charisma being such a huge thi…
Howdy,
I concur with Mark and David. Off Topic is still generally investment and/or economic in nature OR things and events that impact our investments and economic lives. For example, at times things can devolve into politics, but ideally, the …
HI Mark,
And here's John Williams
http://www.shadowstats.com/
But of course they're dinking the numbers. Hedonic adjustments, weightings, etc. However, the CPI has been helped enormously by globalism and the internet. And aggregate demand is s…
Reply to @Old_Joe:
Hi Dan,
Hope you're doing well. American is the class of the loaded families but as you mention, they are thru an advisor (that guy getting the 5.75% off the top).
Gee, if you'd been around FundAlarm some 15 years back, perh…
Reply to @ibartman:
Howdy,
His previous advisor had him invested at 90% and he trusted him and just recently found out about this from his new advisor with the same custodian who thinks it's 'too aggressive' and that an annuity would be just the …
Howdy,
feh. Variable Annuities have their place, but it's very small and specialized and most often only for large random amounts of unexpected income - author, athlete, actor stuff. And Fixed Annuities are great in many more situations.
The …
Hi Dan,
Nopers, you're correct. I just went thru that with a light over a breakfast nook table - no dimmer. Rats.
I'm looking forward to the LEDs and further advances. feh. Sometimes, you've got to put your foot halfway up their asses to get t…
First to OJ and Mo,
Hey, if they CFLs are saving me money . . . first I concur that LED is where we're headed. 2nd, the industry had dragged their miserable rears for decades to do anything for lighting, so perhaps the mandate did well in forcing …
Geez,
I am a car guy. Born and lived most of my life in Lansing, MI home of Oldsmobile and now sitting on two brand new assembly plants making the baby Cadillacs and the Acadia/Traverse/Enclave 7 pax SUV. I spent 15 years as AdminMgr of the MDOT …
Howdy folks,
Great ideas. I've played both FSNGX and GASFX before and actually, want to hit it with dividends. GASFX would be the ticket, but this is coming in to off season for heating, but on season for a/c. Mutter, mutter.
How about the bloo…
Hi DPN,
First of all, congratulations on starting an IRA and also converting it to a Roth ASAP.
Initial IRAs are always difficult to work into a nice Asset Allocation because of contribution limits and mutual fund minimums. Per force, this will…
Hi OJ,
Raise some cash. Not everything, not huge, but raise some cash. When the Israelis attack Iran this spring, the markets will tank. However, I am thinking it will be a surgical one time and short series of very targeted high tech strikes. …
Howdy,
I have not checked out your site but just did and it appears to be a paid service. Here is PonyExpress Bob's - it's free. This is a momentum program that he maintains that shows all funds and ETFs and ranks them by the momentum they're s…
Geez, I'm with Bob on this. Years ago, Art from FundVision used to say, 'no one ever went broke taking profits'.
It is ALWAYS time to book profits. I'm not talking about leaving the game, just raking down some gains.
Folks, investing in stoc…
Howdy folks,
Hope everyone is doing well.
Individual investors are still pulling out. This includes 401K type pension monies. At the same time, many folks are buying both for dividends AND as a store of value. This category includes some huge…
