October has made investors nervous for nearly 100 years

| October 28, 2023

What is there about October that upsets people and financial markets? For nearly a century investors get nervous this time of year. Unfortunately watching the market as closely as I do, one would think I would have sold stocks at the first sign of trouble in October. Nope, I expected better from a few of […]

The US financial markets finally take (start?) their October slide

| October 19, 2023

Those who are elected (or strong-armed their way to power) are failing miserably at keeping peace in our world as we teeter on the edge of yet another war. No matter how advance we think we are, human beings are unable to get along with each other.  Stock Market Indices market close 10/18/2023 Stock market […]

Tech Friday: MacBook Air M2, Spaces and portable displays

| September 8, 2023

One of my social media contacts who knows that I’ve been using computers to monitor investments and trade for decades heard me mention that I switched to a tiny MacBook Air M2 from a 27” PC display (iMac with a second Thunderbolt Apple display running Windows 10 on Parallels). He asked how it was possible […]

Are there economic similarities between post World War II and rebounding from the pandemic shutdown?

| July 15, 2023

My financial and investment musings have been few and far between lately, but while reading Barron’s Magazine article this past week, it reminded me that we investors often can look to history for insight.  If you don’t want to read it, try listening to it — Audio ElevenLabs.   ElevenLabs AI reading this content – […]

Pros and Cons for dividend investors using closed end funds

| July 5, 2023

For investors and retirees desiring an income stream from their investments, Closed-End Funds can be pretty attractive. That said, there are  advantages and disadvantages … with some help from ChatGPT. 😉 Advantages of Closed-End Funds (CEFs): Market Pricing Efficiency: Unlike open-end mutual funds, CEFs trade on stock exchanges, allowing their shares to be bought and […]

Federal Reserve hikes: “despite a .. recession later this year”

| April 12, 2023

Guess when this Fed news came out?  High inflation and tight labor markets led Federal Reserve officials to signal they could raise interest rates at their next meeting despite a higher likelihood the economy would enter a recession later this year. Fed officials considered skipping a rate increase at their meeting last month but concluded […]

How do we as investors properly value Tesla? $TSLA

| March 9, 2023

It has been a quandary for years. Do you value Tesla like a car company or a fast-growing technology company? This past weekend Barron’s Magazine included an interesting article by Jack Hough after Tesla’s “investor day” and subsequent stock price drop.  Tesla is trading “more like just another car maker,” wrote Bespoke Investment Group this past […]

Tighter money and a slowing economy impacts company earnings

| March 2, 2023

A chip company I’ve watched and traded up and down over the last few years has been Marvell Technology Group ($MRVL) and achieving consistency quarter to quarter and year to year is a challenge. With the economies around the world stressed with higher inflation and the tightening from central banks, meeting earnings estimates is becoming […]

A favorite podcast: Stocks Are in the ‘Death Zone.’

| February 25, 2023

Jack Hough is a favorite Barron’s Magazine writer and #streetwise podcast host wrote “another” interesting investing article and interview this week: U.S. stocks have entered the “death zone,” a top Wall Street strategist wrote this past week. I detected a bearish undertone. The phrase is used by mountaineers to describe heights where humans can’t live […]

Sound advice for 2023, but am I disciplined enough to follow?

| January 8, 2023

For the past few years, I’ve enjoyed reading the often contrarian thoughts from Forbes contributor, Brett Owens. He writes and contributes investment advice in several publications, newsletters and columns. He co-authored an excellent book too! 2023 Rule #1: Don’t fight the Fed. Print this rule out and tape it next to your computer. Or the […]

For investors and the inflation sensitive, 2022 was a bad year

| December 31, 2022

If you were filling your tank, paying to keep the lights on or buying groceries (or shopping for nearly everything) … 2022 has been a struggle. If you were saving for college or retirement, it was also very painful. Will 2023 be a continuation or a painful recession … or is there a chance inflation […]

A Tesla $TSLA mistake: “Don’t try to catch a falling knife”

| December 27, 2022

How many of us who have been trading stocks and investing for decades have ignored the wise advice about buying a stock as it drops? Chart watchers, and maybe investors who have favorite companies, often listen to the conflicting thought from brokers, financial advisors and TV talking heads. We ignore the lessons from our past […]

