Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
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Sven
Lynn,
Thank you so much. I am planning on a 3-year ladder since I am a year away from retirement. Lots of spreadsheet work to calculate the income replacement needed. This ladder will create a steady income stream. So thank you for all your help.
I moved back to high quality bond funds this year. Some of which you covered in the SA article. For now, I will stay with agency bonds to the bond ladder. I will pick active managers for corporate bonds.
Sven
Agree that is a rare moment to see Vanguard models.
We have over-weighed international stock allocation relative to US since late 2024. Additionally we moved our bonds towards oversea in light of increased federal debt and treasury downgrade.
Thank you @yogibb. M* portfolio X-ray was useful when it was available for T. Rowe Price customers. These days it is available only for high net worth customers.
Fidelity brokerage offers a basic tool with limited capabilities.
Future market is down for Friday, August 1, 2025.
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx
So much wins as he sent out tariffs letters to many counties before the artificial August 1st deadline. Most notable countries are India 25%, Canada 35%, and Switze…
In my opinion bonds present better opportunities than that of stocks. For now i am comfortable with our asset allocation and this watching on the sideline.
@Mona, importing companies can either absorb the added tariffs (impact their earning) or pas…
From LizAnn Sonder’s interview, she expects the tariff will lower the earning growth, slows the economy, and the higher import prices get pass onto the consumers. The declining USD against other major currencies may be another factor.
youtube.com…
Data centers require lots of water for cooling purposes in addition to electricity. The western states are having another dry years. Are there more sustaining ways to operate these data centers ?
Thank you, @Observant1. It was an excellent interview, and LizAnn answered many questions with much details.
Here is 2025 best performing stocks in S&P 500, and they are not the Magnificat 7.
https://slickcharts.com/sp500/performance
Edits:…
Think of it. AI + facial recognition. What a combination.
The Jason Bourne films showed the surveillance capability in order to identify and track individuals in various locations. Today, the AI used by FBI can identify individuals who is wearing…
From Hank’s link. It is lope-sided in favor of Japan’s auto industry.
The new deal includes access for American cars in Japan, but that isn’t much of a carrot. American companies sold only 16,000 cars in Japan, a mere 0.35% of that country’s tota…
This is a diversion tactics to avoid the Epstein’s files. This is the real thing that potentially can brings down this administration. .
Edit: what is known of Trump in the public space is simply creepy. John Dean of Nixon administration once s…
Trump’s lawsuit against Bob Woodward’s book just got dismissed.
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5409559-trumps-long-stalled-suit-against-bob-woodward-dismissed/
NBC provided more legal details.
The defendants had argued that federa…
Thanks @Observant1. I searched earlier to find a non-subscription version, but did not find the MSN. Often, tables and data plots are missing in the free version.
John Stewart's Daily Show may get axed too.
https://nypost.com/2025/07/18/entertainment/jon-stewart-on-possible-daily-show-cancellation-after-stephen-colbert-axe/
Executive Order coming to allow private-equity in 401k
How would Vanguard, for example, folds private equity in 401(k) plan? Being one of the fund within the Target date funds or their LifeStrategy funds ?
@davidrmoran, thank you for sharing this piece from NYT. Today China is a frenemy to US in all aspect of high tech and drug manufacturing. They should not viewed as a low cost manufacturers of cheap goods back in the 80's. Take a look at the smart…
@Old_Joe, so true, just before the market collapsed. Took several years for us to fully recovered. Only asset stay afloat was cash, but we had a small allocation.
CME FedWatch indicated 97,4% probability the rate stay unchanged at 4.25-4.50%.
https://cmegroup.com/markets/interest-rates/cme-fedwatch-tool.html
Next Fed meeting is in September. Will see where the inflation will headed.
The Guardian articl…
One can link their bank account to their 529 plans online. The 529 plan site needs the bank routing and checking numbers. We set it up for monthly investment and buying/selling. It should not take months…
Vanguard products, index funds, are widely…
States are neither have the budget and manpower to handle natural disasters. That is what Federal government is for. Interesting how Gov. Abbott spin it as over 200 dead and counting. Hurricane season is upon the southeast, and that would be a mess…
We have just plain Citibank credit cards, and they accept ACH payment for many years. We generally pay in full two weeks ahead of the due date. June’s Citi Visa bill was paid and confirmed via ACH on the same day.
We avoid CC with special rewards…
This month Professor Snowball provided a very thoughtful commentary on the topic AI. References cited within the articles provide additional insights.
https://mutualfundobserver.com/2025/07/july-1-2025/#more-20680
https://cacm.acm.org/blogcacm/a-…
Thanks to tariffs, food prices and many retail items are creeping up. These days I don’t see big TV flying of the shelves at Costco or Best Buy. Dining in restaurants are reporting falling sales, and some are going bankrupt. At what point when th…
My kids never took formal touch typing and they too type with 2 fingers. Boy, are they fast. They learn to adopt pretty well. Texting fast with 2 thumbs is something to see.
@catch22, I have had similar experience to yours learning to type in high school. It was a life long skills that helpful me to get through college and everything I do today. I even learn to type with my thumbs pretty well on my phone. Who say you c…
@DrVenture, thank you for sharing. The falling dollar since Dec 2024 was concerning when it fallen 9% YTD. The question of whether the dollar remains as the world last resort have been brought up several times. The last downgrade by Moody due to …
@AndyJ, sorry if I address your question appropriately. Having decent returns is only one metric that investors should considered. The expense ratio of Pimco’s institutional shares is over 2%.
PAANX, YTD 7.1% with ER 2.92%
PAUNX, TTD 7.9% with E…
