Good morning.
Over the past few trading sessions, it’s been clear that the bulls are looking to make a run at value stocks after the trade stalling out in early June.  Makes sense as the mega-cap tech stocks are reaching nosebleed territory.  That means that industrial, financial and cyclicals may start to catch a bid in the coming weeks.  Whether the bulls can continue to run free is unclear, but what is clear is where they’re looking to go.

Now here’s the rest of the news:

August 11, 2019

The concept of the smart factory has been around for quite some time.  But technology and connectivity limitations have held back development.  Until now.

5G Paves the Way

Jonathan Wilkins, director of global machine supply firm EU Automation says, “The technology could bring about a fundamental change…”  I just hope it gets us out of the mess we’ve created.  [I think technology will get us out of problems such as ‘Global Warming’, the ‘Opioid Crisis’, and this ‘Age of Plastic’ bombarding our shores and choking our landfills.]  Has it not already improved efficiency, reduced wasteful maintenance, and generally lowered manufacturing costs?

The Consumer Technology Association says 5G will allow you to download a two-hour movie in just 3.6 seconds, versus six minutes on current networks.  But 5G is much bigger than just movie down-loads.  It is expected to propel innovation across multiple fields, including transportation, healthcare, defence, consumer electronics and appliances, agriculture, shipping and warehousing, education… the list goes on.  Just imagine what knowledge could-be-share and wisdom acknowledged?

Capitalism is best described by the term creative destruction, first described by economist Joseph Schumpeter.  The term indicates that new technologies can replace old ones – possibly ones that seem entrenched and incapable of innovation.  Of course, not all new technologies work out.

The Hyperloop, an attempt at faster, safer transportation, just set a record 288 mph in a recent test.  Some parts were lost along the way – a generous term for an explosion that occurred.  This form of creative destruction is certainly both creative and destructive.

We’ll let someone else do the first human tests… 😉

August 11, 2017

Making money online or offline is really simple.  Making money with a home business is also simple.  If that were true, why do so many of these secondary businesses at home fail to make money?

It’s because the majority of those who try, can’t focus on one thing for long enough to see it work before they’ve moved on to the next.  I’m going to meet with (these five people) and show (each one of them) how they can save money on their taxes.  Before they know it they’re checking email, posting pictures on Facebook, chatting on the phone, and wasting time watching YouTube.  Not because they are bad people!  But because there was no clear amount of time allocated to the task.  What was the task?

Meeting and showing these specific people “the tax advantages they are missing.” But instead — they’ve been very busy for those three hours, but haven’t been even slightly productive.  What you’ll find most difficult is knowing which tasks actually bring in the money.  That where we come in…

REW

                                                                                             Good morning.
Over the weekend, news of the remarkable accomplishment of the SpaceX Dragon astronauts making the first water landing since 1975 was juxtaposed with the potential acquisition of the social app TikTok by Microsoft.  As stimulus talk and M&A activity begin to heat up, the indication is the potential for overheating on the combination of extremes.  The hope is that any potential selling can be met with a safe water landing for buyers before the next big step for the market.

Now here’s the rest of the news:

August 04, 2019

Our family outing to Reader Rock Garden, Calgary, AB.  [Shameful as it is, I’ve lived in Calgary for over 35 years; and not once walked through these magnificent gardens.]

This historic three-acre garden was created in 1913 by Calgary’s third Parks superintendent, William Roland Reader¹, and has been recognized around the world.  Through much trial and error William located various species of vegetation that, not only survived, but would thrive the dry summers and cold winters, in Alberta.

What a wonderful day in the neighbourhood.  Norm and my mom picked Caryl and me up-in-front of our home for a semi-guided tour of the outdoor botanical gardens.  Not to bore you with the particulars, but when Calgary was established just over 150 years ago … this was bare-ass prairie.  There was little or no diversity of leafy trees, dense bushes, or flowering plants to speak of.  Here are just a few pictures taken in this outdoor garden Sunday.

There you have it, a wonderful relaxing morning!

¹ Reader was originally a school teacher, who took it upon himself to change all that… 😉

August 04, 2017

Now… let’s come back to your role getting people to someone else’s website.  How do you do this?  First, you acquire an affiliate link from your new affiliate partner, one that’s unique to you.  Then you place ads on other online venues:

(with money you don’t have)  Facebook, search engines, forums, chat boards, other websites, etc.  You may not know this, but a huge percentage of the ads you click on online aren’t actually placed by the business owners selling the products.  They’re placed by affiliates, people who place ads and get clicks [traffic] in order to earn commissions.  MSI’s.  Multiple sources of income!

So, just how much traffic do you need to send to a website in order to make your first commission?

That depends mostly on two things: the people who make up your traffic, and how good the website is at making an irresistible offer that gets people to buy.

