You are guaranteed to earn 0.5% above the rate of inflation if you buy [Series I savings bonds] before Oct 31.

The fixed rate on new savings bonds is 0.20%. Anyone nibble on the old rate?
https://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/research/indepth/ibonds/res_ibonds_iratesandterms.htm#fixed

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/313850/000093247119007358/ps1298a112019.htm
497 1 ps1298a112019.htm ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES SUPPLEMENT
Vanguard Alternative Strategies Fund
Supplement Dated November 1, 2019, to the Prospectus Dated
November 1, 2019
The account minimum required to open and maintain an account is $250,000. The
account minimum will be reduced to $50,000 on or about November 4, 2019.
© 2019 The Vanguard Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Vanguard Marketing Corporation, Distributor. PS 1298A 112019

Ol' Ted... the real "owl"-

GE stock price Jumps...3% of PRWCX is GE stock.
https://bnnbloomberg.ca/ge-jumps-as-new-boost-to-cash-flow-outlook-bolsters-turnaround-1.1339891

This topic could affect some of your holdings that are more focused in this sector.
Frackers scrap field equipment
Real estate prices and development went wacko several years ago when the Bakken fields were put into production. I've not checked prices for years, but those first in and first out made some serious cash. This area may not be affected by fracking downturn. Oklahoma and Texas, perhaps more so. Williston, ND prices still look pricey to me.
Williston ND real estate Zillow

FYI: U.S. stock index futures turned lower on Thursday morning.
At around 6 a.m. ET, Dow futures were down 95 points, indicating a negative open of more than 86 points. Futures on the S&P — which closed at an all-time high in the previous session — and Nasdaq were both seen slightly lower.
Early Thursday, Bloomberg News reported, citing unnamed sources, that Chinese officials have been casting doubt over the possibility of a long-term trade deal with the U.S., despite the two sides closing in on an initial “phase one” accord, sending stock futures tumbling.
Global stocks were mixed and the dollar weakened Thursday after the Federal Reserve signaled a pause in further interest-rate easing following its third cut this year.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 gauge and the pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index wobbled between gains and losses as investors awaited preliminary eurozone figures for gross domestic product, consumer inflation and unemployment.
Stocks to Watch
Shares in Peugeot maker PSA Group were among the worst performers in Europe, dropping 8.8% following the auto maker’s agreement to merge with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in a deal that will create one of the world’s largest auto makers by volume.
Fiat shares climbed 9.7% in Milan, while shares of rival Renault slumped 2.7%.
Royal Dutch Shell shares trimmed 2.8% after the oil giant expressed uncertainty over the pace of it completing its $25 billion share buyback, raising doubt over whether the program would be finished by the end of 2020.
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite edged down 0.4% after data showed Chinese manufacturing activity fell to an eight-month low in October, in yet another signal that the world’s second-largest economy is under pressure.
Regards,
Ted
WSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/stocks-wobble-after-fed-signals-pause-in-further-rate-cuts-11572514720
Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-30/asia-stocks-look-to-gain-treasuries-climb-on-fed-markets-wrap?srnd=premium
IBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/dow-jones-futures-apple-earnings-facebook-earnings-fed-rate-cut-stock-market-rally/
CNBC::
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/31/us-stocks-fed-signals-a-pause-in-rate-cuts.html
Reuters:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china-agriculture/exclusive-beijing-could-ax-extra-tariffs-on-u-s-farm-products-to-boost-imports-china-trade-association-chief-idUKKBN1XA0L4
U.K.
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/weak-earnings-hit-ftse-100-crest-warning-drags-homebuilders-idUKKBN1XA0ZK
Europe:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/fresh-trade-worries-drag-european-shares-lower-idUSKBN1XA122
Asia:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/31/asia-markets-october-31-federal-reserve-china-pmi-apple-suppliers.html
Bonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/31/us-treasury-yields-fed-cuts-rates-jobless-claims.html
Currencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/30/forex-markets-us-federal-reserve-in-focus.html
Oil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/31/oil-markets-us-crude-inventories-in-focus.html
Gold:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/31/gold-markets-federal-reserve-rate-cut-in-focus.html
Cuirrent Futures:
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx

“ For Fed Chair Powell, blunt is the 'appropriate' approach “
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-powell-idUSKBN1X92PU
This was a fascinating exchange between Powell and CNBC’s Steve Liesman during the post-announcement press conference. Powell appeared to “blow his cool“ briefly towards the end.
I’ve searched for a short video clip of the actual (60-second or so) exchange, but couldn’t locate one.
As far as 115 points? Geez - When ya got 20,000 in your pocket over the last decade, who cares about a measly 115? :)

