I made some trades last week. I did different things in different portfolios. I believe that readers will be best served with a summation rather than a specific list of what I did in each. The result is that I got more conservative. I shifted about 4-8 percentage points from position to position. I did not raise cash. I reduced (but didn’t eliminate) my small-cap and homebuilder stock positions and shifted back toward large-cap stocks and high-yield corporate bonds. In last week’s column, I teased out this consideration in the “You’re Too Happy” sub-heading. I cited there, “I have some holdings…
Insights & Advice
Allen Harris
Things are heating up
“Don’t touch me; I’m too hot! Y tu lo sabes!” —Usnavi, In the Heights Ouch! Inflation is heating up enough to burn my fingers. Some quick numbers, and then I’ll try to avoid any more percentages. (Emphasis on “try.”) The Labor Department reported that inflation in June 2021, as measured by the Consumer Price index (CPI), increased 5.4 percent, year-over-year. That is the highest 12-month rate since August 2008. For context, commodity prices were booming then; oil prices hit a record $150 per barrel. The so-called “core rate” was up 4.5 percent during that same time. The core rate excludes items…
What is causing the labor shortage?
There has been much conjecture, but little evidence, as to why the U.S. is experiencing a labor shortage. Some say it’s because people are lazy and are exploiting the system. Some say it’s because greedy employers aren’t paying enough. Many people have made up their minds about “why” there is a labor shortage before enough evidence has been gathered to support any hypothesis. I possess a third consideration, but I’ll try to stay out of that ideological dog fight and report the facts (and maybe a few opinions). If we are intellectually honest about it, we know that people have…
How much does health care cost in retirement?!
Let’s not bury the lead. According to the Fidelity Retiree Health Care Cost Estimate, an average retired couple aged 65 in 2021 may need approximately $300,000 saved (after tax) to cover healthcare expenses in their retirement. Fidelity has been tracking this data for years. I cover how retirees can prepare for this in my still-untitled second book. (It will probably be printed sometime in late 2021.) I devote considerable time to healthcare costs because it can change the way retirees prioritize spending in their golden years. If you have a $10 million portfolio, the cost of health care may not…