2022 is shaping up to be quite the crazy year.  While this horrible war in Ukraine dominates media headlines, I can’t help but feeling like inflation might be the dominant theme of the next decade.  Using “government” numbers, inflation is running at about 7.9%.  Shelter is the single biggest component of CPI at 33% of...Read More

In our last newsletter written on Friday, we wrote about just how much risk market participants are having to take to target a 7.5% return, mostly due to how low yields are on bonds.  The bailout has been that equity markets have performed exceptionally well, but of course now we are starting at valuations that...Read More

I’ve written quite a few times about the Tech Bubble that currently exists in the U.S. stock market.  No stock better epitomizes this madness than Tesla.  Over the last 12 months, Tesla generated $24.578 billion in total revenue and generated EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) of negative $69MM.  Tesla’s market capitalization is a staggering...Read More

I’ve been writing to you for quite some time about the massive paradox between growth and value stocks.  The largest growth companies have become so big that they now represent the largest portion of the indices in history.  Conversely, value stocks have remained in the penalty box and are trading at very cheap valuations.  The...Read More

Volatility is picking up once again, which we should expect given the extreme conditions the world is seeing.  Yesterday, the Federal Reserve chair said that interest rates were likely to stay near zero through at least the next year or so.  I don’t see that as surprising whatsoever, given the focus will be on reducing...Read More

The Covid-19 health crisis continues to evolve globally, and slowly we are learning more about the virus.  There have been quite a few serology studies in various regions of the country, where they are examining how many people possess Covid-19 antibodies.  The results of the studies seem to indicate that the true number of infected...Read More

This week, earnings began coming out in abundance, starting with many of the Big Banks.  I’ve gotten through J.P. Morgan, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Citigroup.  Research reports will be forthcoming.  I will tell you that I am incredibly encouraged.  All 4 banks were profitable, despite posting dramatic and expected reserves to account for...Read More

While we are likely in the peak period for deaths in hard-hit New York and New Jersey from Covid-19, there are signs of hope emerging.  The NYC confirmed case daily growth rate has declined.  Governor Andrew Cuomo said that “the number of deaths has been dropping for the first time.” While too early to get...Read More

Well, that was one awful week that we just had, for much of the world, and certainly in financial markets.  I know I feel like I aged a decade this week.  The stock market has been increasingly worried about this Coronavirus over the last few weeks, leading to increased volatility and large selloffs.  This, combined...Read More

Benjamin Graham (the founder of value investing) originally came up with the concept of margin of safety.  The idea is to buy a security at a large enough discount to its true worth, that you can greatly reduce your chances of losses, while also maintaining a maximum profit potential.  To determine intrinsic value, one uses...Read More