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.
This brings to mind David Brooks' comments on the PBS News Hour during the first Trump administration.
Mr. Brooks stated (paraphrasing) that Trump diminishes everyone who comes into close contact with him.
Ms. Noem was dining at The Capital Burger, a popular restaurant near downtown Washington, DC.
She reportedly placed her Gucci handbag under the seat against her foot.
"The person entered Capital Burger at 7:55 p.m., sat near Noem’s table,
scooted c…
"looking for EX US bond fund/ etf. Ideas? "
If global bond funds are acceptable, you may want to check DODLX and PFORX.
VEGBX seems like a good choice for EM bonds.
Hi YBB,
The trade was executed via Fidelity.
I found the following Fidelity doc regarding fractional trading.
Unfortunately, the doc doesn't state why limit orders with the Good til Cancelled option are prohibited.
I'm not sure if Good til Cancelle…
"Another potential consequence of Powell’s removal would be an erosion of confidence in US assets as reliable, safe havens for international investors. If the United States’ financial and political system is perceived as unstable and critical polici…
I am moved periodically to look into alt funds.
I usually find they have very high expenses and may behave in unexpected ways during certain times.
Therefore, I've passed thus far...
Nothing to laugh about, you guys haven't changed anyone's opinion but you definitely dragged down substantially one of the best investment site by the same people.
Your irrational, ill-informed political rants have failed to sway public opinion.
F…
Here's the best bond article I read this weekend.
https://www.marketwatch.com/articles/high-yield-junk-bonds-9ed6141e?mod=search_headline
Excerpt:
The higher spreads split investors “into two camps—head for the hills or this is an incredible buyi…
Supreme Court blocks, for now, new deportations under 18th century wartime law
https://apnews.com/article/aclu-trump-deport-venezuelans-supreme-court-5d85ffec44fca7c267315b34cec9ddb2
Yes, there are several excellent Barron's articles in this week's magazine.
I would recommend reading Randall Forsyth's "U.S. Spending Threatens the Dollar's Status..."
Unfortunately, I'm unable to provide a link that is not paywalled.
"The trend of bond sales and other asset reallocations is likely to continue to put downward pressure
on the dollar, though strategists say it is too early to say how long the trend will last."
"The moves lower in the dollar could also be large bec…
The Week in Charts (04/18/25)
The most important charts and themes in markets and investing, including:
00:00 Intro
00:18 Topics
00:52 Global Trade Chaos
06:40 A Self-Inflicted Recession?
14:50 "The US Doesn't Make Anything Anymore"
19:35 The Mag 7…
"The nice thing is there’s a point of view to match every type of investor or political leaning."
This is very true!
"My take - The major indexes are off for the year. But that follows a couple stellar years."
The S&P 500 had two consecutive ye…
The Ask the Compound crew received many questions from anxious readers expressing concerns
about stocks and the present investing environment. The crew provides some context for the current situation
and offers potentially helpful suggestions. There…
"go ahead and scream 3 times daily"
You are the one who is "screaming."
Your incessant whining is extremely disruptive to the forum!
"My main point stands: this thread was a rant about NOTHING."
This thread is for discussing how the U.S. dollar and…
Chicago Fed president Austan Goolsbee discusses tariffs and recent threats to fire Jerome Powell.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/chicago-fed-president-on-trumps-trade-war-and-threats-to-fire-powell
Excerpted from Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American (April 17).
Bolded text was added by me.
"Today a federal appeals court rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to stop Judge Paula Xinis’s order that it 'take all available step…
[snip]
Here is another article from 2016(link)
"Donald Trump is a "dangerous, destructive" choice"..."The letter, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, was signed by 370 economists, including eight Nobel Prize winners."
[snip]
The letter refe…
I find it incomprehensible that Trump still has a 47% favorability rating after
his irrationality, incompetence, and disregard for the law were fully displayed.
If this rating represents 47% of the overall population, I concur with Crash: "we are sc…
The IMF reports that the US dollar's role as a reserve currency has gradually declined over the last two decades.
Interestingly, this decline was not matched by increases for the euro, yen, or pound.
"Dollar dominance—the outsized role of the US d…
The dollar is too integral in global finance to lose its reserve status any time soon.
There is no other currency (e.g., Euro, Yen, Renminbi) that could take its place.
However, the dollar's dominance as a reserve currency could erode due to recent …
I recently posted the following in another thread.
The US has the exorbitant privilege of the dollar being the world's reserve currency.
No other currency in history has been so globally dominant.
Foreign exchange reserves are most often denominate…
"Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned that the central bank could have less flexibility
to quickly cushion the economy from the fallout of President Trump’s trade war,
sending stocks down on Wednesday."
"Powell also hinted that the central ba…
The article doesn't provide many details and includes lots of "corporate speak."
"Wellington Management ('Wellington'), Vanguard, and Blackstone (NYSE: BX) today announced
a strategic alliance to transform how investors access institutional-caliber…
"At present, ARTKX is closed to new investors while ARTGX is still open."
David Samra is the Managing Director for ARDBX but he doesn't make final investment decisions for the fund.
The fund's investment process resembles that of ARTKX.
Both ARDBX …
David Samra has done a great job with ARTKX - its performance has been excellent.
VWIGX is also a very good, but volatile, fund.
Although I admire many of parent firm's Fiduciary Management Inc. practices, I'm not sold on FMIJX.
This foreign fund is…
[snip]
Basically, there are 5-7 posters that turn this site into a political rant in many threads.
I participate in several investment sites and this is the only one that keeps doing it
and this site used to be one of the best.
I also participate in…
OAKIX annual returns were often inconsistent.
It wasn't uncommon for 1 yr., 3 yr., and 5 yr. fund category returns
to alternate from top decile to bottom decile and vice versa.
I haven't paid close attention to Oakmark funds for quite some time.
I j…
The US has the exorbitant privilege of the dollar being the world's reserve currency.
No other currency in history has been so globally dominant.
Foreign exchange reserves are most often denominated in US dollars.
Three quarters of global trade and…
[snip]
TDS is a major lib illness.
What can you do now
1) stop reading the same sources that claim the US is close to destruction.
2) most investors should hold their asset allocation according to their goals and hardly trade.
Trump Denial Syndrom…
