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.
I am weary of debating/discussiong debt/default issues. Glad there is at least a temporary resolution and we can return to other market issues, such as future interest rate decisions and how to invest going forward.
Both Republicans and Democrats will have to appeal to Independents to get elected. More and more voters are now identifying as Independents, largely because of their disgust with rabid partisanship by both Democrats and Republicans. I plan on ide…
@dt. “Very fine people on both sides”. No Dt from Texas,,,,one side poses an existential threat to our democracy, one side doesn’t. One side threatens our daily well being with the worship of guns and the acceptance of every week mass shootings. …
davidrmoran: "This false equivalence is weak nonsense and is the flaw in your thinking, that this is somehow a balancing process."
As I said, you do amuse me. The quote above is an example of your thinking that is very short sighted and very parti…
davidrmoran, I know you are well intentioned, and to some extent I am amused with our periodic debates. I do find it disappointing that you choose to use adolescent/trumpian name calling in your posts--that weakens your presentations. My only maj…
@dtconroe
>> Regarding the price of gas, cost of food, increased utility costs, home repair costs, etc etc., she blames Biden for that, and she is frustrated with the Democrats in general for not doing more to prevent that.
that's great
&g…
@Dt …. Using the adjective “intellectual “ twice in one sentence to describe another person and said person’s thoughts is never meant as a compliment. So you aren’t fooling ANYONE. And if you believe that millions of trumps red hatted, confederat…
@dtconroe,
So the wife of someone who is thoughtful and has spent his long career in social service in a totally backward state is
>> worried about the safety of our grandchildren in school classes,
along with many other suppertime (larg…
Mr. Braham, you are a very intellectual person, well versed in intellectual presentations, but that does not compete well with everyday experiences of many many voters, of both parties, who elect congressmen to support their views. Hopefully, comm…
I grew up in Texas, got 2 graduate degrees in special education and psychology from very "liberal" universities, worked in the mental health field both as a direct service worker and later as an administrator seeking funding, and experienced the pol…
With all due respect, feeding hungry people in the wealthiest nation on earth should not be a “fringe issue.” Other developed nations do not impose a work requirement to receive food assistance.
That sounds like a very good sermon, but at the end of…
When in doubt, sacrifice the poor and call it moderation: https://politico.com/news/2023/05/28/house-democrats-nutrition-programs-debt-00099071
With all due respect, this is a predictable reaction from the democratic side of the debate, but I conten…
As I understand, we will now see if the more moderate factions of both parties, will agree to pass a bill, that the extreme factions would not support. It is a true test of bipartisanship, instead of the extreme factions dominating the media with …
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/27/how-to-invest-as-the-federal-debt-ceiling-deadline-approaches.html
Interesting article on investing in this market period
Democrats are losing the PR battle and the actual battle on this. Striking that a GOP House majority of 5 seats can call the shots over a Democrat controlled Senate and WH. What were the Dems smoking when they intentionally chose to not take any act…
@dt. What safety rating are you using? Thanks for your posts.
There is another thread on MFO, entitled "Financial Health Ratings of Banks", in which the rating details are discussed. Below is the Overview statement on the Schwab Bank:
"www.schwa…
Just a follow up note on Charles Schwab banks issuing CDs. On the Schwab Brokerage site today, Charles Schwab Bank, located in Westlake Texas, is offering an 18 month CD with an interest rate of 5.05%. It has an overall B rating, with 2 subcategor…
Please remind me how much pelosi is worth? And while you're at it, how much is Comrade Sanders worth... thanks... that's
what I thought
Pelosis did not push us to the brink of default, during the Trump Administration, maybe because she was one o…
@yogi. With all due respect to your vast knowledge,,,,,, Schwab Bank does o=offer its own CD’s. Perhaps not to the general public but to Schwab customers. I have several,,, They aren’t offering them THIS MORNING but have recently. An example, CU…
Yogi: "At Schwab, I just use the linked Schwab Bank that has Bill Pay (as backup, as I use another Bill Pay as primary); it is also linked to some other accounts. If you sell Schwab m-mkt fund, the money is available for transfer to Schwab Bank the …
Based on the lack of progress on the debt negotiations, I am reducing my Brokerage Money Market holdings in my taxable account, and moving more money into my banking checking and savings accounts. I am well below the FDIC limits for protection on m…
@dtconroe what makes a banking account (checking and savings) more liquid than a money market fund at the likes of Schwab?
Hi Mona, I have a brick and mortar branch of my bank 10 minutes away. I literally can get whatever cash I need out of that b…
I sold all of my bond funds in March of 2022. I have not bought any new bond funds since then, preferring Brokerage noncallable CDs and MMs. I have no plans on buying any new bond funds in the near future. For now, I prefer to reinvest CDs that a…
At this time, and for lack of any better alternatives that meet my comfort level, I am keeping 100% of my portfolio in a Treasury Only MM fund and in FDIC insured CDs issued by the largest national banks until the proverbial dust settles.
Good luc…
I never used the term "cash equivalent" in my posts. My use of the term "cash alternative" was in response to another poster, "finder", who asked me what I had chosen as an alternative to RPHIX. I went into some detail, operationalizing a defini…
Yogi: "Only m-mkt funds and T-Bills are "cash" alternatives. No other fund, including the ultra-ST bond funds, can formally serve that purpose."
I guess I respectfully look at this a bit differently than stated above. Cash is an asset class that …
During the last 6 months, RPHIX gained $2.84%. If it continues, this will be 5.7% per year with minimal risk. If not a secret, can you tell us about better opportunities that you see now? Or do you have in mind what may happen with other funds when…
I owned RPHIX for several years, as a "cash alternative" fund, but no longer own it. In a market where fixed income instruments were unattractive, I thought RPHIX was a historically attractive option, but now there are more attractive options avail…
As I understand it, the Republican bill, in general, would raise the debt limit to avoid the default and reduce spending to stop going above the new debt limit. Biden does not want any debt limit so that he can spend all he desires. There has to b…
Just don't see much else to say on this topic. I am not convinced that either political party really wants a debt deficit control bill. The Democrats are devoted to a number of unresolved social issues that are not addressed in the budget. The …
All of them are callable except some of the shorter term ones. Non-callable CDs tend to have much lower yields.
I have bought about 15 CDs this past year from Schwab, that were non-callable, but I did not buy anything longer than 2 years. I just we…
Fair enough, I meant spuend and income decisions. Point was that the current game of passing budgets and then wrangling separately over whether to actually pay is stupid and needs to end.
I guess I am not following the "stupidity" statement. The …
Not a lawyer by a far stretch but to me, there cannot be a ceiling for debt that has already been incurred by Congress itself.
I hope this goes to the SC and the entire silly concept of debt ceiling gets busted once and for all in favor of making s…
Just a note that in addition to the actual Financial Health Rating, there is a description/overview description of the bank being reviewed. You should be looking at both the Rating and the Overview of the Bank. For example, with Republic Bank, this…
I would just add that you should also consider the type of account, and term length of the CD. I tend to buy shorter term CDs in my taxable account, and slightly longer term CDs in my IRA account. I also focus on a laddering system of short term CD…
I had a 4% "brokered" CD mature yesterday, and I chose to reinvest the principal into a new 5% "brokered" CD. As long as I can get a guaranteed 5% interest on CDs, they will continue to be a very viable investment option for this retired investor. …