Here I’ll teach you the basics and how to get started.  Later on, I’ll invite you to join my affiliate program [and Network Marketing company.  We call these ‘turnkey’ programs, because all you have to do is put in a key [your affiliate link] and turn it [ drive traffic] to start making money.  Lust about everything else is done for you.

The first thing you should do when you start any new business, is focus on bringing in cash.

REW

                                                                                     Good morning.
Have you ever seen the old tootsie roll pop commercial where the boy owl asks, “how many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop?”  The owl responds by saying, “good question’” taking the pop, takes three licks and then bites it.  The owl then responds to the boy by saying, “three.”
The issue with stimulus & deficits is that the money spent is generating less and less returns to the real economy and the stock market as exhibited by gold’s meteoric rise.  We keep adding more stimulus be-fore the original has a chance to do anything for fear of failure.  How much growth will the economy get from $1 trillion in deficits?  The world may never know.

Now here’s the rest of the news:

Capitalize On What Could Be a Major U.S. Lithium Breakthrough
Lithium could soon be one of the world’s most coveted minerals.
Citigro up estimates lithium demand will increase 64% in the next five years, as batteries that fuel electric vehicles and store solar and natural-gas power become the norm.  Two famous energy explorers, who have built billion-dollar companies, have set up shop at a prop-erty in Nevada, which could soon be America’s largest lithium deposit.

July 28, 2019

What makes people ruin their lives?

by Jennifer Taylor, Lawyer / Personal Finance Writer

I believe that there are 3 main things that ruin people’s lives.  It does not happen instantly or during a single event, but slow and steady over time.

I. They Can’t Get Off the Consumption Treadmill

The “Keeping Up with the Joneses” idiom refers to when an individual constantly upgrades their life-style because they see their neighbours doing the same and do not want to be perceived as having an inferior socioeconomic status.  For example, you may buy a new Mercedes because you noticed your friend just bought a new BMW.  You upgrade your iPhone because your co-worker has the newest version.

This is dangerous for two reasons.

First and foremost, you will always lose.  New products are coming out every single second, with brilliant marketers selling you on why you need it in your life.

You will also start to develop the mindset that happiness can be obtained through the pursuit of bigger and better possessions.  This is a recipe for disaster.  It also shows to your colleagues, friends, and family that you value style over substance.

Second, this is a sure-fire way to never accumulate wealth.  In order to generate true wealth, you have to live within your means.

I live a frugal lifestyle.  I only purchase indulgences that truly optimize my happiness.  I still eat sushi, get drinks with friends and buy coffee at Starbucks.  However, these are all done within moderation are ultimately constrained by my budget.  Since I do not engage in these activities every single day, it actually optimizes the pleasure I receive from these indulgences when I do have them.

We need to be more mindful about what we consume.

II. They Lack Discipline

You need habits.

You need routine.

You need values.

Without either one of these things, you will be directionless and unproductive.

I would not be able to write 20 hours every week while working as a full-time lawyer without a rigid daily routine.

During Monday to Friday, I wake up at 5:30 AM, make coffee, sit down at my desk and write for an hour and a half.  I then shower, eat breakfast and get ready for work.  On my half an hour commute to and from work, I read either on my iPad or a physical book.  When I return home in the evening I write for at least another hour.  An hour before I sleep, I stop scrolling social media and leave my phone on my nightstand.  I then read, again, until I head to bed.  Rinse.  Repeat.

The hours that have been given are enough to accomplish our wildest goals.  We just don’t have the discipline to get anything done.

III. They Don’t Chase What Makes Them Truly Happy

I believe, more than anything, that you need to figure out two things: your interests and what you’re good at.  And then, how those two things intersect so you can profit off what you love.

This relates to my first point – stop looking for happiness in things that will end up in a landfill in 5-10 years.  Instead, spend that money on exploring what you enjoy and what you’re good at.

Instead of upgrading your cellphone, enroll in a writing course.

Instead of upgrading your house, travel somewhere new.

Instead of upgrading your car, buy those luxury craft materials that will take your handmade product to the next level.

It’s such a simple formula but one that few rarely follow.

Determine what makes you happy.

Determine how you can keep doing that for as long as possible.

Concentrate on what matters.  Stop allocating your time and money on the rest.

In summary, people ruin their lives because they lack focus, discipline and self-awareness.  Although these are interconnected, I view them each as very distinct.

You need to focus on things that only align with your values, ambitions and aspirations.  You need the discipline to put in the actual work to achieve the goals that you defined.  And, most importantly, you need the self-awareness to know what actually makes you happy.

Thanks Jennifer, as you teach, we will listen.  🙂

Q: “Why do customers need our products?”

