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.
Nice setup @Old_Joe. I should look into something similar. Heat with propane here. A 500 gallon "pig" on the property. So would be easy to power a generator with it. I have a 25 year old Honda gas only generator. Damn things don't wear out becau…
Appreciate all the comments. Glad you're warm and safe @catch22. Nasty across the state.
I forgot to mention earlier that several hours of freezing rain preceded the snow event. That, combined with high winds, is what knocked out power. Was real…
Hank,
That's quite a storm!
Be careful out there.
Thanks @Observant1 / Grateful for whatever lineman ventured out in this storm to restore power. Do have a generator - but limited amount of fuel on hand.
Got bored after selling all my stocks. Started new basket today called FD1000. (Guaranteed not to lose money). 40% BRK-B / 20% each AJG, KR, NSRGY / A smallish amount. For comparison purposes: less than a 4-5 day trip to NYC with travel, enterta…
18" since midnight. Constant 40-45 mph winds off the lake with gusts to 55. Lost power several hours but on now. Playing with the blower will have to wait until tomorrow.
Zip code 14731, An hour south of Buffalo: I DO NOT miss it:
WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM MONDAY TO 1 AM EST FRIDAY...
* WHAT...Heavy snow expected. Total snow accumulations 1 to 2 feet. Winds gusting as high as 65 mph creating b…
"The beer went flat in minutes from the cold."
I'm tempted to say "wrong beverage". Friend and I would take a pint of brandy along. Have a few drinks, cut a few holes in the ice, catch a couple fish and after an hour head to the local tavern where …
Dire forecast for our Western Michigan region (along Lake Michigan's northeastern shoreline). Will try to get as much running around as possible done today. May be snowbound Monday & Tuesday.
Portions of NWS Warning:
"Winter Storm Warning, …
Thanks @Sven. Years ago a neighbor died from a heart attack while shoveling his car out of snow. Yes, FWD cars do a lot better than RWD in winter. Just don't make the mistake I once did of mounting snow tires only on the front of a FWD vehicle. Pl…
Thanks @Mark. I looked at the SAI for PRMTX. Just a bunch of legal gibberish and the same SAI is applicable to approximately 200 different TRP funds.
Next I looked at the (most recent) June 2025 Semi-Annual Report for PRMTX and it was devoid of com…
Is it possible to pull up manager commentary for this and other funds? ISTM the SEC no longer allows such commentary in funds' Semi-Annual and Annual Reports. If true, where might one look instead? I used to find them invaluable.
Glad I didn't short gold a couple months back when I was thinking of it. The latest surge reminds me of an early 80s porn flick - but I won't go there.
If I can find that old 1 ounce silver bullion coin rolling around in the junk drawer I'll att…
NYC Bracing for Heaviest Snowfall in Years
2 PM - "New York’s major airports are experiencing severe disruptions due to a powerful winter storm, which has caused hundreds of flight cancellations and delays. The National Weather Service has warned o…
"The most common way thieves drain money from gift cards is by shoplifting them from supermarkets
and other retailers and then manipulating the package to steal the card information.
The compromised cards are then placed back in stores, and the stol…
The popping of bubbles is exceedingly rare. They can occur in virtually any asset or market sector and have been known to occur in real estate, junk bonds, stocks and tulip bulbs among other things. Their existence are so difficult to identify that …
Your thinking is sound @bee in considering converting to a Roth a fund you believe is temporarily lagging and which you believe will eventually make up lost ground. Translated: tax-free gain. As to this particular fund? I have 0 insights. Personall…
Article length too short to allow a really deep dive into any single area. Is "does not own" same as "has never owned"? Doubt that. Perhaps this is intended as some type of disclaimer since she's a M* employee and feels a need to come clean ...
…
And @hank has stopped buying it:
@hank said,
40-50 years ago I couldn't get enough JB. Can't stand it today.
One wonders - Has Beam's quality diminished over the last half century? I did pick up a few samplers a month or so ago. One "on the rock…
Very educational thread. Thank you to all who answered my query. FWIW I did move out of JAAA and into PAAA during a major reshuffle yesterday. M* agrees with @msf that PAAA adheres to slightly higher credit quality and speaks highly of its experien…
LOL "The Golden Fleet"
He does have a curious fascination with yellow. Unfortunately a genuine gold fleet would be very heavy, wouldn't you think, and sink to the bottom?
It's getting cartoonish folks.
They (the 3 majors) are all afraid and have curtailed anything critical of Trump. He has threatened to jerk their licenses and has insulted their correspondents in live settings (ie - the "Piggy" remark). PBS continues to tell it like it is. I do…
It could be that Americans are drinking less and so have become more discerning and less price conscious in what they buy. Good scotch will run you 3X as much, if not more. 40-50 years ago I couldn't get enough JB. Can't stand it today. Some o…
Just unloaded all of the BARF basket. While it had gained nearly 4% in the 5 or 6 weeks owned, that largely offset some earlier losses in a couple of the holdings - notably AJG & CZR. All in all a "wash." My cash position increased from 15.5% t…
"For those Scotch drinkers, has your purchases gone sky high due to tariffs?"
I think some local retailers have used tariffs as an excuse to jack up prices the past few months. Michigan sets a minimum price for every spirit which retail can't go b…
Sold entire "HEDGE" basket (10 holdings / 15.5% portfolio) and moved proceeds into a new position in NLSAX. The basket had held up well in the 4-5 months since initiated. Included 2 inverse funds (both down) + TAIL along with MSGS which had gaine…
Good point by @msf re pools of mortgages. You or I might not receive an AAA bond rating by ourselves no matter how responsible we are. But a pool including our mortgage along with thousands of others of the same creditworthiness might.
This Lord…
Unable to access the Vontabel piece: "The page you are looking for is not available to your investor type, region or IP address." Could be my VPN which I haven't figured out how to switch off in IOS 26 short of deleting the security app responsible…
Thanks @msf - a lot to try and digest.
From the Guggenheim piece,
"CLOs are governed by a series of coverage tests that measure the adequacy of the collateral balance and the cash flows generated by the underlying bank loans."
Question 1: Who d…
"Bank-loans are non-investment-grade or not-rated"
Interesting. Thanks @yogibearbull. I knew there was "magic" involved, but did not realize the extent.
"M* shows JAAA as having only 7.65% as non-inv-gr & not-rated."
True, but that is aft…
Just watched full video.
- Ed's been in the investment business 40 years. (I've been investing for longer - over 55 years - but won't hold that against him.)
- Ed draws many parallels between today's markets and the 1920s.
- Importantly, many hav…
"In 1980, they consisted of Otis Williams, Melvin Franklyn, Louis Price, Ron Tyson, and Glen Leonard."
Thank you @Mona!
Ahh ... So Franklin (the wonderful baritone) was in both the '68 and '80 group. Looks like there's a film out there abou…
