August 2018

The Forgotten Bear Market

When you think about the worst periods in stock market history, you think about the Great Depression, the Great Recession, and probably 1973-1974. What often gets overlooked is the bear market of 1969-1970. Over a 60-day period from March 3, 1970 through May 26, 1970, the S&P 500 finished higher only 16 times. This admittedly…

Animal Spirits: When Hitler Took Cocaine

On this week’s Animal Spirits, we discuss: Chicago, this is a bad idea.  Monthly stipend of lump sum? Of course you’re going to say winning the lottery improved your quality of life Crypto horror stories Wells… …JP Morgan …and Boiler Rooms Free trading Trend following is having a hard time The best consumer environment ever…

These Are the Goods

Articles Elliott has lost money in only two of its forty-one years of existence By Sheelah Kolhatkar Corrections and bear markets in emerging markets have outnumbered those in the U.S. by a factor of more than 2-to-1 By Ben Carlson Earnings during the past 1 year and 2 years have risen faster than the S&P…

The Bad Actors

I saw three reports of financial abuse in the last week. One of the stories occurred at Wells Fargo, which keeps coming up with new ways of ripping off its customers. There is no way that Wells found the 14,000 least ethical financial advisors in the industry. What they found is the simple fact that humans…

Animal Spirits: Why Andy Dufresne Would be a Good Portfolio Manager

On this week’s Animal Spirits, we discuss: Old-money billionaires are chasing new tech riches The stories war The shrinking public stock market “Not a public company” The Netflix of fitness Tech billionaire busted for drug trafficking Listen here Tweets mentioned I can't believe the "shrinking US stock market is alarming" myth has to be busted…

These Are the Goods

Articles We all have it now By Nick Maggiulli Investing is a difficult game, to begin with, but it becomes doubly so, when it becomes personal By Aswath Damodaran Since this is an extraordinary claim, it requires extraordinary evidence By Barry Ritholtz Two camps of ardent supporters and dissenters quickly banded together By Jamie Catherwood…

Animal Spirits: Funding Secured

On this week’s Animal Spirits, we discuss: Why did I say “funding secured” Why do companies go private? Are buybacks starving the economy? No, but it’s complicated And earning-per-share bonuses need to be adjusted for buybacks The housing crash disproportionately affected the middle class The CAPE ratio arguments are usually black or white. This one…

These Are the Goods

Articles You can’t call your doctor or advisor everyday asking questions. You need to learn how to cope on your own. By Tim Mullooly Financial planning in the absence of an investment strategy designed to implement the plan is a f***ing fortune cookie. By Josh Brown You’re always trading one risk for another, not eliminating…

The Scapegoat

“The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.” -Winston Churchill We have always been a country of haves and have nots. In 1937 John D. Rockefeller had a net worth of $1.4 billion, or 1/65th of U.S. GNP. Today, the three wealthiest…

Animal Spirits: Despite All Logic

On this week’s Animal Spirits, we discuss MoviePass becoming profitable, despite all logic This is some press release Cutting the chord and Disney’s new streaming service Busting some pension myths The pension hole is the size of Germany’s economy Bankruptcy booms among older Americans Creating an ideal liquid alt 1 in 8 divorces is caused…