Good morning.
News came out from AstraZenica, CaSino Biologics and Pfizer of safely administered potential vaccines that resulted in an immune response.
Whether the vaccines will achieve a level that will be needed or will prevent asymptomatic trans-mission is unknown, but the progress stole some of the thunder from Moderna’s announcement last week.  While a vaccine is still a ways away, the continued drip of news of positive test results is net positive for equities in a very uncertain time.

Now here’s the rest of the news:

July 21, 2019

If becoming rich is part of your dream – and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be – just be careful you don’t confuse rich with living a rich life.  I think we should all become financially rich.  If we are, we can give more to our families, our communities and our world.  But it’s living a rich life that should be our primary objective.
A rich life is created by being more concerned with who you become than what you acquire.  It’s created by clarity of purpose.  And clarity leads to power.
If we were sitting across from one another, here’s what I’d ask you: “What’s the most important goal/dream/mission in your life?’

Mine, and I believe my wife’s, is to spend ½ our time in Newfoundland; living the ‘good life.’

So the short version of our conversation goes like this: what do you want, why do you want it and what are you willing to do to get it?  These are questions you need to constantly be asking yourself.
If you do – if you take the time to think and ponder the answers, you’ll gain greater clarity, more fulfillment, live longer and feel better.  You will live a rich life.
I’ll close with this quote from Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley:

“Nothing contributes so much to tranquilizing the mind as a steady purpose – a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye.”

P.S. The other 50% of our time?  The Canadian Rocky Mountains look great to me!  😉

July 21, 2017

“Oh, I never thought of it this way.”

Job security?

That means one person has 100% control of our income, and 100% control of our time.

Maybe we should ask ourselves, “Does this feel good?”

REW

Good morning.
California is now back in focus after Governor Gavin Newsome announced that they were going on lockdown again.
While the policy there is a chance that the policy may be effective, it does signal to the market that leaders are willing to go there again.  This jeopardizes the outlook for a V-shaped recovery if it wasn’t already in doubt.

Now here’s the rest of the news:

Another Massive Collapse
Already, cases are rising in dozens of states.  And the states seeing explosive growth in infections are taking an economic beating.  But this is likely the beginning.  In fact, the shocking data in a recent White House document (not intended for the public) suggests the unthinkable.  200,000 people could be infected every day leading to 3,000 deaths per day.
No wonder Moody’s Analytic chief economist told CNBC…

“If we get a second wave, it will be a depression.”

The warning signs are unmistakable! 

Unemployment rates have fallen, Yes!
The decline in joblessness mostly occurred because employers invited back their furloughed workers as states reopened their economies.  The chart [on the right] shows the worst hit industries:

“Success is simple, once you accept how hard it is.”
—Craig Ballantyne

July 14, 2019

Because we’re afraid that we won’t like it, or that we will fail in our execution, we tend to overwhelm ourselves with questions and conditions, trying to figure everything out beforehand and guarantee that we will succeed before we even start.

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear.  Action breeds confidence and courage.  If you want to conquer fear, do not sit at home and think about it.  Get out and get busy.” – Dale Carnegie

The only way to get the answers you seek, to know for sure if the idea you have is worth trying, is by actually trying it.  If you can get yourself to start executing, you will naturally create momentum, which will move you forward and into completion.

The more you do something, the less afraid you are of it, the more expertise you’ll gain along the way, and ultimately, this expertise will help you make connections, have new ideas, and come up with inno-vative ways of solving the problems you face, also known as inspiration!

Spectacular Sunday!  😉

                                                                                     Good morning.
If you thought that the technology rally was over, you’ll have to think again.  The Nasdaq motored to another all-time high fueled by a 5.77% advance in Amazon shares.
Chinese companies were exploding higher on Chinese economic data and stimulus hopes.  There were some mildly bearish trades on QQQ, but ultimately the out-look appears to remain one that is accelerating its pace to the upside.

Here is the rest of the news:

Investors Face a Long, Hot Summer
…according to John Persinos

If you looked at the stock market on January 1 and then slept in a cave for six months and glanced again at the market on June 30, you‘d think: Hmmm.  Stocks are only down 4%.  Must have been an uneventful first half.
But as we know, the first six months of 2020 were among the most volatile and traumatic in market history.

A financial Rip Van Winkle would have missed a 35% decline from February’s record high and a 44% rally from March’s low.  The magnitude of the first quarter’s decline made it the fifth-worst quarter since 1950, while the gain in the second quarter was the third-strongest.  The first quarter witnessed the sharpest bear market drop on record.

