@rono That's incorrect. You can sell crypto on Paypal and receive the funds via check or direct deposit in your account. Their intention is that you use crypto at their merchants. But they do not prevent you from withdrawing. https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/article/FAQ4396
@catch22 for my experiment- I chose an inefficent vehicle - Paypal.
Pros:
It's easy to buy and sell via the app.
It's easy to direct deposit funds into and out of Paypal.
No need for a wallet. They are responsible for keeping your wallet and security.
Cons:
The spread is too wide.
Price seems too high on Bitcoin vs. selling price.
You cannot set limit orders
The pricing and fees are not as transparent as they should be.
You don't have your own wallet.
It takes a little effort to cash out
Coinbase or eToro are probably the preferred way to buy and sell ... until things like this happen: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/morgan-stanley-set-to-offer-wealthy-clients-access-to-bitcoin-funds-report-11615998321

“The Federal Reserve on Wednesday sharply ramped up its expectations for economic growth but indicated that there are no interest rate hikes likely through 2023 despite an improving outlook and a turn this year to higher inflation.”
What I found interesting was the reaction of gold. Languishing in negative territory most of the day, it bounced like a ping-pong ball on the Fed release around 2:00. Last check it was up $14 at around $1745. Gold’s been firming in recent days after a poor beginning of year. Until recently rising interest rates had hurt gold. In recent days that trend reversed.
Why watch gold? Because it reflects, to some extent, observers’ views of future inflation and also whether prevailing “real” interest rates will be positive or negative.
Looks like equities also bounced on the Fed release.
I thought Powell looked very uncomfortable at the news conference - esp when asked to explain how expected inflation could be only “transitory.” Hum ... ?
STORY
Apparently, the Fed expects to leave the overnight lending rate unchanged through 2023. No wonder the metals jumped.

Can’t take much more of Grantham - be he right or wrong. Bloomberg continues to re-air that interview weeks after it first appeared. However, I have the greatest respect for economist Henry Kaufman (whom those over 60 may remember). When Louis Rukeyser selected “three of the most influential financial voices of the past quarter century” for his show’s 25th Anniversary program in 1995, Kaufman was among the 3 guests (the other 2 being Sir John Templeton and Peter Lynch).
Extended excerpt from Randal Forsyth’s always first-rate colum appearing in this week’s Barrons’s (March 15, 2021):
Dr. Doom’s Latest Warning ...
“Henry Kaufman earned that moniker in the 1970s and 1980s as the hugely influential chief economist of Salomon Brothers, then the reigning bond kings of Wall Street. Along with his fellow nonagenarian ... former Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan, Kaufman is back issuing jeremiads about the current state of the financial and economic world. .... In a speech on Wednesday evening to the National Economists Club (Kaufman asserted) that financial innovations, such as securitization, have mainly spurred an explosion of debt, much of it for speculative purposes.
“As the quantity of credit has exploded, its quality has fallen, Kaufman continued. As with everything else, globalization and technology also have transformed financial markets. Deregulation fundamentally changed the structure of the financial worlds from the era of clear divides between commercial and investment banking and government-set interest-rate caps. Regulation has been insufficient to balance ‘entrepreneurship and fiduciary responsibility,’ he added, which was checked when Wall Street firms were partnerships, with partners’ net worth on the line, a concept that is being rediscovered by some academics.”
Other take-aways from the article:
- Kaufman’s remarks re corporate bond liquidity are very incisive. (He doesn’t think there is much).
- He notes an alarming concentration of financial wealth / influence in a very few “too big to fail” institutions.
- His remarks re the Treasury and the Federal Reserve being “joined at the hips” are telling.
- The article’s overall take-away is that Kaufman, who previously called the bond bull market, now sees a reversal of the trend leading to a long term bear market in bonds. I’d have to re-read the article again, but I think he sees inflation increasing and stocks stagnating or falling as a result.
Disclosure: Kaufman recently published a book on the topic.
You might be able to access the article with the following link. If not, the magazine’s a great value at almost any price - ISTM.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Barrons March 2021 Dr. Dooms Warning&ia=web

Start 5 years prior to retirement...
Link to Presentation (Audio / Video):
webinar-replay/the-ultimate-pre-retirement-checklist
Presentation PDF:
The Checklist

The Boy Who Cried Bubble

Based on his words, Grantham is predicting that U.S. stocks will be below where they were in the summer of 2020 at “some future date”. When Grantham penned this prediction (January 5, 2021), the Dow was at 30,200. The lowest the Dow got during the summer 2020 was about 25,100 (17% lower than 30,200).
This means that Grantham was calling for at least a 17% (or larger) correction at some point in the future. If we picked a random trading day since 1915, what’s the probability that the Dow would be down 17% (or more) at some point in its future?
53%.
Grantham’s prediction is no better than a coin flip. How’s that for intellectually demanding?

