It’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe …
Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what’s been going on in the world of money and personal finance.
Another glorious week comes to an end. Off we go …
“One can’t believe impossible things,” said Alice.
“I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”
— Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There
Credits and Debits
Debit: In case you’ve been wondering where all of money that the Fed conjures out of thin air eventually ends up, wonder no more: Five of the ten wealthiest counties in America are in the Washington DC metropolitan area. Heh. Imagine that.
Credit: The booming economy around the US capital doesn’t impress investment advisor John Maudlin. He says we’re on the verge of a major financial crisis that will rear its ugly head sometime in 2018 — if not later this year. Yeah, yeah; I’ll believe it when I see it. Wait … did I really just write that?
Credit: Don’t tell that to stock market investors. As of Friday’s closing bell, the S&P 500 has now gone 270 days without a 5% pullback — that’s the longest such streak since 1996. Wow.
Credit: Meanwhile, the S&P 500’s information-technology sector set an all-time high this week, surpassing the old mark set in March 2000, at the peak of the dot-com bubble. According to the Wall Street Journal, S&P tech stocks are up 23% in 2017, by far the best-performing among the index’s 11 sectors.
Debit: Perhaps all of this stock market exuberance is due to the fact that investors have now deployed most of their cash that had been sitting on the sidelines. The last time sideline cash levels were so low was right before the last big market crash in 2008. I’m sure that’s just a coincidence. At least, I’m pretty sure. Okay … truth be told, I’m not sure at all.
Debit: Did you see this? In just five short years from now, Social Security will be paying out more than it receives. Remember that the next time some snarky kid accuses you of having one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel. At least you got paid!
Debit: With that in mind, maybe it’s a good thing that the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that, “The idea of a universal basic income monthly cash payments from the government to every individual, working or not, with no strings attached is gaining traction, thanks in part to endorsements from Silicon Valley (billionaires).” I guess it’s not just Washington DC — money grows on trees in California too.
Debit: The truth is, those ivory-tower billionaires will never provide this “free money” from their own wallets — especially when they can collude with the powers-that-be to use the printing press to silently steal what they need from the public in the form of a debauched currency. Of course, billionaires don’t care about those things because most of their wealth is held in the form of real tangible assets — not paper.
Credit: Frankly, that kind of thinking is why champions of the nanny-state will never accept the gold standard in any form — not that the US is in a position to return to one. After all, according to President Trump: “We don’t have the gold” anymore. It’s tough to argue against him; more than 60 years have passed since the American government properly audited the 8333 tons of gold it still claims to hold.
Debit: Speaking of missing gold, tennis legend Boris Becker recently declared bankruptcy. You’ve got to backhand it to Becker … in his heyday, the guy was worth $100 million. Yes, $100 million! And now it’s all gone. I don’t know about you, but that’s the biggest financial double-fault I’ve ever seen.
Credit: I know what you’re thinking: How could anybody ever squander a $100-million fortune? Apparently, Boris stepped over the line when he made several ill-advised “Nigerian investments.” No, really. Sadly, Becker’s blunder is why so many Nigerian “princes” usually end up living like kings.
The Question of the Week
[poll id="173"]
Last Week’s Poll Results
Do you plan on taking, or did you already take, a road trip vacation this summer?
- No (52%)
- Yes (43%)
- I’m not sure. (5%)
More than 1100 people responded to last week’s question and, despite the lowest gasoline prices in more than a decade, more than half of all Len Penzo dot Com readers say they have no plans to take a summer road trip this year. I don’t either. Next year, however, is another story. I just hope the prices can stay this low for another year!
By the Numbers
How many of the top 10 movies of 1997 have you seen?