The U.S economy contracted 5% in the first quarter.  Unemployment in Q1 went from a 50-year low of 3.5% in February to 14.7%, the highest level since the Great Depression.  All told, we’re witnessing the worst downturn since the 1930s.
In March and April, the U.S. lost an unprecedented 22 million jobs.  In May and June, the economy added back 7.5 million jobs.  U.S. payrolls grew by 4.8 million in June, the Labor Department said Thursday.  The unemployment rate fall to 11.1% in June, down from 13.3% in May.
Wall Street is optimistic that a robust economic recovery is around the corner.  On June 30, the three main U.S. stock indices closed the second-quarter with their best quarterly performance in decades.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended Q2 with a 17.8% gain, the S&P 500 rose nearly 20%, and the tech-intensive NASDAQ Composite soared 30.6%.

*  *  *

“I was worth over $1,000,000 when I was 23, and over $10,000,000 when I was 24, and over $100,000,000 when I was 25, and it wasn’t that important because I never did it for the money.”
—Steve Jobs

July 07, 2019

Do you hate questions?

What was your answer the last time someone asked you, “How have you been doing?”  If you said, “Busy,” you’re certainly not alone.  We hear it more often than not, and to be perfectly honest, we often feel the same way.

But here’s the deal: There’s a tremendous difference between being busy and being productive.  Even more, there’s a big difference between productivity and focused productivity.

As the quote above suggests, being busy and productive without clarity about your priorities and a focus on what’s most important is useless. Heck, you could argue that it’s worse than useless; it’s potentially harmful and damaging.

So, how can you avoid the “productivity trap”?  Here are a few ideas:

• • Make a “not-to-do” list.
  • Let go of the rest.
  • Plan ahead.
  • Clear the clutter.
  • Put one foot in front of the other.
  • Batch similar tasks together.
  • Set a timer.
  • Schedule mini-workouts.
  • Improve your communication.

When you combine productivity with focus, well that’s where the magic happens.

Get-rrrr Done,  😉

Today was Terrific Tuesday!
Why?
Because my wife and decided to make it so…  We picked up my mother, who lives alone and been cooped up like many “good Alberta’s self-isolating” and just got out into the fresh air together.  Yes it was raining, as ‘the weather’ has done for most of June in Calgary, but the air was clear, fresh and alive!
In less than an hour the visit was over, but it just felt so good to see each other, even as we continued wearing our own protective masks!!!
Love You Mum, love you!  …  In other matters, the Markets!

                                                                                               Good morning.
I wrote about the possibility last week but it now a reality.  Wells Fargo is cutting their dividend in order to meet the Federal Reserve’s requirements following the stress tests.  While the exact pay-out hasn’t been determined, it is a reflection of the difficulty of big banks in a recession.
The question is going to be whether Wells Fargo is the first domino to fall.  [Likely not.]

Now here’s the rest of the news:

The Biggest Disconnect Between Prices And Profits In Stock Market History?  Everyone is talking about the massive disparity between stock prices and fundamentals right now.  To paraphrase Jeremy Grantham, we now find ourselves in the top 1% of stock market valuations and the bottom 1% of economic outcomes (based on the annualized rate of decline in second quarter GDP).  A popular way to demonstrate this gap is seen in the chart below which plots total equity values along with total corporate profits.  [Read Here] the rest of the Felder Report.

June 30, 2019

“Compliments are like potato chips. Once you’ve had one you look for more.” – Harvey Mackay

As you may be able to tell, I just receive Harvey Mackay’s Weekly Nationally Syndicated Column…

In it was an article entitled, “People Live Up To The Encouragement They Receive”

Encouragement is an especially valuable tool … a manager who cares will remember these basic elements.  Here are the quick five:

1. “I want to feel important.”  No one wants to feel like a number, interchangeable and easy to forget.  Get to know your employees as people; find out what makes each one unique and show them you’re paying attention to their individuality.
2. “I need encouragement.”  Even the best employees continue to flourish and grow with positive feedback.  Let them know what they’re doing right and how they can keep performing at a high level.  They’ll notice and keep up their efforts.
3. “I want to believe in you.”  Employees want to know they can trust you – your knowledge, your expertise and your word.  Show your commitment to helping them succeed and grow by listening, answering questions honestly and keeping your promises.
4. “I want to succeed.”  Most employees want to do a good job, even if they don’t necessarily want to advance.  Explain your expectations clearly, and give them the training and support they need so they know you’re investing in helping them.
5. “I want to be motivated.”  Yes, motivation springs from inside, but employees want to be told why they should complete a project or improve quality in terms that make sense to them.  Emphasize the job’s value to the organization, as well as the benefits the employee will enjoy — personal satisfaction as well as more tangible rewards — to unleash their enthusiasm and commitment.

As humorist Robert Henry said: “People do not live by bread alone.  They need buttering up once in a while.”

As always … thanks Harvey, 🙂