Nick Maggiulli Article:
the-boy-who-cried-bubble

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/t-rowe-price-launches-first-impact-fund-301249406.html
T. Rowe Price Global impact Equity Fund
The fund will be aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), a globally recognized framework designed to end poverty, ensure prosperity, and protect the planet.
The fund will be managed by Hari Balkrishna. Mr. Balkrishna has 15 years of investment industry experience, including the last decade at T. Rowe Price. From 2015 until the end of last year, he was Associate Portfolio Manager of the firm's Global Growth Equity Strategy. Having lived and worked on five continents, Mr. Balkrishna has a keen understanding of the many different social systems around the world and he is personally passionate about addressing climate change.
The fund will employ an all-capitalization, high-conviction approach, typically owning between 55 and 85 securities, focused on those that Mr. Balkrishna believes will create positive environmental and social impact, along with attractive returns, over a long-term time horizon.
As with other T. Rowe Price strategies, the fund will draw upon the firm's global equity research platform, comprising 203 equity research analysts, 10 sector portfolio managers, and 73 regional and diversified portfolio managers. In addition, the fund will tap the deep expertise of the firm's Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) experts and responsible investing research analysts as well as its proprietary Responsible Investing Indicator Model (RIIM), a database detailing how more than 15,000 securities measure up against established environmental and social parameters.
The net expense ratio for the Investor Class shares (Ticker: TGPEX) is 0.94% and the minimum initial investment is $2,500.
The net expense ratio for the I Class shares (Ticker: TGBLX) is 0.79% and the minimum initial investment is $1 million.
FUND DETAILS
The fund will be aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), a globally recognized framework designed to end poverty, ensure prosperity, and protect the planet.
The fund will be managed by Hari Balkrishna. Mr. Balkrishna has 15 years of investment industry experience, including the last decade at T. Rowe Price. From 2015 until the end of last year, he was Associate Portfolio Manager of the firm's Global Growth Equity Strategy. Having lived and worked on five continents, Mr. Balkrishna has a keen understanding of the many different social systems around the world and he is personally passionate about addressing climate change.
The fund will employ an all-capitalization, high-conviction approach, typically owning between 55 and 85 securities, focused on those that Mr. Balkrishna believes will create positive environmental and social impact, along with attractive returns, over a long-term time horizon.
As with other T. Rowe Price strategies, the fund will draw upon the firm's global equity research platform, comprising 203 equity research analysts, 10 sector portfolio managers, and 73 regional and diversified portfolio managers. In addition, the fund will tap the deep expertise of the firm's Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) experts and responsible investing research analysts as well as its proprietary Responsible Investing Indicator Model (RIIM), a database detailing how more than 15,000 securities measure up against established environmental and social parameters.
The net expense ratio for the Investor Class shares (Ticker: TGPEX) is 0.94% and the minimum initial investment is $2,500.
The net expense ratio for the I Class shares (Ticker: TGBLX) is 0.79% and the minimum initial investment is $1 million.

This link is directed to ARKG, the bio-med, genomic related etf. The short write contains a podcast. While some may consider this is an info-mercial for ARK; education is within the discussion.
We've had interest, in particular related to CRISPR; for several years. Anyway, if you're interested; have a listen as your time allows.
Another area we've been following is Nanobot technology, and in particular the use of these within the body. There are numerous video presentations to be found for a better understanding. Nanotech, broad search link. At this link you may select the "videos" tab, too.