1 Titanic (US domestic gross: $600 million)
2 Men In Black ($251 million)
3 Jurassic Park: The Lost World ($229 million)
4 Liar Liar ($181 million)
5 Air Force One ($173 million)
6 As Good As It Gets ($148 million)
7 Good Will Hunting ($138 million)
8 My Best Friends’s Wedding ($127 million)
9 Tomorrow Never Dies ($125 million)
10 Face/Off ($112 million)
Source: Box Office Mojo
Other Useless News
Here are the top five articles viewed by my 15,001 RSS feed, weekly email subscribers, and other followers over the past 30 days (excluding Black Coffee posts):
- Why Your Expensive Luxury Car Doesn’t Impress Smart People
- 33 Reasons Why Your Finances are a Complete Mess
- 5 Ways to Make Your Final Working Years Before Retirement REALLY Count
- 4 Smart Home Improvement Projects that Save Money in the Long Run
- True Story: What Happens When You Can’t Pay the Restaurant Bill
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Letters, I Get Letters
Every week I feature the most interesting question or comment — assuming I get one, that is. And folks who are lucky enough to have the only question in the mailbag get their letter highlighted here whether it’s interesting or not! You can reach out to me at: Len@LenPenzo.com
After reading my article explaining why whirlpool tubs are for suckers, Stan had this observation:
The problem is people just don’t know how to unwind anymore.
Don’t tell that to the millions of people who pop Xanax pills like candy!
I’m Len Penzo and I approved this message.
Photo Credit: brendan-c
“Debit: Perhaps all of this stock market exuberance is due to the fact that investors have now deployed most of their cash that had been sitting on the sidelines. The last time sideline cash levels were so low was right before the last big market crash in 2008…” – Len
This here old boy don’t hanker for stocks, but his wife wants to spend a little of her SS on them.
So, since his days as the family despot are long gone, he does the internet tricks to “get ‘er dun”.
But to her GREAT CREDIT, she will (from time to time) take some advice from him, so she is now one of that small group with all her cash out of the market.
Credit: She hasn’t heard of bitcoins …
Bitcoins are too volatile for me, Dave. I can’t help but wonder how they will retain value in a currency crisis, since they are only redeemable in fiat. Yes, gold and silver are also redeemable in fiat, but unlike bitcoin, 5000 years of history have proven that people accept precious metals as money (whose value is determined by weight) on their own merits. Bitcoin … the jury is still out — but I believe people will not see them as being worth anything if the dollar (or any other fiat currency) returns to its intrinsic value of zero.
Debit: The truth is, those ivory-tower billionaires will never provide this free money from their own wallets especially when they can collude with the powers-that-be to use the printing press to silently steal what they need from the public …” – Len
Case in point:
“The Buffett Loophole and the Berkshire Model are allowing one individual to build one of the great American fortunes while avoiding individual taxes. Talk about someone not paying his share!”
http://www.barrons.com/articles/warren-buffetts-nifty-tax-loophole-1428726092
Len, I forgot what a good year 1997 was for movies. I’ve seen every one on your list. I even saw Face Off which was pretty lame.
Have a great weekend!
Sara
I saw ’em all too, Sara. I think 1997 was a vintage year at the movies — I even liked Face/Off!
Rant on. It’s deeply flawed ideas like Obamacare and universal basic income that are killing the USA. More and more people think that someone else should be taxed more and that the government should provide more for them. As long as they aren’t paying for it, they’re A-OK with it. Many who complain about our country’s problems are the same ones who get the freebies others pay for. More and more Americans aren’t willing to do anything for themselves or to help make the country better. They just suck what they can from the national teet without so much as a thank you to those working their asses off to pay the tab. Universal Basic Income will only serve to make things worse. Rant off.
Good rant. Feel free to sound off here anytime, Ted.
The marketplace demands price discrimination between the local equivalents of a Motel 6 and the Ritz, otherwise everyone will simply go to the Ritz Carlton. All guaranteed incomes will do is inflate away the debt of nations and the savings of the lower and middle classes without changing anyone’s standard of living.
Wide Awake gets it, folks. Heed his words.
Shocking poll results so far. 21% fired for cause. Seems high to me!
Me too, Oscar … but this poll is not scientific, so it may not necessarily reflect the real world — only those who choose to respond.
…and this blog is for financially responsible people. There is genuine evidence such people are responsible drivers, at least – the insurance companies set premium rates lower for those with good credit ratings.
Their actuarial tables are sound evidence of the correlation.
Stocks seem really overvalued at the moment! I stopped adding money to my brokerage accnts, but am having a little FOMO at the moment. (seems like the good times are never coming to an end)
Are you still investing in equities at the moment?
Mr. S, I am only invested into equities through a portion of my 401k index fund selections. Other than that, I hold no individual stocks at the moment.
Very interesting and informative post. Thanks for sharing!