News Two Years Posted on May 12, 2017May 9, 2017 By Matt I set up this website two years ago with no particular goal in mind. I just wanted to see how difficult it was to buy a domain and start a blog. It turns out that the set up was the easy part. The writing is harder. For the first year,… Read more
News News As Drama Posted on May 11, 2017 By Matt Children have trouble focusing their attention. To get my son to turn all his attention to his homework (since when do first graders have homework, anyway?), we often need to mute or turn off the TV. Handheld screens are completely off the table for him unless we are on a… Read more
Investing Three Trades Based on This Week’s Headlines Posted on April 27, 2017 By Matt The two big news items this week are the French election and US tax reform. There was also a big shakeup in the House of Mouse as Disney’s ESPN laid off a significant amount of on-air talent. What’s the best way to trade this news? If you read this blog… Read more
A Note on Structured Notes Posted on April 15, 2017April 13, 2017 By Matt What happens to all the investments we say no to? We are acutely aware of how our invested money performs, but it can be difficult to keep track of the investments that just didn’t make the cut. Did we dodge a bullet? Or did we miss out on a shooting… Read more
Due Diligence Walk of Shame Posted on April 11, 2017 By Matt Motivation Most people seem to be operating on the same social frequency. I can see this, but I am unable to take part without tremendous effort that feels insincere. Awkward conversation is my forte. Hoping to improve, I observe and try to understand how people interact with one another. One… Read more
News Eventful 24 Hours Posted on April 7, 2017 By Matt The last 24 hours have been eventful. If you need yet another perspective on world events, keep reading. If not, just skip to Other Stuff where it’s less serious. We launched missiles into Syria. This feels like the typical setup where the world calls on the US to act as… 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