Wasn't there a scene in The Gambler where Goodman tells Wahlberg...any f'idiot knows if you get up $2.5MM you walk away and get a house with a 25 year roof, buy a Jap, econo, sheet box and take your 3-5%/yr to pay your taxes and bills and then you can say F-you. Your boss pisses you off, F-you, someone tells you to do something you don't want to do, F-you...
Something like that. Stop playing the game if you've won.
Who knows right?
Baseball Fan

@davidmoran in this economy... with the wealth of investment choices... Why.... “have a lot of money earning zero too”?
That’s not criticism ... I’m trying to learn what I don’t know. I’m looking out for a family member and asking the same questions... re investments and this market and conditions we are in.
YTD S&P 500 is up 5.50%

Tell me about it. Don't I know it. I will be interested in your own responses to your own questions.
Where if anywhere will you put spare moneys? Where should I put moneys now which I will not need for a few years (not a decade, but not 3-4y either)?
50-50 VTIP (GTO, MINT) and VONV (VONE, CAPE)? BND and BIV are down. Something additional into ARK and QQQ? Maybe.
Shiller p/e is close to 36, higher than it has ever been since the Y2k peak-plunge. Each week it goes higher. I coulda written this post, and believe I did, any month of the last 8 or so. We are 2/3 out of market for the last 10mos. In some sense we have enough and are being prudent in retirement. Otoh my wife, not just me, would like to have, or have had, the several hundred thou we 'missed', if I had stayed the course and done nothing.

Here Are 8 Floating-Rate Bond ETFs to Limit Risk as Treasury Yields Climb
By Alexandra Scaggs
March 16, 2021 8:00 am ET
Treasury yields have been rising, and that has led to losses in fixed-rate bonds.
Treasury yields have been rising, and that has led to losses in fixed-rate bonds.
https://www.barrons.com/articles/here-are-8-floating-rate-bond-etfs-to-limit-risk-as-treasury-yields-climb-51615860735
Fixed-income investors are in a tough spot. Treasury yields have been rising, and that has led to losses in fixed-rate bonds. But Treasury prices haven’t sold off enough yet to make those bonds attractive as a source of yield....
FLOT
BKLN Invesco Senior Loan ETF
SRLN SPDR Blackstone Senior Loan
FLRN SPDR Bloomberg Barclays Investment Grade Floating Rate ETFPassiveFloating-rate investment grade corporate and government
FTSL First Trust Senior Loan FundActiveLeveraged
VRP Invesco Variable Rate Preferred
FLTR VanEck Vectors Investment Grade Floating Rate
VRIG Invesco Variable Rate Investment Grade
COUPLE CEFs /vehicles (ideas) fight off inflation. Anyone use or have experiences with these hedges?

@davidmoran in this economy... with the wealth of investment choices... Why.... “have a lot of money earning zero too”?
That’s not criticism ... I’m trying to learn what I don’t know. I’m looking out for a family member and asking the same questions... re investments and this market and conditions we are in.
YTD S&P 500 is up 5.50%

Only 8 percent... on a total of now $750.00 invested in Bitcoin. But I have a whole $1,000 that I’m playing with in Bitcoin. A week or so ago, I was up 15 percent and before that 20 but my entry point was better.
My experiment is... can I keep investing and selling and using house money to make a huge profit in the volatility of Bitcoin? Hint: There are patterns with how it trades.
Plus... will it go higher as more Institutional investors (Fidelity?) pile in or more Corporations invest? I would love it if we all benefitted.

@bee no... it was a good share by you. You have great shares. I was just referencing @WABAC post as it was a good one.
https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/57831/why-do-you-still-own-bond-funds#latest
By @WABAC

So I’m still DCA into Bitcoin and because I DCA recently... I’m only up 8 percent YTD... but here’s a story worth reading. “Bitcoin is a fad... knee jerk reaction”
https://www.coindesk.com/billionaire-investor-howard-marks-warming-to-bitcoin
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/billionaire-investor-howard-marks-says-his-initial-dismissal-of-bitcoin-was-a-knee-jerk-response-11615923111

Doesn't make sense in my tax bracket, I think. (10% bracket.) But I hold munis along with other flavors of bonds in my 3 bond funds. I am glad to hear a vote of confidence about PTIAX from @AndyJ, just lately. The others are PRSNX and RPSIX. Which gives me:
PTIAX. 42.12% munis. (today's yield is 3.84)
PRSNX. 4.65%. (current yield = 3.03)
RPSIX. merely 0.24%. (yield is 2.83)
...And the balanced funds: BRUFX = 0 in munis.
PRWCX. = 1.47%.
Yields on my funds have gone UP lately, not down.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/etf-named-fomo-targets-everything-155014963.html
Here article on yahoo
Thankyou
Enjoy