FYI: U.S. stocks continued to rise Wednesday after the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates again and signaled it may hold off on further cuts this year.
The S&P 500 hit another record high finishing up 0.33%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 115 points, 0.43%, to 27186. The Nasdaq Composite, rose 0.33%.
The indexes gained traction after the Fed announced Wednesday afternoon that it would cut rates a third time this year.
That’s likely because investors largely expected the central bank to cut rates again, analysts said. Investors had already factored in the additional rate cut in recent months, giving stocks little more upside on that alone.
The central bank signaled in its latest policy statement that it may hold off on further rate cuts this year. Most investors, meanwhile, were already expecting the Fed to hold off on cutting rates again in December. Those expectations held steady following the central bank’s decision.
Underneath the index moves, corporate earnings continued to drive most of the bigger swings in individual stocks.
Shares of Yum Brands declined 7% after the restaurant chain marked down the value of its investment in online food delivery app GrubHub. Shares of Molson Coors Brewing also fell, shedding 3.8% after the maker of Coors Light and Miller Lite disclosed plans to cut hundreds of jobs.
Meanwhile, General Electric jumped 9.2% after the company raised its cash-flow outlook for the year.
And shares of Johnson & Johnson rose 2.5% saying Tuesday that a test of its baby powder didn’t find traces of asbestos, rebutting U.S. regulators’ claims about the product.
A raft of major U.S. companies, including Apple and Facebook, are scheduled to report after Wednesday’s closing bell.
Elsewhere, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 index closed up less than 0.1%, even though some of the region’s biggest banks posted declines. Stocks in the U.K. also slipped after lawmakers agreed to hold an early election on Dec. 12 in an attempt to break the stalemate over Brexit. The FTSE 250 gauge fell 0.3%.
Regards,
Ted
Bloomberg Evening Briefing:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-30/your-evening-briefing
MarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/stocks-on-track-for-mixed-start-ahead-of-fed-decision-2019-10-30/print
WSJ:
Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-29/asia-stock-futures-mixed-before-fed-decision-markets-wrap?srnd=premium
IBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/stock-market-rebounds-on-remarks-by-feds-powell-apple-facebook-await-earnings/
CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/30/stock-market-fed-rate-decision-and-earnings-in-focus-on-wall-street.html
Reuters:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/stocks-little-changed-in-wake-of-fed-statement-idUKKBN1X91BW
U.K:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/pharma-stocks-lift-ftse-100-out-of-red-idUKKBN1X90UL
Europe:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/european-shares-nudge-higher-as-loreal-outweighs-bank-earnings-upset-idUSKBN1X90U0
Asia:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/30/asia-markets-october-30-fed-rate-decision-us-china-trade-currencies.html
Bonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/30/us-treasury-october-fed-meeting.html
Currencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/30/forex-markets-us-federal-reserve-in-focus.html
Oil
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/30/oil-markets-cushing-crude-stocks-in-focus.html
Gold:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/30/gold-markets-us-china-trade-federal-reserve-in-focus.html
WSJ: Markets At A Glance:
https://markets.wsj.com/us
Major ETFs % Change:
https://www.barchart.com/etfs-funds/etf-monitor
SPDR's Sector Tracker:
http://www.sectorspdr.com/sectorspdr/tools/sector-tracker
SPDR's Bloomberg Sector Performance Pie Chart:
https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/sectors
Current Futures:
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx

I (guess) that works the same on the upside as well as the downside !?

Actually not. Lots of research papers come to the conclusion that bad performance has a stronger tendency to persist than good performance.
That is, if a fund performs poorly, there's a good chance that it's going to continue that way. Its bad luck, if it is luck, doesn't tend to change.
A quick search came up with this marketwatch column, and this UK paper:

In evaluating all of the persistence studies, five inferences generally supported by the research can be drawn: ... Cold hands persistence is much stronger than hot hands persistence: Poor past performance is a strong predictor of future poor performance. The contrarian strategy of investing in last year's poorly performing funds is shown to be a poor strategy.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/persistence-angle-adds-to-active-passive-fund-debate-2014-08-15

Studies in the empirical literature on persistence in mutual fund performance provide fairly strong evidence of persistence in negative performance, but much weaker evidence of persistence in positive performance.

https://www.pensions-institute.org/reports/performance_persistence.pdf

Two things:
1. Buybacks decrease the amount of equity on a company's balance sheet and thus increase its leverage on a relative basis. The debt to equity level goes up, which can be dangerous if a company hits tough times as there may be debt covenants which require a certain debt to equity ratio: https://forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2018/05/20/buybacks-the-new-magic-beans/#43c29ae62dc2
2. Dividends are immediately taxed, which from the perspective of the government, is a good thing for raising revenue. A share buyback lets investors hold onto the gains forever if they choose without being taxed. That is good for investors, but bad from a society perspective, considering the massive tax break corporations just got to hopefully--miraculously really as far as phony trickle down eco is concerned--create more and better paying jobs. So eliminating the buyback would encourage companies to pay more dividends and allow the government to raise revenue to reinvest in the economy, support social programs, pay for our military, etc.

