Wednesday Reading List
As explained in I Have a Blog, but Why Should You Care? the Wednesday Reading Lists are getting a revamp. There will be a short summary of each article’s takeaways in the post so in two minutes you can get caught up on the week’s best and click through for more detail as wanted.
Retailers Lobby: “We Lied About Organized Theft” by Barry Ritholtz
You may have seen the headlines or read the reports – half of retail industry losses in 2021 were the result of organized retail crime. Except they weren’t. The National Retail Federation walked it back after realizing they had used faulty data, but not before media outlets breathlessly reported it. The point for investors: too much news is just someone with a biased agenda pushing something out that lazy media outlets parrot and turn into a bigger deal. Before drawing conclusions and making changes, dig deeper than reading an online article or scrolling past a headline on X.
Cheerful for the Holidays by Heritage Financial
Interest rates dropped, fueling a broad based market rally that helped global stocks, bonds and REITs but not commodities. Investors holding excess cash may face opportunity costs if anticipated rate cuts materialize in 2024.
The best Apple product you aren’t using costs just 99 cents by Fast Company
“Hide My Email lets you create an unlimited number of email aliases that you can use on website contact forms or when signing up for online accounts instead of having to give your real email address.” This prevents spammers from getting your address and protects your personal information from common data breaches.
“As long as you are using the Safari browser on iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you can automatically generate a Hide My Email alias in any contact field on the web. Just click or tap inside the contact field and then choose the “Hide My Email” option that appears.”
The economy has gone from very hot to pretty good 😎 by TKer
The economy is cooling, although that may not be cause for major concern. It’s weakening from a very strong starting point, as some massive tailwinds (excess savings, job openings, business spending) are easing into more normal ranges. This easing is what the Fed wanted when it raised rates to combat inflation. A 2024 recession is still a possibility, but not a base case and it can also be a shallow one.
Why Bonds Are Making a Huge Comeback by Morningstar
The bond market was on target for its third down year in a row, but then interest rates moved sharply downwards leading to very strong recent gains for bonds and turning them into positive territory for the year. Investors have shifted from worrying about more rate hikes and higher yields to thinking we’re getting rate cuts next and yields will continue to drop. While this may be overly optimistic and we can see more bond market volatility ahead, the good news is that bonds are paying a nice yield now for investors who can ignore getting whipsawed by short-term forecasts.
Only a tiny fraction of U.S. homeowners have negative equity by ResiClub
Strong price gains in recent years means only a tiny percentage of U.S. homeowners owe more on their homes than they are worth, meaning that if we do enter a recession we may not see lots of real estate foreclosures during that downturn.
The Best Password Managers to Secure Your Digital Life by Wired
You need a good password manager to protect yourself online. Browser-based ones are okay, but limited and there’s nothing wrong with Apple’s macOS password manager if you only use Apple products. This article shares 9 optimal alternatives based on your situation.
November 2023 CPI report: Headline inflation is still cooling by J.P. Morgan
Headline inflation continues to fall, but core inflation remains sticky at a level higher than what the Federal Reserve wants. Elevated wages in the services sector continue to add an element of stickiness to core inflation. Given this inflation print, it appears less likely that the Fed will implement a rate cut in the upcoming March 2024 meetings.