Despite this new age of video games, electronic toys, and diminishing attention spans, children are returning to a toy that is almost as old as me. Mattel’s Barbie doll is back and at the top of many holiday shopping lists. Some of the credit for Barbie’s new-found popularity can be attributed to the pandemic. The lockdowns and the subsequent search for things to keep children occupied had mothers remembering their own fascination with all-things Barbie. Buying a Barbie, however (at least until recently), had parents wrestling with several negative stereotypes. Leading the list was the doll’s image of a whites-only…
Insights & Advice
The Retired Investor
Golf continues to grow
In 2020, during the midst of the pandemic, golf made a comeback. More than 24.8 million people discovered outdoor refuge on the links last year, and the popularity of the sport continues to grow. Golf, as many have discovered, is an outdoor activity that has proven to be an almost perfect answer to the limitations of the pandemic. Players can get outside, exercise, and at the same time, socially distance themselves from one another. Last year, the U.S. saw the largest increase in golfers (2%) in 17 years. This year, the number of rounds played was up 16.1%, compared to…
Out of gas
Winter approaches and with it a potential natural gas crisis. Areas of Europe are already scrambling to find the energy required to heat homes and continue their economic rebound. Could the U.S. be next? Over the last year, prices for European natural gas have jumped by almost 500%. Natural gas prices on this side of the pond have also spiked by more than 100% this year. But it isn’t just countries in the Northern Hemisphere that are feeling the scarcity. Parts of Asia, which are importing liquified natural gas (LNG) at record prices, are being forced to switch to coal…
Weather worsens global trade
Changes in climate are impacting a global economy that is fighting to recover from a pandemic. Supply chain bottlenecks continue to worsen as continuous weather-related catastrophes close ports and snarl land, sea, and air transportation routes. Can it get any worse? Yes, and it probably will, according to climate experts. Nearly all actively publishing climate scientists agree that humans are causing global warming and climate change. The less than 2% of experts that disagree have published contrarian studies that either cannot be replicated or contain errors. I’ll go with the consensus on this issue. Here in the U.S., we receive…
Moderates winning on tax debate
For months, wealthy U.S. taxpayers and corporations have been living with the specter of higher taxes under the Biden administration. It is a pretty good bet that taxes will go up, but not as much as you might expect. Throughout the week, Democrats in the House and the Senate have been horse-trading over the amount of spending, versus the amount of taxes, necessary to pay for President Biden’s $2.3 trillion budget plan. Republicans are already on record that they will oppose any new tax hikes at all. Since the Democrats hold such a slim majority in both the House and…
Japan is worth a look
It has been 30 years since the Nikkei 225 last touched the 30,000 level. However, many investors look beyond this island nation and focus instead on its Chinese neighbor. That may prove to be a mistake. To some investors, it is the epitome of value investing. Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway made some sizable bets on several Japanese trading companies last year. Japan’s stock market is cheap compared to many other markets. But deservedly so, say the bears, since investors have had to put up with years of sluggish growth and perennial deflation. Japan is home to many well-known companies (think…
Non-fungible tokens come of age
NFTs are digital assets. For those like me, who are old enough to be grandparents, and may still read the newspapers, the concept of a digital asset may not be all that intuitive. “Non-fungible” means that it is a unique asset that can’t be replaced with something else. NFTs are bought and sold online (usually with a cryptocurrency), and stored and encoded in the same way. The difference is that cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, are fungible and can be traded, or replaced, with another bitcoin. These digital assets can include everything from original art, videos, and music, as well as…
Corporate activism comes of age
For decades, corporations stuck to their knitting, while letting Washington and American voters decide how to deal with social and political issues. But times are changing as companies become bigger and more powerful. Corporations are speaking out on issues from LGBTQ+ rights to gun control. To some politicians, managements and their boards are throwing their weight around in ways that make elected officials uncomfortable. At first, I dismissed much of their actions as simply rhetoric, or just good public relations, but more companies are speaking out—frequently—on many issues. Take the gun control issue. U.S. politicians on both sides of the…
The back-to-school season
It is not an easy decision. On one hand, consumers want to go out and shop for their children’s upcoming school year. But at the same time, they are concerned that if they do, they might catch the coronavirus. There is no easy answer. The 2021-2022 school year was supposed to usher in a new beginning. As such, retailers are still expecting sales of clothes, school supplies, and college dorm décor items to increase by 5.5% from last year’s depressed Covid-levels. Even so, that still won’t match 2019’s 6.7% increase, but it is getting close, or was until the Delta…
Buy now. Pay later.
