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.
"But this thing does read as if he had a presupposition, and is bent on proving it to be correct."
Exactly. I subscribed to Axios newsletters for quite a while. It was convenient for getting breaking news. I did not doubt the facts they included…
I have home/auto/umbrella through State Farm. I've had a couple major (~$100,000) home claims and a few minor claims over the years. Perhaps it is my local people, but I would say they have done more than right by me. No jumps in rates due to cla…
There was a time when I uncritically believed what was said.
Walter Cronkite.
Perhaps my faith was misplaced, as it was in believing my father's utterances.
But, I was so disappointed in Dan Rather.
Whoa ! My car insurance jumped 60% from April 2023 to October 2023 ! From $50.18 to $94.32. For six months on a 1998 BMW M Roadster. It went up another $2 this April. I'm not going to complain. OK, I don't carry collision or comprehensive, but…
I've done it twice, no problem. But, once you are presented with a TurboTax screen, it can be frustrating to navigate your way back to it. Use the bookmark function, it you are not ready to commit.
The paper bond takes a while to arrive.
Buying I-…
Let's review the previous FDIC system -
Your individual account was insured up to $250,000.
Your spouse's individual account was insured up to $250,000.
Your joint account was insured up to $500,000.
Seriously, how many couples are keeping $1MM in c…
Last week (On Axios, not MFO) a person claimed retirees love inflation.
Not so much, if you are on a fixed (non-governmental) pension.
Perhaps he was thinking about Social Security increases? I don't know about you, but after the amount Medicare in…
I started laddering T-Bills with 4-week/8-week bills, and am working my way to a target of 52-week bills three times a year.
I've also started moving money out of VTAPX to a 5-year TIPS ladder, along with $25,000/year in I-bonds.
When I was looking to buy my first house, mortgage rates were 16%.
Folks who had 6% mortgages were in clover. Banks were offering them CASH to refinance at higher rates. A guy in my department said his bank told him he HAD to refinance.
I bought u…
Ah, the old days. When disaster became legend.
As, the Mussel Slough Tragedy inspired The Octopus.
“When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”
Now, that sounds more like politics.
A tree fell and poked holes in my son's roof. While he is insured, he is having great difficulty getting the required three roofing companies to come out and provide estimates before repair work can begin.
It's probably right in front of my nose, but where in "new format" Morningstar can you find the U.S./International fixed income percentage breakdown for a fund?
In the old format you could at least get that from "Top 10 Country Breakdown."
@BenWP: I also live in the land of the pothole. I see these new sporty cars with 20" wheels and rubber the thickness of a rubber band, and I just shake my head. (I drive an ancient M Roadster, but my son is constantly sending helpful suggestions …
As I don't have suggestions I have particular faith in, I'm struggling to compose something helpful, but brief. It's not working.
Government intervention is usually wrong-headed and counterproductive.
I know it sounds ridiculous, given the long-te…
Regarding that "insider trading" -
While I can no longer find the reference, evidently Kodak released a statement to the local (Rochester, NY) media on Monday to the effect they were expecting notification of a loan from the government. While supp…
On buying your APIs abroad -
Yes, you can get it done more cheaply.
But more important, you can get it done.
Many times there has been more eagerness, a sense of urgency to collaborate.
Especially for small quantities, as for a minor player in gener…
Another viewpoint -
Must be 25 years ago, we requested Kodak prepare a small batch of a potential API for investigational use.
In due time, a large bottle arrives. But, WTF ??? I've never heard of the stuff the label says it is.
I call Kodak. "Oh…
Paranoid? Google: coronavirus beer.
Interesting facts:
Did you know that rubbing alcohol, defined by the USP as approximately 70% isopropanol (isopropyl alcohol), is actually more efficient in killing germs than pure isopropanol? The water con…
My humble proposal –
Each citizen age 18 or over receives a $1,000 credit per month to be applied to health insurance of choice, whether private or public. Any minors must be covered before moving to the next option. (Yeah, I would favor DNA testi…
Yup. Ran the numbers with my new marginal tax rate and the spread between "similar" taxable and municipal funds.
Exited VMSXX. Cut back on VMLUX and VWIUX.
Initiated positions in VUSFX and VFSUX.
I had the American Airlines card for a number of years. The annual charge would show up, and I'd call and say -
"Nah, go ahead and cancel."
And they'd say -
"What if we waived the fee?"
Until one year, they didn't. And I dropped the card.
We just…
Seriously? The typical MFO aficionado wouldn't meet these criteria?
In any case, I much prefer Tim Urban's musings and explanations on the subject ...
(even if the wealth rankings have changed a bit in five years)
https://waitbutwhy.com/2014/03/co…
The United States is in a state of emergency: 28 national ones and many more local. This might come as a surprise, but it isn’t new—this month marks the start of our 39th year in a continuous emergency state. What is an emergency, and how did we get…
Does anyone have experience with JPMorgan Chase? I see they charge $75 if you want to move out an asset. (Schwab wants $60 each to move an IRA, by the way.)
I had a nice wrap account with Wells Fargo with 100 free trades. I still have the 100 free…
Why are cars "low margin" while trucks are "high margin"? Do you think it might be because of the 25% import tax on light trucks that the U.S. has charged since 1963? (Google "chicken tax", read Forbes article.) So, U.S. manufacturers can (and do) c…
But still, the expense ratio for Mutual Shares Z shares is waaay better than for the corresponding A shares. My wife's rollover is in MQIFX, and we have a small position in MDISX. Come back, Michael Price ...
Harbor Funds grandfathered shareholder…
I wanted to post a picture I took of Shackleton's headstone, but my skills are evidently not up to the task. Our ship off-loaded crates of Champagne and we gathered at the grave site to raise our glass.
South Georgia Island is a truly amazing plac…
I recommend the documentary "Shackleton's Frozen Hell," and, of course, the book Endurance.
“For scientific discovery, give me Scott; for speed and efficiency of travel, give me Amundsen; but when you are in a hopeless situation, when you are seein…
A ways up the comments, LBraham cited a study claiming defined-benefit plans outperform defined-contribution plans by 0.7%. Now, I may have misread the brief, but the authors that perpetrated the study seem to have done a lot of fancy calculations …
Let me take you back to those golden days when "everyone" had a pension.
Back then, you had to have ten years with the company to even qualify for a pension. I worked at a company that offered a pension of 2% * (years worked) * (final average sala…
Example of underfunding? We have a school district in Michigan that made no contributions to the pension fund for over a year, despite being required by union contract. They "just didn't have the money."
I wouldn’t say it’s all political. I lived for a decade in a “smaller” big city with distinct ethic groupings. You would not believe the shenanigans perpetrated in plain sight. When I arrived, a pugnacious Irish Catholic had been mayor for some t…
You can see the full list here -
corporate1.morningstar.com/ResearchLibrary/article/817415/morningstar-prospects---q2-2017/
Hood River Small-Cap Growth HRSMX has been briefly mentioned on MFO a couple times. Anyone have an opinion (other than inves…
If you think M-Star's current ratings are shaky, you are going to love this -
"The number of funds that receive an Analyst Rating is limited by the size of the Morningstar analyst team. To expand the number of funds we cover, we have developed a ma…