Excellent Barron’s article on tax-lost harvesting strategies

| November 17, 2022

In Barron’s Magazine (11/10/2022), there was an excellent article by Karen Hube on “How to Use This Year’s Market Tumble to Reduce Your Tax Bill.” The read is helpful for those contemplating a way to use their losses to offset what they may have sold … or using the “market tumble” as a way to book […]

A crazy week post midterm election and for the stock market

| November 12, 2022

Well … the hopeful political “red wave” did not happen (at least from a conservative perspective). If we are to be generous, it could be viewed as a “small ripple” … but the results of the election as of this post are not fully counted even yet. Does that seem odd in our evolved and […]

Book: “The End of the World is just the Beginning” – Peter Zeihan

| October 29, 2022

My friend Jeff and I enjoy discussing and debating nearly every topic under the sun, but few subjects have held our attention over the decades like the impact of technology on society, geopolitics and how changing governments handle or don’t handle the demographics shifts. I tend to look at it from the perspective of an […]

Books: “The Day the Markets Roared” by Henry Kaufman

| September 4, 2022

Having recently read an article about Dr. Doom and “his pinnacle of influence” on August 17th, 1982, I’m adding Henry Kaufman’s book “The Day the Markets Roared” to my Amazon Kindle “want to read” list. Obviously since it is a look back on financial market history, it is not all that crucial that I read […]

A day of negative news and some positive: The stock market was down big, but the plus, Taylor closed on a condo

| August 26, 2022

It was an ugly day on Wall Street as investors reacted to comments from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell who indicated “that the Federal Reserve must continue to raise rates” and “hold them at a higher level until they are confident inflation is under control.” Some economists highlighted in Barron’s Magazine last week, have suggested that […]

Where do you WANT vs where SHOULD you live in retirement?

| July 10, 2022

While I personally have not worked the numbers, a May 2022 Barron’s Advisor column on retirement offered an enlightening look on “where” to live; it can be eye-opening! Low income taxes aren’t everything. Many retirees who live in states with high taxes are eager to move to states with no income taxes, says Rhian Horgan, […]

Stay on your retirement planning track and consider iBonds

| June 25, 2022

It is stomach-churning to follow the often heard “hold tight” and “stick with the plan” advice often given by financial advisors.  If you are currently retired and living off of a fix-income and nest egg, or are trying to prepare for retirement, you are likely worried about times like these. Advisors tell you not to […]

Inflation hits a new FOUR-Decade High, with food and energy increases hurting those who can least afford it

| June 11, 2022

CPI up 8.6% driven by a 35% jump in energy prices and 12% increase in groceries This is what a “sea of red” looks like for investors and stock market traders … and I can only imagine the “red” those living on a fixed income or families struggling to make ends meet must be seeing? […]

Stocks, bonds, crypto all down. What to do, what to do?

| May 13, 2022

FoxBusiness/WSJ graphic For the good or bad, whenever I’m away from my daily routine, it seems like the financial markets lose stability and investors go into crisis mode? The past couple of weeks, those invested in stocks, bonds and crypto know that it has been painful; there have been very few refuges from the sharp […]

Big news: Twitter accepted buyout offer from Elon Musk

| April 26, 2022

The financial markets have been following the Federal Reserves messaging regarding tightening their easy money policies and has been selling off the last few days. The more aggressive, but late stance to slow inflation is one needed piece of the puzzle … although also heights concerns over slow growth or even a recession. That news […]

Books: “Wealth, War and Wisdom” by Barton Biggs (2009) and a little “How Long will the Santa Mouse Decor Remain” humor

| February 13, 2022

We’ve never been all that timely in getting Christmas decorations put away after the holidays, but this year we … and by “we” I mean Brenda … has been slower than usual. To be fair, most everything has been packed and put away, but there are a few stragglers still around our house. I’m not […]

