Don’t Buy the Next Amazon Posted on March 28, 2017 By Matt THIS STOCK COULD BE LIKE BUYING AMAZON IN 1997! So reads the ad disguised as a headline on Yahoo Finance. Here’s the thing: you don’t want to buy the next Amazon. Clicking on the ad takes you to a wall of text. The performance is stellar. The method is so… Read more
News Red Herring, Red Swan Posted on March 21, 2017 By Matt Red Herring With headlines proclaiming the worst day for the stock market in 2017, you might think the market has plummeted in a bout of panic-selling. This is a red herring. The S&P 500 hasn’t been down more than 1% in over 100 days. Of course we’re going to have… Read more
News March Madness and a Special Dispensation in Cleveland Posted on March 16, 2017 By Matt A quick update today as March Madness takes hold and Cleveland prepares for St. Patty’s Day. How big is St. Patrick’s Day in Cleveland? The Catholic Diocese of Cleveland issued a notice regarding corned beef and Lent. My Catholic friends are encouraged to enjoy corned beef and perform a work… Read more
Due Diligence An Anniversary and Some Words on Garbage Posted on March 7, 2017 By Matt This week marks the anniversary of the bull market whether you measure from the intraday bottom on 3/6/2009 or the day’s closing bottom on 3/9/2009. It’s not as simple as all that, though. After a 19% annualized gain or over 300% cumulative, it’s hard to ignore claims that the market… Read more
News The Market Top and Procrastination Posted on March 2, 2017 By Matt If it bleeds, it leads and in the investing world that means finding someone willing to call the market top. There are plenty of statistics and charts that show the market as being over-valued pretty much since the end of the financial crisis. While we can identify how the market… Read more
News How ‘Bout That Market: 2/27/2017 Crisis Posted on February 27, 2017 By Matt How ‘Bout That Market? This is a question I hear at social gatherings often enough that it makes sense to make it a regular entry on this website. The Market The markets continue their march upwards in spite of unrelenting headline risk. The stretch of positive performance is somewhat unnerving… Read more
News How ‘Bout That Market: 2/13/2017 Posted on February 13, 2017 By Matt How ‘Bout That Market? This is a question I hear at social gatherings often enough that it makes sense to make it a regular entry on this website. The Market How is the market doing? Before we get to the market today, let’s look at how the market was doing… Read more
News Cacti and Poison Ivy Posted on February 3, 2017 By Matt You don’t have to be a botanist to know not to jog naked through a cactus grove. Even an idiot can see the danger in that. People like to think that identifying investment dangers is just as easy. You’ll know when someone is taking advantage of you or a loved… Read more
If I Could Give You Just One Piece of Advice Posted on January 25, 2017January 23, 2017 By Matt If I could give you just one piece of advice, it would be this: Don’t read the comments section. Many news organizations still have comments sections. Comments sections provide a nourishing habitat for trolls, toxic creatures whose egos are fed with belligerent virtue signalling. It’s basically Mos Eisley: you’ll never… Read more
Investing Trump Portfolio Posted on January 23, 2017 By Matt We’ve witnessed the peaceful exchange of power in the most powerful country on the planet. Now, how do we create a “Trump Portfolio” of only the best, really the greatest, everybody says so securities? Does it make sense to overweight small cap manufacturing stocks that might benefit from a strong dollar or… Read more