Danny Hurley knows about tough comparisons. Before becoming the starting point guard at Seton Hall University, Danny grew up in the shadow of an older brother named Bobby. Bobby Hurley led the Duke Blue Devils to consecutive national championships and is the NCAA’s all-time assist leader. Brothers who play the same position, in the same sport, are naturally compared to...
First, Facebook did a face plant. Then Twitter and Tesla. Next, the mightiest of the mighty FAANGs—Amazon and Netflix—buckled and saw sharp declines. We can come up with individual reasons to justify the selloffs in each company’s shares. What we’re witnessing from a broader perspective, though, is an unwind in the so-called ‘momentum trade.’ Momentum is a quant jargon label...
The U.S. dollar has steadily fallen since 2017. Consensus positioning in the futures market leans bearish, and many pundits are calling for sustained dollar weakness. I’ll take the other side of that bet. Heading into the second quarter, I believe the dollar has several technical and fundamental catalysts working in its favor. Technical factors The most obvious technical support for...
It’s being described as potentially “the largest retail liquidation in the country’s history.” Toys ‘R’ Us is closing over 700 stores nationwide. Earlier this week, I took my 6-year old son to Toys ‘R’ Us to exchange a birthday present. Waiting to check-out, my mind began to drift; I remember what it meant to be a ‘Toys R Us Kid.’...
Middletown, Ohio is my wife’s hometown. Generations of her family have worked for the local steel mill, Armco Kawasaki Steel (ticker: AKS). Although AK Steel is no longer the largest employer in the area, it is still a dominate topic of conversation at many family gatherings I’ve attended. In his book Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance describes the Middletown of yesteryear...
This is a story about a man who made a smart investment and went the distance pursuing his dream. The man grew up with a burning desire to be in the movie business. However, this dream faced serious obstacles from the moment he was born. The nerves in his face were accidentally damaged when he was pulled from the womb...
Every year, Warren Buffett releases a letter to the world that begins with a simple, yet extraordinary table. The 2018 letter, released a few days ago, continues the tradition. On page 2, there’s a table showing the annual percentage change in Berkshire’s Book Value Per-Share and Market Value Per-Share, alongside the S&P 500’s total return. Here is a sample of...
"It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen." - John Wooden Basketball coach, John Wooden, is considered one of the finest coaches ever. He won a total of 10 national titles at UCLA, including seven in a row. The coach was unique in how he taught his players to focus inward. He did not scout...
This is the first in a two-part series on uncertain investing climates and how to navigate them. Living in a real-time world takes a mental toll when markets are whipping around. There are folks out there who caught wind their 401(k) fell a bunch on Monday. To become better informed, they may have watched CNBC’s Markets in Turmoil special that...
Today is Groundhog Day, and word has it Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow. Six more weeks of winter. Meanwhile, it may be rainy and cold in Seattle, yet there is an aura of perennial summer emanating from one company’s headquarters. Amazon just reported another banner quarter. In the film Groundhog Day, Bill Murray’s character relives the same day over and...
You know the day destroys the night, Night divides the day, Tried to run — Tried to hide — Break on through to the other side! “Break on Through (To the Other Side)”, The Doors, 1967. *** There is a lot of buzz lately about bonds entering a bear market. If that proves correct, it marks a major paradigm shift...
Investors often conflate risk and uncertainty as being one in the same, but really, they are different concepts. Understanding the difference cannot only save you from your next investing mistake, but also open your eyes to new opportunities. For starters, let’s clarify what risk is. True investment risk is a permanent impairment of capital. In other words, an asset depreciates...