FYI: Share buybacks are turning into one of the more contentious issues in all of finance. I don’t think it matters nearly as much as some would have you believe but there are people in both finance and political realms who think buybacks are everything that is wrong with capitalism right now.
Bernie Sanders is the latest politician to voice his hatred for stock buybacks. I just think the law of unintended consequences is at play here and an outright ban of something like this would have outcomes some of these people aren’t thinking through.
Here’s my response in a recent Fortune piece.
Regards,
Ted
https://awealthofcommonsense.com/2019/10/dear-bernie-sanders-banning-buybacks-wont-help/

FYI:
The outflows from total long-term mutual funds have tempered for the two weeks ended October 16. While equity mutual funds posted negative flows of nearly $17 billion, bond mutual funds experienced around $10 billion in net inflows.
As a result, total long-term outflows were $8.5 billion the given the hybrid bonds also saw withdrawals. Domestic U.S. equities saw the highest amount of withdrawals along with multi-cap equities. On the other end of the spectrum were taxable and investment-grade bonds, which saw relatively high net inflows.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was very close to taking the U.K. out of the European Union by the October 31 deadline with a deal, but he lacked just a few votes in the British Parliament. As such, the European Union approved an extension of Britain’s exit until January 31, which could be instituted earlier if an agreement in the U.K. parliament is reached sooner. In another defeat for Johnson, the U.K. parliament rejected an early general election, although he is expected to try again.
Germany’s ZEW economic sentiment was largely unchanged in October at negative 22.5, the seventh negative consecutive month. Excluding April 2019, ZEW has not been positive since March 2018.
U.S. retail sales declined 0.3% in September, the first drop since May. Analysts had expected a rise of 0.3%. Core retail sales were down slightly by 0.1%, a figure not seen since April 2019.
Europe-wide manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) has been in contraction mode since January 2019. It was no surprise that the index came in at 45.7 in October, unchanged from the prior month.
Eurozone services PMI are still in expansion territory, although the expansion has been weak. The measure rose marginally from 51.6 to 51.8 – the weakest since 2014.
Eurozone has maintained its monetary policy unchanged at the last meeting presided by outgoing President Mario Draghi, who has been credited with saving the Eurozone at the height of the sovereign debt crisis in 2012. In his farewell address, Draghi said the monetary policy is losing some of its potency and called for fiscal support and deeper integration. Draghi will be replaced by Christine Lagarde, the former chief of the International Monetary Fund, on November 1.
Regards,
Ted
https://mutualfunds.com/news/2019/10/29/mutual-funds-scorecard-october-29-2019-edition/

And another list
https://www.morningstar.com/articles/321713/announcing-the-morningstar-fund-managers-of-the-decade
Bill Gross
Bruce Berkowitz
David Herro
2010
Things can change.

Good info, Thks for posting. A couple of observations - he says this is a list of 199 funds but it contains only 144 funds. EDIT - I see 24 load funds on the list END OF EDIT. Also the article says these funds beat the S&P 500 (by some unquantified amount) and their benchmarks but the list is just based on beating their benchmarks, which seems fairer than having to best both. The funds 10 year performance runs from BFOCX at 21.42%/yr compounded down to PVMIX at 13.56%/yr.
I would like to know each funds category. Sorting by how they have beaten their categories over the past 10 yrs, MWATX is on top (19.2%/yr), topping it’s category (roughly 13.2%/yr) by 6%/yr down to TWCIX (14.85%/yr) which beat its bogey by 0.17% /yr (a bogey of about 14.6%/yr).
I will say, I don’t think I own any of the funds, will have to chk. And I don’t think this list will change that. ;~))

A song title would be "Anywhere you want it, except."
Well, take you want from this proposed action(s).

Built it and they will come.....NAFTA, Version 2

Here is an interesting look at this topic that adds an average trailing earnings P/E ratio to the market peak chart. The article's author calculates that the current P/E ratio was about 10% above average at yesterday's market peak.

Here is the article's takeaway thought about current market conditions.