Advice: My current thoughts on hardware crypto wallets

| November 5, 2021

Although I’m not an all-in cryptocurrency buyer, trader or investor (pick your poison), I do own and am accumulating small amounts of different crypto. After a fair amount of  reading this past year, my conclusion is to use a reputable cryptocurrency exchange like Coinbase Pro, Coinbase (disclosure: I own $COIN stock), Uphold or Interactive Brokers […]

Are you interested in Cryptocurrency? Where will you keep it?

| October 23, 2021

It is probably inevitable that we will all be using cryptocurrency someday. The early adopters are already immersed and getting comfortable investing and trading it … perhaps too comfortable??? Risks of Leaving Cryptocurrency in Exchange A brief look at the history of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies reveals why it is dangerous to leave your crypto funds […]

Investors are concerned as the Fed tapers and inflation rises

| October 16, 2021

A friend contemplating rolling over his 401K to an IRA asked me a bond investing question the other day as he would like to balance his portfolio of stocks by adding some bonds after the rollover. Since he has never owned a bond (outside of a managed fund), the question was, “what’s the impact of […]

From not being diversified to owning too many tickers?

| October 12, 2021

For most investors, the normal criticism is that they are not diversified enough … or at least they often own too much of one sector or one stock (happened in the old days when companies often matched or did a partial match in company stock). I’ve tried to keep “diversity” in mind over my lifetime […]

What are you going to invest in if inflation continues to rise?

| September 3, 2021

A friend asked me the other day, “what are you going to do if inflation becomes a bigger problem than it is already?” Good question … the canned answer (safe answer) is to be diversified. The reality is far more challenging. There was a day when the first reply was to own hard assets like […]

Some thoughts on investing as technology races forward

| August 20, 2021

Most aging entrepreneurs and investors can “in hindsight” spot their mistakes and missed opportunities, but with age and experience, also comes wisdom. The pace of change is rapidly accelerating and decisions seem to be made much faster and happen quicker nowadays’; I suspect even millennials are learning this faster? As a more cautious trader and […]

Local banking issues, blockchain technology and the interesting book: Crypto Asset Investing in the Age of Autonomy

| August 15, 2021

For decades now I’ve had a fairly positive relationship with both business (CPP) and personal banking … and particularly with local banks. I grumbled the 1990s when multiple bank mergers forced out the manager I worked with in NE Ohio. He knew me by name and often pulled me aside to see if there was anything […]

Primer: An retirement savings decision making cheat sheet

| August 14, 2021

The older I get, the less investment risk I’m comfortable taking. Perhaps it is not the age thing, but having experienced stock market gyrations and what happens to our investments? For those of us in small business or in the gig economy, and increasingly for those who move from company to company, we are our […]

Dennis Gartman and his thoughts on Cryptocurrency Investing

| August 8, 2021

Dennis Gartman comments on cryptocurrency (August 3, 2021) and whether or not he is investing in a “Tinker Bell effect” asset. The 3-minute segment with Dagen McDowell was on the Fox Business program “Mornings with Maria.”     Dennis Gartman on Crypto – 3-min | 8/3/2021 Dennis Gartman has been directly involved in the Capital […]

Investors are taking it on the chin today as COVID19 Delta variant may impact the US and global recovery

| July 19, 2021

If you are an investor or long term education and retirement saver, you’re feeling the pain today as the coronavirus Delta variant spread could impact the economic recovery. U.S. stocks, oil prices and government bond yields slid Monday as anxiety mounted over the spread of the Delta coronavirus variant and its potential impact on the […]

Slow, but not necessarily steady, progress on my home office

| July 17, 2021

Slow progress on my home office as I continue to work in disarray; I am missing my accessory junk … including a small hanging TV. I don’t necessarily “watch” business television, instead listen to the stream via SiriusXM to my Aftershokz Aeropex headset. Occasionally though, do still find it helpful to have a video image […]

What are we looking for from retirement investments?

| July 1, 2021

While reading one of my favorite investment strategist, Brett Owens wrote a REIT and CEF-focused Contrarian Outlook newsletter and occasional webinars that I enjoy. He commented tongue-in-cheek … that “we dividend investors really only need three things:” Hm, how hard can that be?   Brett partnered with Tom Jacobs a few years ago to write […]

The mixed messages on inflation and what does it mean?

