FYI:
Regards,
Ted
WSJ Slant:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-stock-futures-fall-on-growth-worries-1440073541
Bloomberg Slant:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-20/futures-indicate-s-p-500-to-fall-third-day-on-global-growth-fear-idk14t5h
Reuters Slant:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/20/us-markets-stocks-usa-idUSKCN0QP15320150820
MarketWatch Slant:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-point-to-third-day-in-the-red-2015-08-20/print
WSJ Markets At A Glance:
http://markets.wsj.com/us
Sector Tracker:
http://www.sectorspdr.com/sectorspdr/tools/sector-tracker
Current Futures: (Very Negative)
http://finviz.com/futures.ashx

While I feel for Lewinsky and think she was unfairly treated in the press, I think her speaking in this specific case is perhaps a missed opportunity. The financial world remains fairly sexist and imbalanced relative to the population. For instance, 51% of the population are women and they are often the financial decision makers in many households, yet only 23% of Certified Financial Planners are women: cfp.net/docs/about-cfp-board/cfp-board_win_web.pdf While Lewinsky may attract a certain prurient interest from members of the audience making jokes about her dress, it might be more valuable and instructive to have a successful woman financial adviser discuss the unique needs of female clients and why the financial world isn't as diverse as it should be. In fact, the linked paper presents a slew of top women CFPs who could've been more relevant as speakers for this particular occasion.

We will have a low interest rate environment for 5-8 years more.
In about 10 years we will have a VAT to deal with gov't deficits and interest on the debt which will keep interest rates low.
I'd say the only thing what will have large pricing power is apartment rent, homes. retail space in densely populated, health care and necessities such as gas, electric, food.

I hope you're wrong on the VAT, but you're probably not. It would not surprise me if we have a low interest rate environment for nearly another decade, but I sort of question whether that can be managed without something becoming disorderly.
I fully, fully agree with you on the pricing power statement. In terms of retail space, I kinda ponder warehouse space given continued rise of online shopping vs B & M, but high quality retail in dense areas is fine.

We will have a low interest rate environment for 5-8 years more.
In about 10 years we will have a VAT to deal with gov't deficits and interest on the debt which will keep interest rates low.
I'd say the only thing what will have large pricing power is apartment rent, homes. retail space in densely populated, health care and necessities such as gas, electric, food.

This.
"A Taylor-rule central banker may be convinced that lowering the central bank's nominal interest rate target will increase inflation. This can lead to a situation in which the central banker becomes permanently trapped in ZIRP. With the nominal interest rate at zero for a long period of time, inflation is low, and the central banker reasons that maintaining ZIRP will eventually increase the inflation rate. But this never happens and, as long as the central banker adheres to a sufficiently aggressive Taylor rule, ZIRP will continue forever, and the central bank will fall short of its inflation target indefinitely. This idea seems to fit nicely with the recent observed behavior of the world's central banks."
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-08-19/after-6-years-qe-and-45-trillion-balance-sheet-st-louis-fed-admits-qe-was-mistake
If they raise (say 50 basis points) only to drop it again, that to me is almost worse.

For those wanting more detail on some etf's and etn's that trade the Dog of the Dow or some type of strategy centered around it, I have provided the below link.
http://www.nasdaq.com/article/5-investor-friendly-dow-dog-etfs-for-2015-etf-news-and-commentary-cm430446

Sounds as though a mutual fund that utilizes this strategy along with a few other strategies mixed in might indeed be worth while to develop as a niche type fund that would be designed to complement a well diversified portfolio incorporating it with some special investment strategies.
It's ticker might become SPIFX meaning that it centers itself around certain S&P Indexes (S&P 500, S&P 400 & S&P 600) ... and, if X applies then it follows a certain mandate that incorporates the Sell In May Strategy along with perhaps a few other well known strategies such as the Dogs of the Dow and maybe some others mixed in like a thermostat strategy (CTFAX) in which if the S&P 500 Index falls a certain percent then it will increase its allocation to equities and and reduce its allocation to cash or bonds. Doing this would help diversify it away from a single investment strategy.
Heck, I'd probally invest in it as it would simplify things for me as I usually follow the Sell In May Seasonal Strategy with a small part (up to about 5% to 10%) of my equity allocation anyway. This strategy is not new and has been around for a good number of years and one that my late father utilized many, many years ago. And, even today the family still follows it within family portfolios. However, we usually switch stocks out for bonds or cash and vice versa. I currently use FDSAX to gain exposure to the Dogs of the Dow strategy as about one third of it's holdings come form the strategy.
In addition, my engineer buddy (that I made a post about a while back) utilizes a modified model of the Sell In May Strategy as he follows the calendar as a timing guide but uses technical analysis as to when to enter or exit the strategy over exact calendar dates. I have provided a link back to this discussion for those that would like to reference it. He also, utilizes a thermostat type strategy wherein if the S&P 500 Index drops a certain percent in what he believes is a mere pull back within a bull market he will reduce his cash and/or his bond position and raise his stock position.
http://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/22938/my-engineer-buddy-is-now-crowing-but-we-both-have-smiles#latest
Does anyone know of a mutual fund that currently employes a seasonal type trading strategy along with maybe a few other strategies mixed in such as the "Dogs of the Dow" and even a thermostat strategy to help diversify it away from one single strategy?
I'd most likely be a buyer of it if it's fee structure was reasonable as it would simplify things for me that I am currently already doing; but, this would put it in an auto mode for me and also get me away from having to follow the markets as closely as I currently do.

