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.
"Fifty-five years later, after surviving bouts of extreme weather, changing consumer tastes
and global trade disruptions, the Westside, Iowa, farmer faces an unexpected risk from the man
he backed for U.S. president: Donald Trump."
"Eight ranchers …
I'm in general agreement with the author regarding the exclusion of certain investment types.¹
My portfolio does not include the following investments:
1) Dedicated REITs
2) Sector funds
3) Alternative investments
4) Dedicated high-yield bond funds …
The DOXLX Fact Sheet from 09/30/2025 indicates that the U.S. is the largest country at 53.6%.¹,²
Emerging Markets comprise 20.6% of the fund.¹
¹ The Fund may classify a company or issuer in a different category than the Index.
The Fund usually cl…
"The Fed may seek to keep long term rates low by ramping up QE (buying longer dated bonds)."
I'm concerned about this as well.
Since the Fed's easing cycle began in 2024, long-term rates have actually gone up.
There is a high probability that the F…
The Year the Job Market Hit a Wall
"The U.S. labor market is ending 2025 on a sour note.
While companies didn’t resort to full-scale layoffs, many did trim head count, especially later in the year.
Many also stopped hiring. Fewer employees quit job…
"In a new YouGov poll conducted for The Economist, fewer than half of Republicans
say they 'strongly approve' of Trump, and only a third of Republicans approve strongly
of his handling of inflation and prices."
"All of this adds up to a president w…
The 60 Minutes "Inside CECOT" segment was available on Global TV in Canada but has since been removed.
A viewer recorded the segment (~14 min.) which can be watched using the link below.
This video may be taken down at any time — several correspondi…
Thank you as always for keeping this thread alive.
I've usually found something of value in each posting.
You're welcome.
I'm glad that you found something of value in Charlie Bilello's content.
"This will be pushed a big news, as another innovation. me say ho-hum (-:)."
This change is definitely not a big innovation but it does provide some minor improvements.
I wonder why it took Invesco so long to convert QQQ from a UIT structure to an …
The Trump administration claims "national security risk" to justify actions against everything it dislikes.
But when a national security risk actually exists — China buying Nvidia H200 chips —
the administration allows it.
The network might as well just remove the first letter from their name since this is total BS.
I'm glad that Ms. Alfonsi spoke truth to power.
Walter Cronkite is rolling over in his grave and I'm sure Dan Rather isn't too pleased either.
From Markets A.M. newsletter by Spencer Jakab.
On this day in 1973, oil ministers of OPEC’s six Persian Gulf member countries
announced at a meeting in Tehran that they would unilaterally raise the price of crude oil
to $7 per barrel–and that it wo…
"Now, we have another year of data, and this is how the forecasts of equity analysts (bottom-up)
and equity strategists (top-down) fared in 2024. At the start of 2024, equity analysts expected the S&P 500
to rise by 7.9%, while strategists were …
"I'm a big fan of BBBMX/BBBIX, but the duration, while miniscule,
is about three times that of the funds linked to by @msf."
I have a T-Bill maturing in early January.
The proceeds will be funneled into BBBIX.
BBBMX was previously held in a differe…
"After almost a year of Trump’s second term, I and many other people — including, very likely, you —
are feeling exhausted, distraught, and sickened by what’s happened to our country and the world."
"As Times columnist Bret Stephens puts it, we are…
Dedicated CLO funds now reside in the new Morningstar "Securitized Bond - Focused" category.
This category also includes funds which focus on commercial mortgages and Asset-Backed Securities.
Fidelity Fund Screener
Rick Steves' Europe travel company has been financially successful.
Mr. Steves has donated significant funds to help improve society and the lives of individuals.
He has been actively involved in philanthropy for years.
Community Initiatives
• Tri…
Thanks @msf - a lot to try and digest.
From the Guggenheim piece,
"CLOs are governed by a series of coverage tests that measure the adequacy
of the collateral balance and the cash flows generated by the underlying bank loans."
Question 1: Who d…
M*: "Default risk is remote for AAA CLO tranches"
Janus: "Due to the credit enhancement features within CLO structures,
there has never been a realized loss in any senior AAA, junior AAA, or AA rated CLO"
I previously read that no AAA CLOs have def…
The Week in Charts (12/19/25)
The most important charts and themes in markets and investing...
00:00 Intro
00:17 Topics
01:12 A Confusing Labor Market
10:49 Distorted Inflation Data
17:13 An Unnecessary & Unwarranted Easing
22:16 The Return of …
President Obama's music, book and film picks for 2025.
I enjoy watching good movies.
I recently saw one of Obama's film picks — One Battle After Another — which was very good.
There are several other films on his list that I wanted to see but missed…
I watched Wall Street Week last night.
As previously mentioned, it was a decent overview of the past 25 years.
The program didn't delve into much detail regarding specific events
(e.g., dot-com bubble, Great Financial Crisis, COVID shutdown).
I enjo…
"i dont see any credit cards that pay more than 2% cashback on broad non-transient categories."
I have two credit cards.
The first one pays 2% cash back on all purchases.
The second one pays 5% cash back on gas at Costco, 4% cash back on eligible g…
"On November 19, 2025, Congress passed H.R. 4405, the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and although there was none of the usual publicity and fanfare President Donald Trump enjoys around a bill signing, the White House said that Trump signed it the s…
"Cutting business regulations and taxes would usher in extraordinary economic growth
that would boost the prosperity of hardworking Americans, they insisted,
leaving behind those unwilling to work."
"Except it didn’t. A February 2025 report from RA…
He can get gop buy-in via initially promising only the most
respectful schlock flogged at the Trump-Lincoln Memorial.
Perplexity lists the following reasons that President Trump
might provide to justify renaming the Lincoln Memorial.
He would pres…
"How about leaving your cell phone at home so AI cannot track your physical window browsing?"
You could do that.
Or you could run a privacy-first mobile OS like GrapheneOS.¹
Or you could store your cell phone in a high-quality Faraday bag.²
Note: C…