To me, this analysis suggests that the current earnings multiple with the market at an all-time high is fair to slightly elevated. Given still low rates and monetary accommodation and political capital being spent to forestall an economic downturn, the economy may once again manage to extend its historic expansion. High equity multiples, low interest rates, and perhaps slower earnings growth all suggest lower forward returns on average. I would expect market participants to continue to reprice the stage of the business cycle, which will create episodic volatility.

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4299923-p-e-ratios-market-peaks

FYI: U.S. stock index futures were lower Tuesday morning, amid the busiest week for earnings.
At around 0454 a.m. ET, Dow futures fell 40 points, indicating a negative open of more than 23 points. Futures on the S&P and Nasdaq were mixed.
Wall Street ended Monday’s session on a strong note after the S&P 500 hit a record high. Strong earnings and news of further progress in trade talks between the U.S. and China helped boosting prices.
Stocks ticked lower as investors look ahead to corporate earnings and fresh U.S. data for cues on the health of the global economy.
The Europe Stoxx 600 declined 0.4%, led by losses in financial services and the oil and gas sectors. U.S. stock futures linked to the S&P 500 index was mostly flat a day after the gauge hit a record.
Major U.S. businesses reporting Tuesday will include private-equity giant KKR, drugmaker Pfizer, food-manufacturer Kellogg, auto maker General Motors and financial-services firm Mastercard.
Investors with interests in U.K. assets will be watching Parliament closely again for Brexit developments Tuesday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is poised to try once more to secure an early general election on Dec. 12 to break the parliamentary deadlock over his divorce deal with the European Union.
The pound dropped 0.4% against the U.S. dollar, while the FTSE 250 index declined 0.4%.
Across Asian markets, the picture was more mixed, with the Nikkei 225 index up 0.5% while the Shanghai Composite gauge was down 0.9%.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.6% to $60.88 a barrel following data showing rising U.S. inventories Monday. Investors will look at American Petroleum Institute data due out later Tuesday
Regards,
Ted
WSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-slip-as-investors-look-ahead-to-earnings-11572341316
Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-28/asia-stocks-to-gain-after-u-s-record-bonds-drop-markets-wrap?srnd=premium
IBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/dow-jones-futures-google-stock-falls-beyond-meat-grubhub-dive-sp500-hits-high/
CNBC::
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/29/dow-futures-earnings-china-trade-talks-in-focus.html
Reuters:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-fed/three-peat-fed-copies-1990s-playbook-in-bid-to-avert-a-downturn-idUKKBN1X80EZ
U.K.
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/bp-pulls-down-uk-bluechips-as-brexit-uncertainties-mount-idUKKBN1X80T1
Europe:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/european-shares-take-a-breather-focus-shifts-to-fed-idUSKBN1X80T5
Asia:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-little-changed-as-investors-weigh-trade-war-developments-2019-10-28/print
Bonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/29/us-bonds-treasury-yields-tick-lower-amid-trade-optimism.html
Currencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/29/forex-markets-us-china-trade-war-federal-reserve-in-focus.html
Oil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/29/oil-markets-us-china-trade-war-in-focus.html
Gold:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/29/gold-markets-us-china-trade-talks-federal-reserve-in-focus.html
Cuirrent Futures:
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ THIS POST IS IN VIOLATION OF MFO POSTING STANDARDS ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
⇒ This post had only 13 views and no comments. It has been artificially "bumped" into the COMMENTS + CATEGORY by the poster himself, without legitimate qualifying comments.
The MFO administrators have repeatedly requested this poster to observe the MFO posting standards. His refusal to honor those requests indicates his lack of respect for those standards, MFO members, and management.

Hi Guys,
The debate over the persistence of fund manager performance greatly exceeds the persistence of their actual performance. Here is a paragraph that summaries the debate accurately:
“It’s no secret that investors often interpret past performance as evidence of manager skill and put their money to work accordingly. But risk-taking that paid off in the past may not continue to do so in the future. Luck—good or bad—may also influence past performance, but it’s fleeting. Many studies have analyzed the relationship between past and future performance and have generally found some evidence of performance persistence over short horizons. But there is less evidence that past performance can predict future performance over longer windows”.
This summary was lifted from the following Morningstar reference:
http://www.fwp.partners/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Performance-Persistence-Morningstar-2016.pdf
Change happens all the time, especially in the marketplace. Luck is a major factor and that is transient. Thank you for your excellent submittals.
Best Wishes

I am a past subscriber. The 2 biggest bad changes I see are:
1. The loss of the feature whereby one could compare year by year results of 2 or more funds
2. The loss of the feature whereby one could click and see the day's results of the stocks held within a fund
I can't imagine why they would have eliminated these 2 useful features.