https://www.google.com/amp/s/finance.yahoo.com/amphtml/news/munis-become-refuge-bond-market-173125206.html
Munis Become Refuge From Bond Market Losses With Yields Falling
Fola Akinnibi
(Bloomberg) -- America’s municipal bonds are proving to be a haven for fixed-income investors.
Even as speculation about resurgent economic growth drove up yields on corporate bonds and Treasuries this month -- saddling investors with losses -- tax-exempt debt moved in the opposite direction. Benchmark municipal-bond yields have dropped so far in March, delivering investors a return of 0.72%, according to the Bloomberg Barclays index.---
Anyone thinking adding more MUB.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/795384/000174177321000684/c497.htm
497 1 c497.htm
T. Rowe Price California Tax-Free Money Fund
T. Rowe Price New York Tax-Free Money Fund
Supplement to Prospectuses and Summary Prospectuses Dated July 1, 2020
On March 8, 2021, the Board of Directors of the T. Rowe Price State Tax-Free Funds, Inc. approved a plan of reorganization pursuant to which the California Tax-Free Money Fund and New York Tax-Free Money Fund (each a “Fund”) will each transfer substantially all of their respective assets and liabilities to the T. Rowe Price Tax-Exempt Money Fund (the “Acquiring Fund”) in exchange for the corresponding share class of equal value of the Fund (each a “Reorganization”).
Each Reorganization is subject to approval by the respective Fund’s shareholders. Each Fund’s shareholders at the close of business on May 31, 2021, the “record date,” will be eligible to vote on the proposed Reorganization for their Fund. It is anticipated that proxy materials and voting instructions will be mailed to shareholders of record at the end of June, and a special joint shareholder meeting is expected to be held on August 11, 2021. Detailed information regarding each proposed Reorganization and the Acquiring Fund will be provided in the proxy materials. If the proposal for each Fund is approved by a majority of the Fund’s shareholders on August 11, 2021, each Reorganization is expected to close on or around August 23, 2021, at which point each Fund’s shareholders will receive shares of the corresponding share class of the Acquiring Fund representing the same total value as their shares of their Fund on the business day immediately preceding the closing. Each Reorganization is not a taxable event, but redeeming or exchanging shares of the Fund prior to the Reorganization may be a taxable event depending on your individual tax situation.
Following each Reorganization, the shares of the Acquiring Fund received by each Fund will be distributed to the respective Fund’s shareholders in complete liquidation of the Fund. Each Fund and the Acquiring Fund have same portfolio manager and similar performance history. The Funds differ from the Acquiring Fund in that each Fund invests primarily in municipal securities within their respective named-state and maintain an investment objective that requires 80% of its income to be exempt from their respective state taxes. The Acquiring Fund does not focus on specific state or municipal securities or tax exemptions. In addition, the Acquiring Fund does not permit investments subject to the alternative minimum tax (“AMT”), whereas the Funds allow for 20% of their income to be derived from securities subject to the AMT. Please refer to the proxy materials for more information about the differences between each Fund and the Acquiring Fund. To allow for potentially greater economies of scale and to reduce inefficiencies resulting, the Funds and the Acquiring Fund’s Boards of Directors unanimously determined that (i) participation in the transactions is in the best interest of shareholders of each Fund and the Acquiring Fund and (ii) the interests of existing shareholders of each Fund will not be diluted as a result of the transactions.
In anticipation of each Reorganization, subject to shareholder approval of the applicable Reorganization on August 11, 2021, each Fund will close to new accounts and will no longer accept purchases of additional shares from existing shareholders on August 13, 2021.
The date of this supplement is March 16, 2021.
G26-041 3/16/21

Save...often
irs-announces-2021-retirement-plan-contribution-limits-for-401ks-and-more

The duration for long-term bonds (VBLAX), a measure of how sensitive prices are to interest rates, is 15. An oversimplified way to think about this is a 1% rise in rates would lead to a further 15% decline from here. Yikes.
Vanguard’s total bond fund, which goes back to 1987, has a maximum decline of just 7.8%. It fell 5% on two other occasions. That’s it. In the words of Rocky Balboa, “ain’t so bad.”
As I’ve said a hundred times, a bad year for bonds is a bad afternoon for stocks. Unless it’s long-term bonds. Then a bad year can be horrible, especially if rates continue to rise.

https://theirrelevantinvestor.com/2021/03/15/aint-so-bad-2/