A Wealth of Common Sense. Investor, author, and host of Animal Spirits podcast, focuses on simplifying finance for everyone; has backed over 200 companies.
Four big questions about the economy I’ve been pondering:
Why don’t we have recessions anymore? The National Bureau of Economic Research has historical data on U.S. expansions and contractions going back to the 1850s:
Is 19th century data as reliable as today’s? Probably not but it’s obvious that recessions are fewer and far between than they used to be.1
It feels strange that we’ve had jus...
Let’s say you have two rich people — Dan and Dave.
They’re both in their mid-50s, work in tech, and enjoy roughly the same annual salary and bonus. Each makes a very good living.
Dan drives an older model vehicle. He lives in a house that’s nice, but wouldn’t be described as a mansion. Dan isn’t much for material possessions so he doesn’t spend extravagantly on clothes or vacation...
A reader asks:
I have a question about reconciling two very famous market parables. Ben, your story of “Bob, the World’s Worst Market Timer” perfectly illustrates the power of compounding and the importance of never selling, even if your entry points are disastrously bad. On the other hand, we frequently hear the statistic–often championed by Tom Lee–that if you miss the 10 best days in the m...
Joe Weisenthal shared an interesting chart of household allocations to various financial assets over time:
This chart might be something of a Rorschach test.
These allocations have been cyclical over time. Booms and busts. Leaders and laggards.
It’s quite possible that equities taking the lead by such a wide margin shows that they’re overvalued or possibly due for a pullback.
It’s also possible t...
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On today’s show, we discuss:
F/m Labs
Interactive Yield Chart
Interest Rate Scenario Analysis
The case for TIPS over nominal treasuries in today’s environment
Why ZTOP only buys the largest, most liquid high yield issuers
Why bond investors are warier of hypersca...
