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.
From Markets A.M. newsletter by Spencer Jakab.
On this day in 1914, with war raging in Europe, the New York Stock Exchange closed
and stayed shut for another four and a half months to allow the chaotic market to settle.
The following excerpt is from a book titled The Humble Investor
(Chapter 6: The Private Equity Bubble) published earlier this year.
The book's author, Daniel Rasmussen, is very skeptical regarding private equity.
“Private equity makes a beautiful p…
Looking into the rear-view mirror, it's abundantly clear that SPY and QQQ
have outperformed many other investments over the last 15 years or so.
It would be really commendable if the same "geniuses" who discovered these facts could leverage
their "v…
The Fed Whisperer was also a guest on tonight's episode of the PBS News Hour.
Jerome Powell:
“If we cut rates too soon, maybe we didn't finish the job with inflation.
There's — history is dotted with examples of that.
If you cut too late, then may…
"The poison that's being injected into America is going to remain in our bloodstream for generations."
Some of this nasty poison will unfortunately be of the "blood and soil" type.
From Markets A.M. newsletter by Spencer Jakab.
On this day in 1914, stock exchanges in Berlin, Rome, and Vienna were closed
as Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Investors panicked in New York:
General Motors shares plunged 34%, and Bethlehem…
From Markets A.M. newsletter by Spencer Jakab.
On this day in 1869, the New York Stock Exchange was formed from the merger of the New York Stock
& Exchange Board with the Open Board and the Government Board, where Treasury bonds were traded.
From WABAC's link:
"The fundamental problem facing individual investors in 1960
was that there were too many mutual-fund companies¹: over 250 of them."
How quaint!
According to the SEC, there were 8.49K mutual funds and 3.75K ETFs available in the…
@Sven,
Thanks for the list of highest-returning stocks YTD.
I wasn't paying close attention to stocks with the highest 2025 returns—the results surprised me.
The two Mag 7 stocks with the highest returns/rankings are:
Nvidia (29.20% - 48th)
Microsof…
There was a spirited discussion regarding the Epstein files
and associated events on the July 25th episode of Washington Week.
https://www.pbs.org/weta/washingtonweek/video/2025/07/washington-week-with-the-atlantic-full-episode-72525
"Think of it. AI + facial recognition. What a combination."
China has used facial recognition software (in conjunction with AI) for years to monitor it's citizens.
In January of this year, the Electronic Frontier Foundation drafted a memo to the T…
The Constitution grants Congress the power to levy tariffs.
Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose most of his tariffs.
From the CNBC article:
"IEEPA gives Trump some powers to deal with national emergencie…
#2 Here are the major details of the agreement:
Tariff rate: A 15% tariff will be imposed on most EU goods imported into the US, including automobiles, semiconductors, and pharmaceutical goods. This is a reduction from the previously threatened 3…
Trump attempted another distraction from the Epstein file inquiries.
He targeted Beyoncé, Oprah, and Kamala in the following 07/26 post on Truth Social.
The text below was copied verbatim—including exclamation points and all-caps.
Trump really does …
The Week in Charts (07/25/25)
The most important charts and themes in markets and investing, including:
00:00 Intro
00:54 Topics
02:15 Grumpy Consumer Keeps Spending
04:59 Dimon's Warnings vs. JPM's Reality
09:38 The 2% Inflation Myth
14:12 More Ta…
The quality of official U.S. economic data concerns 89 of 100 top policy experts according to a Reuters poll.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), an agency which compiles inflation and labor market data,
has experienced firings, resignations,…
Trump & Powell argue over Federal Reserve building renovation costs.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-trump-and-powell-argue-over-total-costs-of-federal-reserve-building-renovations
Trump visits Federal Reserve headquarters along with sidekick Tim Scott.
To no one's surprise, Trump suggests multiple times that Powell should cut rates.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-trump-visits-federal-reserve-as-he-pressure…
PE firms struggle to list holdings or find external buyers.
Some PE firms have resorted to selling assets from funds they manage to newer funds they also manage.
These so-called continuation funds accounted for 19% of all sales in the first half of …
“'The junior investigators and the trolls are still making a big deal about engine failure, software issues, FADEC problems. They're not part of the process,' Feith continues. The AAIB 'had a team of subject matter experts dissecting all of this in …
Let's not forget, Trump's proposed tariffs are still the highest tariffs since the 1930s.
U.S. companies selling imported goods (and/or using imported inputs),
importers, and consumers will bear the negative financial repercussions.
The subsequent i…
Speaking of Tulsi Gabbard...
"The U.S. Department of Justice said on Wednesday it was forming a strike force to assess recent claims
made by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard about 'alleged weaponization of the U.S. intelligence commu…
When a defamation case is brought against a "a newspaper, periodical, or other medium",
the defendant must be notified at least 5 days before the suit is filed according to Florida law.
It appears Trump did not comply with this law—like so many othe…
Oddly, D&C reportedly just added a skootch of international stocks to DODBX to help stabilize returns. Looks like a "skootch" is 15-20%. M* did something on the changes at DODBX a while ago, IIRC.
https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/dis…
Passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was fiscally irresponsible.
This will just add to our already huge national debt—estimated to be $36.65 T as of 7/18/2025.
Total public debt was 120.87% of GDP in Q1 2025.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/…
@catch22
Thanks for sharing the story about the A-TEAM.
Earlier this year, Florida Republicans introduced a bill to loosen child labor laws.
It would have eliminated restrictions on how late and how many hours 16 and 17 year-olds
can work while end…
Outperformance for U.S. or international stocks is cyclical and has lasted an average of 8 or 9 years.
Until recently, U.S. equities outperformed for approximately 14 years.
Earnings growth for U.S. companies was stronger than that of overseas compa…
An article I was reading this morning pointed out that the last time the Fed cut rates, long rates and mortgage rates went up. I haven't verified that. So if anyone has a correction . . . let me know.
The federal funds rate was cut by 100 BPS fro…
I support Israel but I think they're going too far. After the holocaust you would think they would see they're doing it themselves. I'm reading too many being killed trying to get food/aid.
I concur.
"Why would you need 1,000 federal employees to sift through 100,000 pages of Epstein files
just to find Trump’s name? You wouldn’t, unless the goal isn’t truth, but control of the narrative."
Exactly.
The goal here was never the truth—truth is inco…