FYI: Investors are underpricing the chances of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates next month, according to Pacific Investment Management.
Regards,
Ted
http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20150819/FREE/150819896?template=printart

FYI: 'Sell in May from the overall market and gravitate toward the more defensive areas of the market,' says Sam Stovall.
Regards,
Ted
http://www.thinkadvisor.com/2015/08/17/sell-in-may-and-go-where?t=mutual-funds
Click On 3Mo. Returns:
http://www.sectorspdr.com/sectorspdr/tools/sector-tracker

FYI: DoubleLine Capital’s co-founder Jeffrey Gundlach says that investors are underestimating the potential impact of higher rates on the economy and across financial markets.
Regards,
Ted
http://blogs.barrons.com/focusonfunds/2015/08/19/king-of-bonds-gundlach-no-great-case-for-higher-rates/tab/print/

Since July 1 HYD rising; HYG falling - I hope that relationship continues. My guess is that people are looking for a safe haven.

Hi Guys,
Mario Joseph Gabelli is one smart stock picker. In many ways his research and style mimics the methods of Munger and Buffett. Here is a Link to a recent exchange he had on the 25iq website:
http://25iq.com/2015/06/13/a-dozen-things-ive-learned-from-mario-gabelli-about-investing-and-business-2/
Although Gabelli just might be the more better known, and just might be wealthier, he is not the original MJG. Since I’m 8 years older, if seniority rules dominate, I am.
More seriously, Gabelli demonstrated superior stock picking talents over a decade ago. His mutual funds generated positive Alphas in those decade old days. More recently, that apparent advantage has eroded.
Like so many other fund managers, that Alpha erosion might be caused by the changing investment environment. A decade ago, Gabelli and his cohorts were investing against opponents like you and me. Today, they are challenging each other since north of 70% of all trades are now between institutional investors. These talented and resourceful investment teams neutralize one another.
Is Gabelli worth his paycheck? My personal answer is “No”. Just like it would be if the question was asked about Big League ballplayers. But the marketplace has given another answer. So, I’ll just take a deep breath and move ahead.
Best Wishes.

I guess I just have a longer-term view and with MHG's hefty dividend policy (which, admittedly is risky and can go to 0% in a 2008-style situation), it's a risk I'm willing to take.
I believe I read the same report and honestly, I don't want to sit and trade on various formations. I feel strongly about a longer-term story and sit longer-term and collect dividends. I don't want to have to time the market.
http://www.barrons.com/articles/marine-harvest-shares-headed-higher-1432950653
(search for Marine Harvest Headed Higher Barrons if you can't read it after clicking link.)

Thanks Scott,
I came across this report on MHG...your thoughts? Today's price $12.22

Cargill buys Norwegian Salmon fish farm for $1.5B:
bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-17/hungry-fish-farms-lure-cargill-as-seafood-demand-grows
Closer to home, Aquaculture in Maine
Cooke Aquaculture:
cookeaqua.com/
eft FISN went defunct in 2012:
etftrends.com/2011/05/fishing-etf-will-investors-take-the-bait/

Near term numbers pretty poor, even spending some time as a Three Alarm Fund, but across the last two full cycles, pretty strong...the fund is also now part of AMG's stable:

FYI: Recent performance is lackluster, but many of these funds share an emphasis on quality and limiting downside losses.
Regards,
Ted
http://news.morningstar.com/articlenet/article.aspx?id=711918

JP Morgan finally got back to me today about my question about the fund's credit quality for bonds. They said that FINRA does not allow the use of average quality in any materials. "The calculation of this information is considered to be subjective," as stated in their reply. Therefore, they are unable to provide me with the credit quality information requested for the fund.
This seems to be a rather odd response.

I agree. I believe that their first statement (that credit ratings are considered by regulators to be subjective) is accurate, but that does not lead directly to the second statement - that they cannot provide credit information.
Rather, I think it leads to the statement that if they provide credit quality information, they must accompany it with how the portfolio was evaluated (e.g. using S&P ratings and dropping unrated bonds, or whatever).
Here's a page I found from UMB Fund Services. (A subsidiary of UMB, which Fidelity brokerage investors may recognize as the bank providing the checking services):

The SEC has a new rule effective July 7, 2014 ...

• Funds that choose to show credit quality categorizations ...
  
• Funds will be required to describe how the credit quality of the holdings was determined,
  and if credit ratings are used, a description of how they were identified and selected.

This is actually a good reason to own "many" funds. YAFFX is a focused fund. If you have 10% of your Portfolio in it, I can understand the need to sell. I have 3% of my IRA in it, well less now. I'm keeping it.