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.
Gov. Newsom is correct - these actions are clearly inflammatory.
Hegseth has threatened to deploy active-duty Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton on American soil.
MAGA Republican megalomaniacs seem intent on establishing a police state.
The Week in Charts (06/06/25)
The most important charts and themes in markets and investing, including:
00:00 Intro
00:19 Topics
01:30 The Biggest Story in Markets This Year
06:10 Imports Plunge After Massive Front-Running
09:56 Recession Odds Cont…
Some interesting facts about Treasury holdings for China and the UK.
"The rise of the UK’s recorded holdings does not reflect its own reserves.
Rather, analysts say it reflects London’s role as a domicile for international capital."
"The proportio…
'Speculation has persisted that China did not, in fact, “ignore” the Trump tariffs but instead dumped substantial quantities of its US debt holdings. “China may be selling Treasuries in retaliation,” wrote Ataru Okumura, a senior interest-rate strat…
The top 5 foreign holders of U.S. Treasury securities at the end of Q1 2025 are listed below.
Japan__$1.13 trillion
UK__$779.3 billion
China__$765.4 billion
Cayman Islands__$455.3 billion
Canada__$426.2 billion
I've recently read that U.S. Treasu…
@davidrmoran
My understanding is the federal government has run a surplus only four times
within the last 50 years and the latest surplus was in 2001.
Please share any additional pertinent information you may have.
Barron's recently published an article written by @lewisbraham regarding SPDR Bridgewater All Weather ETf.
Here's a snippet:
"Bridgewater has designed each separate asset-class weighting to perform well
in at least one of four different economic env…
"There is a difference between ignoring what is happening economically and investing solely on political beliefs."
"Weighing the fundamental changes and challenges associated with new US policies is a bit more complicated."
FWIW, I agree with both …
@FD1000,
You are correct - this is not a new issue and it wasn't caused by any one political party.
However, it must be acknowledged that the current budget bill will exacerbate the problem.
It's probably best to refrain from responding to threads…
Kent Smetters from The Penn Wharton Budget Model participated in this WSJ video.
He states:
"If the publicly held debt goes roughly above 175% of GDP things get pretty hard at that point
and 200% is really the drop dead limit. And the reason why is …
It's prudent to put aside political preferences when investing.
Many investors who disliked Obama or Trump "cashed out" before their first terms commenced.
On both occasions, the stock market performed well afterward.
The article offers the followin…
Nice!
My library system also provides access to the WSJ.
I needed to create a WSJ account and can now "renew" access to all WSJ content for 3-day periods at will.
“That any of us have to care about the messy breakup of these two massive narcissists—
and that they both individually wield such massive power— is an indictment of our political system
and further proves the poisonous influence of Big Money on our …
"This must have been in the works for months and months."
This operation was planned for 18 months.
New details regarding the attacks are released.
https://www.reuters.com/graphics/UKRAINE-CRISIS/DRONES-RUSSIA/mypmjzayyvr/
The Week in Charts (05/30/25)
The most important charts and themes in markets and investing, including:
00:00 Intro
00:18 Topics
01:30 "Sell in May and Go Away"
05:43 The "TACO Trade"
09:26 Who Holds the Power to Impose Tariffs?
11:40 The Fastest G…
"The Trump administration on Wednesday rolled back a guideline that urged companies
to exercise 'extreme care' in offering cryptocurrency in their 401(k) plans.
It is a win for Fidelity Investments, which is a major player in crypto brokerage servic…
"Inter leads Value Inter..."
VTRIX is an actively managed fund while VXUS is a passively managed index fund.
Comparing iShares MSCI EAFE Value (EFV) to iShares MSCI EAFE (EFA)
and iShares MSCI EAFE Growth (EFG) may yield more relevant results.
htt…
The S&P 500 is currently tilted more towards growth than value.
The predominance of the Magnificent 7 stocks has been a large influence in recent years.
I don't how the S&P 500 has been balanced between growth and value stocks historically.
…
The Court of International Trade ruling doesn't affect tariffs for automobiles, aluminum, or steel.
These particular tariffs were not implemented via the IEEPA.
Unfortunately, Trump could deploy other laws to impose tariffs.
https://www.reuters.com…
“'The Worldwide and Retaliatory Tariff Orders exceed any authority granted to the President
by IEEPA to regulate importation by means of tariffs,' the court wrote,
referring to the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act."
The Trump admini…
Jeff DeMaso from The Independent Vanguard Adviser recently wrote about private investments.
Everyone can read part of this article but the entire article can only be read by paying subscribers.
Executive Summary: Private markets are being pitched a…
Fuhgeddaboudit if you are not a loyal acolyte or are not wealthy!
The stench of the Felonious Skunk permeates the atmosphere once again.
"This is not at all how pardons normally work. Pardons are normally reserved for people who show remorse
for a …
The following article provides several suggestions on how to secure your retirement portfolio
when market anxiety is high.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/top-stocks/market-anxiety-is-running-high-how-to-secure-your-retirement-portfolio/ar-AA1Fk9bO
As msf alluded to, some funds initially invested in small caps/mid caps but migrated to large caps as AUM grew.
This can be problematic for investors who used these funds to fill specific roles within their portfolios.
I considered a dedicated CLO fund in recent years.
A post with my thoughts is linked below.
https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/comment/191039/#Comment_191039
Barron's recently published a story about covered-call funds.
JEPI and JEPQ were both mentioned.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/topstocks/these-funds-offer-low-volatility-and-10-yields-there-s-a-trade-off/ar-AA1F6xo9
European stocks have done really well this year.
VGK (Europe) returned 17.9% while EZU (Eurozone) returned 22.1%.
Stock markets in Poland, Austria, Greece, and Spain generated returns greater than 32%.
Returns are as of 5/13/2025.
https://bilello.b…
"President Trump hosted a gathering on Thursday with the highest-paying customers
of his personal cryptocurrency business, sparking bipartisan concerns that he's selling access
to the presidency for personal profit. Geoff Bennett discussed the event…
