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11 comments:
The Grand Rapids Whitecaps would mop the floor with the Lansing Lugnuts. The wheels came off anything related to autos, anyway! lol
You mentioned gold in the context of commodities, Roger. I've always maintained a small position, separate from whatever I commit to commodities, since it plays a different role in my portfolio. Do you include gold when you total your 4-6% or whatever in commodities?
Thanks very much.
"Jeremy Siegel found that the correlation between stock returns and GDP growth was -0.32 for 17 developed countries and -0.03 for 18 emerging markets countries"
Food for thought. Your obsession with growth and investing themes in foreign countries (esp China) may not play out as you would like it to.
The quote is from Larry Swedroe http://moneywatch.bnet.com/investing/blog/wise-investing/?tag=content;col2
the Whitecaps? Nice.
i do include gold in the 4-6%.
anon 6:00, yes i could be wrong about everything. anyone could be wrong in all their opinions.
i would note that country selection has worked quite well this decade and it you think about it there must always be top performing countries so then it boils down to an investor's ability to have a little exposure to those countries.
I'm not a fan of diamonds as an investment either but not because of concerns about production of artificial diamonds (AFAIK synthetics are still not good enough to match top gem grades). First diamonds are are far more common in nature than their prices would suggest but the bulk of the gem-diamond market is controlled by cartel and this keeps prices high. Second as anyone who has tried to sell a diamond they previously purchased discovers, there can be very large differences between retail and wholesale prices and a significant degree of expertise is required to evaluate quality so the tyro is likely to get the short end of the stick and very possibly be cheated outright. Third both cut and uncut stones are used as a means to move and/or launder money, and while an amateur is unlikely to directly encounter the criminals involved there is a reasonable chance of encountering a fraudulently certified stone even when the dealer is reputable.
Finally even reputable dealers must do their part to maintain the diamond mythology, that's just business, and just as there are car dealers who will happily convince you this is the best deal in town there are gem dealers, including those who (fraudulently in my view) advertise "wholesale prices to the public," who will happily do the same even if its the worst lemon on the lot or a stone barely above industrial grade. Caveat emptor.
Whew, glad I got that off my chest. Fortunately my wife considers diamonds 'cold' so I don't have to worry about this stuff (unfortunately she considers rubies and topaz 'warm' [sigh])
Now what was the topic?
Oh yeah, whether you get card offers or not, there is no need to ever pay for a credit report. The law requires all the credit agencies to give you a free report once a year and, anyone who is feeling obsessive, can go ask for one every four months if they go one bureau at a time. Another caveat emptor here: To make sure there are no charges you would be wise to use the site the agencies are required to maintain: AnnualCreditReport at https://www.annualcreditreport.com/ (ignore everyone, including Ben Stein, who tells you there are other 'free' sites; e.g., http://tinyurl.com/lvd4em ).
RW's post made me wonder about investing in wines. I'm not much of a drinker, but wine pretty much all tastes the same to me. I find the snobbery of wine enthusiastics fascintating. You know, greater fool theory in action. WSJ even devotes a weekly column to the subject.
Is wine an investable asset class to you guys?
Seattle Sounders. They are walking XBox advertisements.
There are 8 or 10 wine hedge funds out there. There are several books on the subject too. Look for something like "Liquid Assets"
Awhile back I became interested in the range of assets deemed 'investable' (a qualitative judgment to be sure) and also amenable to securitization and kept the more interesting references among which was this nice example of online research at http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=436374
Aside from their own wits and some respect for rigor, one of the the more valuable assets one can invest in is a reference librarian who knows his or her business; this one take a query about wine mutual funds a step further and deeper as only the good ones can. QED
Bon appetit.
Hey RW,
Kind of funny in the link you provided, "I also found something called "Vice Fund," which has about 25% of its assets invested in alcohol-related businesses, including wine. The rest of its investment strategy may or may not appeal to you."
Ties in nicely with Roger's discussion today. I was half joking about investing in wine, who knew the industry was so big?
I must tell you that find your new page format offensive. Not only does it make your posts difficult to follow it trumpets your attempt to make coin from click-thru's. I am all in favor of you making money but not in such a blatant manner. Pls reconsider.
Roger,
I was wondering if you had any thoughts in regards to international real estate? It popped up as one of my top ranked asset classes a few weeks ago, and although my model has an intermediate term orientation, I thought it was interesting.
Cigarette and jerky sound like a bad idea even for the most hardcore bunker crowd. I didn't see a reco for tampons or spirits :-)
Although the market is at the same levels it was in early December, the VIX is 60% lower. (Source: Zero Hedge)
What do you think this means ? Is the market getting too complacent ?
http://blindsquirreltradingstrategies.blogspot.com/
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