When does a loan not feel like a loan? That is the idea behind one of the more exciting new concepts being floated by the financial technology community. It is an idea that is just catching on here in the U.S., but it could challenge traditional credit cards over time. Are you really going into debt when you buy something and pay it off in a set number of installments? Technically, yes, but it doesn’t feel that way, especially if you are paying 0% interest on the installments. That’s evidently what Square, a leading financial service, digital payments company believes…
Olympic price tag breaks records
After the Olympic games conclude on August 8th 2021, Japan will still be tallying the final cost of hosting the games. Indications are that the final price tag could be more than $20 billion. Was it worth it? The most recent polling data suggest the answer is a resounding “no,” at least as far as the Japanese are concerned. Over 83% of the people polled, who live in Japan, believe the Olympics should not have taken place this week. To the Japanese, it is not just the expense of the games, but the holding of this event while the country…
What’s that smell?
Imagine opening your laptop or cell phone and catching a whiff of your favorite perfume. Scroll back to last summer’s Maine vacation photos and smell the pine forest at your campsite. Digital scent technology can make that happen sooner than you think. Digital scent technology, also called olfactory technology, is an engineering discipline that enables media, such as video games, movies, music and web pages, to sense, transmit, and receive scent-enabled content. Simply put, the day when you can smell through the internet is almost upon us. The market is tiny right now, with less than $20 million in sales,…
The labor gap
All over America “help wanted” signs proliferate. Radio and television ads promise big bonuses, satisfying benefits, and career advancement. There are fewer takers than anyone expected. Is this simply anther pandemic supply dislocation, or is there something deeper going on within the American labor force? As of last week, there were 9.2 million unfilled U.S. job openings, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, while the number of unemployed stood at 9.5 million. And contrary to the hysterical claims of Republican politicians, enhanced Federal unemployment benefits are not the cause of this imbalance. A month ago, I wrote a…
China’s red hand of regulation
Over the past several decades, investors, investing in China, have gotten used to the dichotomy of China’s Communist-run, centralized government and its free-for-all stock market. That situation appears to be ending. The latest (and most controversial) sign of China’s increased interest in regulating and extending control of its largest companies came over the weekend. Fresh off the heels of a global $4.4 billion initial public offering, Didi, China’s ride-hailing giant, was ordered to cease accepting new users, and to close down its app by China’s internet regulators. By mid-week, the newly, U.S.-listed share price of Didi fell by well over…
Will SALT be repealed?
The state and local tax cap, called SALT, has been the bane of many high-tax states since its passage as part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. It created an effective tax hike for many high earners in high tax states, as well as many middle-class workers. That may be about to change, at least for some income earners. Last week, the Senate Budget Committee, chaired by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, presented a draft outline of a $6 trillion budget resolution. It included $120 billion for SALT relief over five years. Readers may recall that the controversial tax…
Beware the delta variant
Airplanes are full, parkways are bumper to bumper, and restaurants are packed. The summer is in full swing, and for many, the coronavirus is a thing of the past. Let’s hope it stays that way. The last thing I want to do is spoil the re-opening party. Afterall, we deserve to feel good, go out, meet family and friends without a mask, even chance a hug now and then. The one fly in all of our ointments may be the onset of an extremely contagious, and virulent coronavirus mutation dubbed the “delta variant.” You have probably read about this super…