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.
The Cato institute ( with George Will's endorsement) is a very Conservative think tank focusing on individual liberty, free enterprise and economics.
They have an analysis of the massive recessionary and stagflation impact of the ICE budget. ICE…
The problem is that people like us, cannot type and watch the screen at the same time. Which can lead to all sorts of hilarity, as a result of auto-correct. I re-read everything that I type, sometimes twice. Auto-correct can be turned off on devices…
I am adding cautiously to INTL large caps. Starting in Jan 2025, I pulled back heavily on riskier assets, after riding the 2023/2024 equity wave. But, this rationale was twofold. I needed to pull back due to impending retirement (2026). And the tari…
You of all people should have a subscription
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/27/opinion/trump-budget-big-beautiful-bill.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Tk8.wSgs.OFKFM1hFVG9H&smid=url-share
This article should be required reading. People should be …
... If it makes you feel better, Socrates (no less!) objected to writing because he felt that would undercut our ability to remember things ...
This is funny because my son used to ask me why I didn't rely on the computer search function to find fi…
I might add that AI is still very early stages. Just like software can take inputs from all of a cars sensors and manage to drive the car in certain well-mapped locales. You might be fooled into thing that an actual human was at the wheel. Until som…
I am no AI expert. But, much can be extrapolated through other expertise and common constructs.
Firstly, if all AI did was copy, consolidate and dump verbatim the data it was using for input, it would essentially be a search engine or a machine-ba…
Hi there @Sven, and thank you very much. OK, best to ignore the clown.
such uninformed crap
Correct. He is dying for validation through people thinking that he is worthy of debate. He isn't. He wants to throw political darts, they will not let him …
Contrary to the view from FD and his rose colored glasses ,,, America is fucked and we won’t even know how bad for weeks. The pundits I follow say fight we must but I don’t see a path forward. Anyone have any hope to share?
I am not in the camp tha…
Because they fear science. they do not like or understand the empirical process. And it stands in the way of lies and manipulations. It also makes many people scared that there could be big changes occurring in a world that they want desperately to …
Speaking of money, I admit some awe of many of you MFOers for the selfless opposition to the continued Trump taxes. I think I can safely assume most to all of you have more tax burden than I do. If my taxes revert to the pre-trump tax brackets the t…
Dr Venture. This thread has made me smile in an otherwise shitty day for the country. I bet the OP has NO Idea what any of this means. These posts really tie the thread together.
Agreed. Keep on smiling, my friend.
We shouldn't lose sight of the ball. The whole MAGA movement was supposedly about giving the little guy what they 'deserved'. As it turns out, narcissistic billionaires, with a habit or not paying contractors and service people, are prone to taking …
@Observant1 Thanks.
Did you get a better rate than the ultrashort bond fund, by purchasing the 6-month T-Bills? They appear to be at 4.256% today. Are you trying to head off a future drop in shorter term instruments?
I have never bought individu…
Bought PIMIX last week on Friday. And again today at COB.
Bought shares of an INTL index fund at COB on Friday - current equity now ~58%.
Bought some PFN to add to an existing position, used proceeds of some preferred stock that I sold. Still sitti…
At FD1000…. Just your opinion man. Another POV is that it’s just another shitty week in which the rule of law,, democracy, the constitution and governance by three branches all go down the drain. And the greatest upward transfer of wealth and the m…
Just for the sake of argument/debate, and feel free to disagree, but doesn't a weaker dollar have certain advantages? One of them being that it makes our exports more affordable, thus more desirable? And, as far as domestic transactions, does dollar…
On the same general topic, apparently China is kicking butt in EVs.
https://qz.com/fords-ceo-concedes-chinas-ev-dominance
While we savage our own EV industry by yanking incentives, and add huge automotive costs via tariffs, China surges ahead. Sh…
It is not that we cannot do it, eventually. But, it will take time to get it all figured out on a much larger scale, and cost much, much more per unit. And while the cars may last 10-15 years, problems are inevitable as we try to do it all on home t…
The whole American Made schtick is funny. Trump leases bandwidth on existing cellular networks and tries to sell cheap re-branded phones for $500 claiming they are American made. It turns out that these low-end phones are 100% Chinese made and they …
Considering that a 2.5% annual inflation rate (rather average) would add up over 10 years to a cumulative 30%, In context, that is not particularly high. And people have been opting for more expensive, content-laden trucks/SUVs over time, pushing up…
DJT's destruction of the NIH NSF biomedical and Scientific research apparatus alone will classify him as the worst President in US History.
$150 Billion to ICE to fracture families and communities and deport law abiding people
NIH Budget cut 40% t…
@DrVenture You said it!
This administration is rife with examples of socialist tendencies and attempts to hinder free markets. Trump wanted to "buy" a 5G cell phone manufacturer, when he discovered that the U.S. did not have one. Which would be gove…
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/27/deep-inside-economy-more-sticker-prices-start-to-go-up-due-to-tariffs.html
This seems most appropriate posted right here.
-The latest inflation data came in hotter than expected, and Nike warned in its earnings on …
It IS hard to do nothing. Or, at least, be patient enough to find the correct moment to act. I plan to increase my equity allocation by 4% and think I will choose INTL equities to meet that goal. I also want to reallocate some cash (another 4%) to P…
The mere fact that it isn't being touted as the biggest and best ever, might be telling us a lot. Add in the fact that we are apparently relaxing export controls, when Trump's base considers China an existential threat, is a strong indication that C…
Yes, "command economy" sort of stuff. Not disparaging Democratic Social programs.
Just amused by the hypocrisy of the folks who weaponize the word, don't understand its definition, and then embrace command economy policies without understanding th…
For one thing, significant limitations on advanced microchips to the Middle East have been eased. The ME has AI and bitcoin aspirations.
My take on the oil situation was that OPEC had increased production to head off our domestic industry from inc…
I shopped on Newegg "back in the day"—component availability and prices were excellent then.
I'm not a gamer which has helped to reduce spending on performance GPUs over the years.
Haha, the cycle of building gaming rigs, and immediately eyeing the …
Yes, and rforno was right on top of that distinction, as I suspected that he would be. I have a tech background, but mainly hardware and am not up-to-date on AI at all.
My two international equity funds have been my best performers, by far, in 2025.
The YTD returns for my small blend and large blend funds are 16.44% and 15.04% respectively.
I don't know if international equity funds will continue to outperform U.S.…
Yes, that is what I was referring to. I have no faith in my ability to pick a sector and/or adjust as circumstances unfold. Though "mainly subpar" may fit the bill too.
LOL - Imagine that it were Biden who was handed a roaring stock market and within months had produced a correction, one expressly tied to his policies. Would the OP be ignoring that and handing him credit for 2 1/2 years of FED policy? And utterly f…
Schwab's Liz Ann Sonders' recent article asks the question:
"Complation"…Is there too much complacency regarding inflation?
"The rub is that much of the economic data outside of direct inflation readings suggest higher inflation ahead. Both key pu…
We are supposed to believe that some magical administration policies brought down inflation in mere months, without specifying which policies actually did this. It's a hoot.
Hell, if he can do that, he doesn't need the FED to lower rates. He can j…
I am tempted to buy a INTL index fund in my 401K. Up almost 20% YTD. No way to know if this is just the beginning, or a potential trap. I do have plenty of cash on hand, and am in the process of unloading some preferred shares, so needing to put som…