| June 23, 2021

Although I’m likely tainted in having lived through a period where inflation was real and uncontrolled, I do worry that people living today either ignore or downplay the negative impact inflation, stagflation or worse … hyperinflation … can make on our country. For those who know me, I’ve likely been the “boy who calls wolf” […]

Who knows when we are closing in on a stock market top?

| June 9, 2021

When it comes to investing, I’m primarily a “value investor” who relies on fundamentals, but as for “trading,” which I have tinkered with for 30 years now, I’m an advocate self imposed rules and focusing on channel trading. Of course there are zillions of gurus boasting how they have perfected buy and sell signals, I […]

Mexican lunches, salsa, discussions, reading and a good friend

| June 6, 2021

For years now … no, it is now decades … my buddy Jeff and I have gone out for lunch ever other week and almost exclusively to a Mexican restaurant … primarily for the chips and salsa (and relaxed conversation). Before that, we lived in different cities (he in Florida and then Alabama … and […]

GE tops estimates, but share price is still suffering

| April 27, 2021

General Electric‘s ($GE) first-quarter 2021 earnings were as they should be. Still, it wasn’t quite enough for investors. General Electric (ticker: GE) shares were down about 2.7% in premarket trading. S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures, for comparison, were both off about 0.1%. The company reported an adjusted profit of 3 cents a […]

Learning more about cryptocurrency with webinar #Bitcoin

| April 25, 2021

Although I’ve owned a small amount of Bitcoin in a cryptocurrency account for a while now, I’ve been wanting to attend a primer on the subject. Thankfully Barron’s offered a free webinar hosted by Beverly Goodman and explained by Grayscale’s Michael Sonnenshein. It was great fill in some of my knowledge gaps, but my question […]

Books: Reading the updated investing classic "A Random Walk Down Wall Street" by Burton G. Malkiel

| April 7, 2021

In keeping with a New Year’s resolution from “years ago” to read more non-fiction books and some classic literature still sitting unread on our new bookshelves, I’ve picked up a new edition of an “older” book. For April and more likely May (statistically good months for stock market investing), I’m reading “A Random Walk Down […]

Political corporate activism in Georgia, boycotts and investing

| April 6, 2021

Democrats have been gaining ground over the past few years with their “hate Trump” blitzing supported by the leftists, big tech and mainstream media (one in the same from what I’ve seen), and continue to put heavy pressure politicians and corporations. Just as with the tactics used by BLM, Antifa and “woke” groups using racism, […]

Investing: Buying Vertex $VRTX for 2021 and hopefully beyond

| March 25, 2021

For the most part, I’m a conservative investor, although a regular channel trader, and I rarely speculates on risky upstarts, IPOs, zero-profit tech stocks, pharmaceutical long-shots or the latest crazy … cryptocurrency trend. Since most “risk” involves speculation, I see it more akin to gambling than eyes-open informed value or growth investing … both which […]

The retirement dividend income plan was challenged in 2020

| February 17, 2021

For those of us living in a post-pension world, planning for retirement comes down to how much can be saved in 401K and IRAs … and how to make it last once retired. Most people rely on the “multiple buckets approach” to coming up with enough dollars to pay for bills and “hopefully” live comfortably […]

Bubblicious, but I am not talking about bubble gum popping

| January 26, 2021

All I can think about are the stock market “bubbles” from the past. I’d love to believe the upward trend we’ve seen this past years is genuine and built on an appropriate foundation, but suspect as most know, it is being built on “hope” and “stimulus dollars.” Now that is not to say that certain […]

Eating out with a friend during COVID19 and an MMT discussion

| December 22, 2020

With only a handful of meals out during this COVID19 year with my buddy Jeff this past year, I’ve learned to appreciate them even more than usual. We’ve been having lunch together each month or so as a way to stay connected for decades and for me adjusting to just emails and text messages is […]

Sold my Twitter $TWTR stock as the election nears

| October 2, 2020

With Twitter $TWTR stock rising this week and the election around the corner, I debated buying a PUT option, but instead decided I would feel more comfortable in a cash position than wondering what direction the stock will move next time. Years ago I unfortunately picked Twitter as my social network investment and for the […]

