No one rings a bell to signify a market top. It sneaks up on us. The music just stops. *** At the stroke of midnight, February 3, 1959 started out an ordinary day. An hour later, what happened in an Iowa cornfield made it an extraordinary day in the eyes of American pop culture. A group of musicians was touring...
There was a popular game show in the 1950s called “I’ve Got a Secret.” A celebrity panel received clues, then they tried to guess a contestant’s “secret.” Let’s play a similar game. Using these clues, try to guess the stock being referenced: I was the best performing stock in the second-half of the 20 th century I’ve averaged a 20%...
Do you dare to do what you love? Do you connect the dots to find your way forward, no matter what? I named my firm Silverlight to highlight an important idea. That is: adversity always carries a silver lining. If Steve Jobs had not been fired from Apple, he would not have become the man he was. Apple would not...
"Are you going to evacuate?" “No,” she replied. “We were going to, but we can’t find gas. Plus, when I looked for a hotel room in Orlando a few days ago, they were totally booked. No one knows for sure where this storm is going. We even thought about going to Uncle Bob’s, but the Carolinas might get hit too...
Earlier this month, we published a blog mentioning Berkshire Hathaway's swelling cash balance. We also released a video describing how the U.S. stock market has become expensive. Today, Warren Buffett spoke directly on these topics in the interview clip below, provided courtesy of Bloomberg TV. This material is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast, research or investment...
Monetary officials will soon begin rolling back quantitative easing programs. So, it is a good time for investors to survey the present landscape and review their positioning. Like most risk assets around the world, U.S. stocks are expensive compared to history. One can quibble over just how expensive. But the point is—they’re expensive. The video below explores how you should...
Investor cash levels are near an all-time low. Meanwhile, Warren Buffett is sitting on a record amount of cash. How much cash do you have on the sidelines? How much should you have? *** Cash competes with other asset classes for investor wallet share. Right now, it’s losing that battle. In the latest weekly survey of Bank of America Merrill...
There is a deal people on Wall Street refer to as “The IPO.” Saudi Aramco is scheduled to go public late next year. Some estimate the company’s value could be as high as $2 trillion. In case you’re wondering—that’s almost 5x Apple’s value. Aramco’s prized asset is the upstream unit, which boasts crude reserves 10x the size of ExxonMobil’s. As...
The most successful businesses do what others find impossible. They produce something special which can’t be copied or sell at price points no one else can match. For years, Amazon has steadily gained market share by doing the latter. How? Sacrificing margin. The firm has been able to operate like a non-profit entity because of a unique investor base willing...
A few years ago, a man gave a speech. He told the audience he never imagined that he’d someday be employed by “the argumentative young boy who grew up in my house, eating my food and using my name.” To say the boy was a handful is an understatement. He refused to clean his room and frequently showed up late...
Are we witnessing Tech Bubble 2.0? A lot of people are comparing today’s market to the late 1990s, asking that question. Today, tech shares were sold aggressively, as investors realized profits and moved money to other areas. Wall Street calls this a ‘rotation.’ One of the catalysts was a Goldman Sachs report issued this morning, which said the following: “While...
This video describes recent real estate trends. This material is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast, research or investment advice, and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy. The opinions expressed are as of the date indicated and may change as subsequent conditions vary. The...