Here are a few of the stories and articles that I found most interesting this week.
Energy
Magnetically floating twisting ball of million-degree burning hot plasma anyone? This is another possible sustainable energy solution to keep an eye on. From the website Science Alert
Investment
Round table of great investment advice from some of the pros. Worth reading but always take advice from experts with a grain of salt, and with a view of utilizing that information as just another input to help make your own opinions.
I recently discovered a great investment blog called Vintage Value. I’ve read a couple great posts on Munger maxims and other keys to value investing. This latest post is gold. Its nine tools you need to be an equity analyst and what brands are the best for each one. I suggested he add dartboard to the list… maybe for a follow up post. Either way it was entertaining.
Quote from Bill McCoy at Factset:
“Look at a chart of G-10 market yields since the 1980s. Today’s levels look kinda low, don’t they? Yes, inflation is low, and interest rates are suppressed due to policy actions, but someday the worm will turn and rates will rise. Please note that Captain Obvious has been wrong about “when” on this topic for several years.”
Artificial Intelligence:
Even the Employee benefit space is getting more and more on the Robo band wagon. To call it artificial intelligence is to be a little loose with the term, but you can see that the industry will continue to evolve.
The big AI battlefield appears that be taking place in your living room. The titans of tech are each vying for dominance as your personal Jarvis type assistant.
Books:
I’m currently reading the Walter Isaacsson biography on Ben Franklin. It’s incredible to read all the things he accomplished in his life, and how the tactics he used are still useful today. For instance, Franklin was a master of networking and collaborating. One of the things that I want to think more about in 2017 is his concept of a Junto. I’ll let Walter Isaacsson explain it.
Randomness:
This link has been making the rounds of Social Media “Only 50% of 30 Year olds Now Earn More Than Their Parents Did“
Personally I’m not that worried. Young people will start making more money as their parents retire faster than robots can take their jobs. Still, it is important to keep an eye on and you young people need to get busy. This is still the biggest best time in human history to be alive….ESPECIALLY if you are talented and ambitious. The world is your oyster.
Personal Note:
I am a little laid up this weekend so I am hoping to get caught up on some reading and writing under the guise of being under doctors orders to not do anything too strenuous. I am very anxious to finish up a post I have on the CAPE ratio valuation metric and why I think its flawed in practice. I am also hoping to finish the Ben Franklin bio and get on to Cialdini’s newest, before I get into the new Michael Lewis book.
Also a big shout out to my friends Justin and JP at Skragglies.com for moving into some new great office space. Their operation is growing leaps and bounds because they are just simply the best at what they do. They designed this site for me as a very basic blog platform, but they run the gamut in terms of website design and social media marketing. Reach out to them if you are looking to get some information about getting online, and more importantly, getting seen online! My website traffic has increased substantially and that’s without me hiring them for any social media marketing campaign. Go to www.skragglies.com to check out what they can do.
Finally, I am a little nervous about the investment environment for the next year, but I’m not yet at a place to recommend people start pulling money out of the market. I would just say, it is a good time to reassess cashflow needs, and anything you need to have in the next 6 months should be incredibly liquidity and stable. I laid out some initial thoughts on my post Trump post here. Tread carefully out there and let me know if there is anything you have questions on.
Until next time…..
“If you want to achieve excellence, you can get there today. As of this second, quit doing less-than-excellent work.” – Thomas J. Watson