Investing Tips
Could You Be a Bitcoin Billionaire?
Bitcoin just keeps going up despite repeated comparisons to the Dutch tulip bulb mania and crash centuries ago. Now, according to the news, there are two bitcoin billionaires, the Winklevoss twins. These guys successfully sued Marc Zuckerberg for $64 million claiming that he stole the idea for Facebook from Harvard Connection, of which they were co-founders. That is where the money came from to buy bitcoins. Business Insider notes the billionaire statues of the Winklevoss boys as bitcoin goes above $11,500.
Bitcoin’s rise comes amid continued interest in the digital currency from both ordinary investors and institutions. Last week it emerged […]
Should Investors Be Scared as Markets Cool Off?
Did you lose a lot of money in the 2008 stock market and real estate market crashes? If so you probably wish you had listened to that little voice in your head that said it was time to take profits and sit on cash for a while. It was not like there was no warning. Look at Google Finance and you can see how the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust peaked in late 2007! For the next twelve months the market was in an ever-steeper decline.
SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust
Anyone who listened to that little voice and got out saved […]
How Do Events in Japan Help or Hurt Your Investments?
In the investing world it helps to pay attention to what is going on throughout the world. When Japan was the economic powerhouse of the 1980s they were buying up properties in the USA and their stock market threatened to eclipse that of the USA. Even after the economic collapse caused by hidden debt and subsequent deflation Japan´s currency has remained a safe haven and events in Japan still affect Asia, Europe and North America. How do events in Japan help or hurt your investments today? Reuters provides a small example after a victory of Prime Minister Abe´s ruling party […]
Who Is Right about Tax Cuts, Republicans or Economists?
The same folks who jumped on the stock market bandwagon the day after Trump’s election are excited again. Bloomberg writes that the possibility of tax cuts is making waves in the stock market.
Amid FANG flu and another trash rally, a trade tied to Donald Trump has come quietly back into vogue with U.S. equity investors.
The rally reincarnates a trade that ascended after the November election and then died. Arousing interest is Trump’s focus on one of his signature campaign promises to domestic businesses. He and Republican congressional leaders plan to preview their bill on Wednesday and the president said he […]
Are You a Passive or Active Investor?
As the stock market rally grows older the time will come when the high tech and large cap stocks that are leading will have problems. Then passive investors who simply put money in a fund that tracks the S&P 500 will be in trouble. Are you a passive or active investor? Do you just let the market do your thinking or do you do intrinsic stock value analysis of the items in your portfolio? According to CNBC active is now outpacing passive investing.
In the perennial race between active and passive investment management, there are signs of a shift. After several […]
Nothing Seems to Scare Investors These Days
The market has been going up and many stocks seem overpriced. Then back to back hurricanes hit Texas and Florida as the crazy dictator in North Korea develops nuclear weapons and threatens his neighbors. One might expect one of more of these issues to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back and sends the market into correction. But nothing seems to scare investors these days. The Guardian notes that markets hit record highs after short lived concern about hurricanes and nukes. All of the details of damage from storms and potential war on the Korean peninsula do not seem […]
Is Fracking Technology Using Up the Last of the Oil?
Four years ago we wrote to invest in oil shale or rather companies that use fracking technology to extract oil and natural gas from these deposits.
We suggested that one look at investment in sustainable fracking technology. Recovery of petroleum from oil shale deposits has allowed the USA to reduce its reliance on foreign oil to the lowest level in more than twenty years. Today the USA imports forty percent of its oil, down from sixty percent just a few years ago. If predictions hold true the USA will continue to increase oil and gas production from fields in both the […]
As the North Korea Situation Escalates What Should You Buy and What Should You Sell?
Tension is increasing on the Korean peninsula as North Korea races to perfect nuclear arms and the means to deliver them by missile as far away as the United States. As the North Korea situation escalates what should you buy and what should you sell? First a little background.
What Is Going On in Korea?
Ever since the Korean War fighting ended with an armistice in 1953 troops have lined both sides of the demilitarized zone, ready to resume combat. Meanwhile the South has become a democratic country with an advanced economy. The North has remained under dictatorial rule of the same […]
Are Coal Companies a Good Contrarian Bet?
Despite the conversion of many electric plants to natural gas and away from coal, the USA still consumed 800 million tons of coal in 2015, the last year for which totals are available. We wrote recently about the bleak future of coal.
Electric companies have been switching plants from coal to natural gas and closing coal plants. Big consumers like GM and Toyota insist on clean energy and won’t use coal even if environmental regulations are relaxed. That is the bleak future of coal.
Peabody Energy is the largest coal producer in the USA as well as in Australia. The stock sold […]