Think twice before going into business with today’s tech giants

| July 24, 2020

As a start up, doing business with big company in order to boost sales and visibility can be a great way to grow a business. Unfortunately it can also be cut-throat and the smaller companies can and are taken advantage of. It is not new, but but in the fast-paced and highly competitive technology world, […]

Currently my favorite podcast: Streetwise by Jack Hough

| June 17, 2020

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Watching stocks tank day after day requires a strong stomach

| March 10, 2020

The “old school” razor sharpening animated GIF below has NOTHING to do with my emotional state after stomaching Monday’s stock market crash and “oil war” between Russia and Saudi Arabia … so don’t read anything into my poor attempt at humor. After watching the DOW drop over 2158 points and seeing the index close just […]

My thoughts on the Coronavirus COVID-19 and investing

| March 7, 2020

I’ve purposely put off posting anything to MyDesultoryBlog as the worldwide spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (#COVID19) began. Partially since it is challenging to separate the unfounded fears and panic from the real threat since the reporting varies based on news sources (Information from China is particularly questionable but western media sources aren’t all […]

Trading and Investing in Energy has not been the wise move

| February 19, 2020

Those of us who spend any amount of time investing or trading stocks enjoy the good feeling when we’ve studied and made positive investing moves … but we also tend to ignore the stupid trades. Looking at today’s chart of Exxon $XOM (5.80% annual dividend), there is no way I can positively spin one of […]

What is going to stop the US stock market and $AAPL stock?

| January 18, 2020

While working on post highlighting the DJIA crossing 29,000, I realized that the stock market has blown through that milestone and is rocketing towards 30,000 and that I’ll have to start over (probably a “worry-wart” post is coming). One of the big contributors to this Dow Jones Industrial Average is Apple ($AAPL). It just continues […]

Deusche Bank says buy $GE – What will stop this stock market?

| January 14, 2020

The stock market continues to rally on positive news: low inflation, cheap money, increasing wages, low unemployment and even good news on trade with China. If there was ever a time to use the “hitting on all cylinders” idiom, this would be it … but when things are looking this good … everybody gets a […]

Are a few big tech companies getting a bit pricey?

| January 11, 2020

Forgive me for being a bit redundant in worrying (again) about the hot tech stocks like Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG), Facebook (FB), Amazon (AMZN), Tesla (TSLA) and Netflix (NFLX) among others as the Dow Jones Industrial Average flirts with 29,000 in mid-January 2020 (even a broken clock is right twice a day! ― Marie von […]

Will General Electric $GE gain favor from investors in 2020?

| January 3, 2020

As far as one of my biggest investing mistakes goes — buying General Electric ($GE) “after their initial collapse in 2017” – I am hoping this next year “might” be a year of true recovery (pre-posting over lunch on Thursday January 2, 2020)? Of course that is yet to be, but 2019 was at least […]

A positive 2019 for bullish investors, what about 2020?

| December 20, 2019

As the year and decade wind down, it is the time of year investors and financially prudent planners take note of their savings and retirement portfolios. Barron’s surveyed strategists who continue to expect “more gains ahead for U.S. stocks” with the caveat, “barring a jarring election or a derailment in U.S. – China trade.” So […]

Nobody likes investing when there is blood in the stock market?

| August 5, 2019

Monday, August 5th, 2019 was not a good day to be long in the stock markets – WSJ update.  I think we are often too complacent with investing and fall victim to the “stay the course” and invest for long run mentality. It is easy to forget just how painful market drops can be.  Economist […]

Political unrest is impacting economy and financial markets

| May 24, 2019

The political tension around the globe, along with the trade battle between the United States and China, have put a damper on what was a relatively good economy here in the U.S.  Add to those challenging international negotiations, the deepening divide between many Democrats still seeking to impeach President Trump in control of Congress are […]

A good economy, but we are dealing with other political issues

| May 22, 2019

Yes … the U..S economy is in good shape … but if you are an investor, these last few weeks may not have felt like the stock market is responding as it should in a good economy? Enter trade with China … well primarily China. Yet there is also unrest in the Middle East with […]

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
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