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.
The Week in Charts (03/14/25)
The most important charts and themes in markets and investing, including:
00:00 Intro
00:35 Topics
01:56 There Will Be Blood
13:25 Don't Rule Out a Comeback
19:08 Fear Is Good
26:13 Why You Diversify
35:50 Easing Infl…
Fourteenth Amendment
Section 1
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shal…
Targeted tariffs implemented strategically might be beneficial.
Trump's on-again, off-again tariffs applied capriciously to friends and foes alike are absurd.
He is not capable of implementing tariffs responsibly.
Congress should repeal the Interna…
Tesla EVs were appealing to many left-leaning, environmentally-conscious consumers.
Musk alienated much of Tesla's customer base since he went all in on right-wing politics.
His capricious DOGE actions surely have not helped in this regard.
Prices f…
Wall Street Fears Trump Will Wreck the Soft Landing
https://www.wsj.com/economy/trump-team-recession-hard-landing-c8f23d5d?st=GM8Dkw&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
From Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American:
"Trump is 'steering the country toward a downturn with his tariffs and cuts to spending and the federal workforce—for no logical reason,' Washington Post economic reporter Heather Long wrote o…
"If the OP was not prepared for disagreement with Zweig's anodyne advice
then the thread should have been placed here to begin with."
I don't have an issue with anyone who disagrees with Zweig's advice.
Everyone can invest as they see fit (hopefull…
Costco eggs yesterday: $14+ per dozen.
I knew egg prices were high but this is crazy!
I wasn't aware eggs became this expensive since I usually have cereal for breakfast.
The thread was created to potentially prevent some folks
from making rash investing decisions influenced by politics.
Remember when Barrack Obama was elected and some of his detractors dumped their stock positions?
Subsequent returns were much lower…
Here's a link for those who do not have a WSJ subscription.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/top-stocks/the-mounting-case-against-u-s-stocks/ar-AA1ADpKO
"Electing an ignorant, narcissist president and spineless supplicants to control Congress has real consequences. Tragically, the ones most affected will be the most vulnerable Americans."
Yep, I agree with the author's conclusion.
I assumed West Loop was a reference to Chicago before
finding the sub-advisor's office address in the prospectus.
West Loop in this instance references a segment of I-610
which loops around Houston's inner core.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inters…
Cliff Asness discusses the lack of mark-to-market valuations and its implications.
https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2bstqfcskz9o72ospzlds/opinion/why-does-private-equity-get-to-play-make-believe-with-prices
How many people will needlessly die due to the actions of this megalomaniac?
Trump's supporters are wont to rebuke critique by stating elections have consequences.
Yes, this statement is indeed true!
Chickens will come home to roost for much of the …
Private equity (PE) investments don't belong within 401(k) plans.
They are illiquid and difficult to properly value.
Furthermore, PE is often riskier and considerably more expensive than public market investments.
While some PE funds have generated …
"i wish they (wellington) would get rid of the high-yield mandate and had the flexibility to move
wider across credit\duration space as they see opportunities."
VWALX has considerably less exposure to below investment-grade bonds than true High Yie…
The Week in Charts (03/07/25)
The most important charts and themes in markets and investing, including:
00:00 Intro
00:19 Free Wealth Path Analysis
01:22 Topics
02:25 The End of a Historic Uptrend
06:04 There Will Be Drawdowns
11:04 A Sentiment Sh…
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's, discusses tariffs on the PBS New Hour this evening.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/as-trump-delays-tariffs-on-mexico-and-canada-businesses-brace-for-repercussions
As others have mentioned, Europe has underperformed for a very long time.
European (and international) stocks are cheap and have low expectations.
European/international stocks may outperform the U.S. if the low expectations are surpassed.
The Felonious Skunk™ has avoided prosecution for several serious crimes (e.g., Jan.6, classified docs).
His lust for power/greed is exerting severe stress to our system of checks and balances.
Felonious Skunk™ displayed enormous hubris in his addres…
Way too long, way too partisan, and way too much BS.
Trump is a pathological liar.
Thanks for the link to NPR's fact check!
Pride cometh before the fall...
@FD1000,
You provided a link to an article published by The Washington Free Beacon.
Assuming that you are genuinely concerned about factual reporting and political bias,
selecting distinguished media sources would facilitate the acquisition of accu…
"But there are tons of manufactured AAA tranches of securitized credit. Basically, an average rated portfolio can be sliced-and-diced in tranches of AAA, AA, A, BBB,...,equity tranche. Wall Street collects fees from this too, so they love securitize…
"Are these items what are broadly called 'Securitized' in bond funds. Like 21.93 % in VBMFX?
Or a whopping 49.40% of the highly regarded Dodge and Cox Income Fund."
The Dodge & Cox Income prospectus from 12/31/2024 indicates 48.7% of total as…
This sounds perfectly logical.
Slap massive tariffs on all countries which utilize the metric system.
It's a sure-fire way to dramatically increase government revenue! ;-)
Leader of Free World
There is currently a lot of uncertainty in the markets.
I surely don't know what will transpire in the near-term.
I may increase my bond/cash holdings slightly since I'm approaching retirement.
Otherwise, it's business as usual...
"In recent weeks, President Donald Trump and Musk have claimed the discovery of massive fraud within Social Security, which pays benefits to about 69 million retired and disabled Americans and their eligible dependents and survivors. Those reports—i…
"Morningstar's Manager Research analysts assign Parent ratings to more than 100 of the 150 largest firms
in the US. Only 10 of them earn our greatest conviction and are awarded a High Parent rating."
"Analysts consider a variety of factors in thei…
@Crash
Have you tried the MSN link WABAC posted above?
Works for me...
Edit/Add:
"Shown above are the rankings for 2024 and 5 years (all #1 to #5, then only selected families).
There are also tables for 10 years and for each category - 5 best and …
"Barron’s has conducted its annual survey of fund families for more than 20 years,
focusing on one-year performance across a range of actively managed funds for its primary ranking."
"Because the Best Fund Families results are asset-weighted,
firm…
Dr. Craig Spencer (referenced in OP) was a guest on the PBS News Hour this evening.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/doctor-who-survived-ebola-highlights-risks-of-musks-funding-cuts
Thanks, YBB.
I think durable poor sentiment may cause reduced consumer spending.
We'll see what happens to sentiment/consumer spending in the months ahead...
