Sat.Jul 06, 2024 - Fri.Jul 12, 2024

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Why Hasn’t the California Globe Retracted Its Story?

The Big Picture

@TBPInvictus here If you’re tired of California-minimum-wage-and-its-impact-on-limited-service-restaurant-employment stories, I understand. Leave this page immediately. I’m tired of it, too, but some stories are so factually challenged that they demand a response. So, allow me to address a hot mess of a story that appeared recently in the California Globe.

Food 337
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Top clicks this week on Abnormal Returns

Abnormal Returns

Top clicks this week How major asset classes performed in June 2024. (capitalspectator.com) Just how useful is historical financial markets data? (retirementresearcher.com) Don't forget, stocks are real assets. (downtownjoshbrown.com) Europe's stock market has badly lagged the U.S. How much longer can it last? (awealthofcommonsense.com) Beware small sample sizes.

Insurance 291
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Planning For Changes In Client Marginal Tax Rates After TCJA’s Sunset

Nerd's Eye View

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), passed in 2017, was one of the most extensive pieces of tax legislation to be passed in the last 30 years, touching many aspects of individual, corporate, and estate tax. However, most of TCJA's provisions are set to 'sunset' at the end of 2025 – an event that would have at least as much impact as TCJA's initial passage.

Taxes 236
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Update: Lumber Prices Down 20% YoY

Calculated Risk

Here is another monthly update on lumber prices. SPECIAL NOTE: The CME group discontinued the Random Length Lumber Futures contract on May 16, 2023. I switched to a physically-delivered Lumber Futures contract that was started in August 2022. Unfortunately, this impacts long term price comparisons since the new contract was priced about 24% higher than the old random length contract for the period when both contracts were available.

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Confronting the Change Challenge

Change is difficult, whether in our private or work life. However, without change, growth and learning are difficult not to mention keeping up with the market and staying competitive. We have all worked for or ourselves are the bosses that prefer to keep the status quo. We will discuss how to address the "change challenge" to enable you to be a changemaker and a graceful recipient of change.

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‘50 Shades of Beige’: Meet Britain’s New Prime Minister

The Big Picture

Source: New York Times The NYT: The final votes in Britain’s parliamentary elections are still being counted, but one thing is crystal clear: After 14 years in power, the Conservative Party is out. More than that: It’s been thoroughly punished by the British public, reduced to barely 120 seats, the party’s worst result in its history. Several prominent figures — including former Prime Minister Liz Truss — lost their seats.

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More Trending

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The Return Of IAR Ethics CE Day And The State Of The (Nerd’s Eye View) Blog

Nerd's Eye View

After several turbulent years in both markets and workforces, 2024 appears to be the 'most normal' year of late, with strong market performance, cooling (or at least no longer rising!?) interest rates, and relatively little new tax legislation (yet). Yet the need for advisor education – and the regulatory requirements to get it (in the form of Continuing Education obligations) – never ends, with the latest focus for most financial advisors being on the ongoing expansion of NASAA's 20

Ethics 174
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Why Don’t We Build More Housing?

A Wealth of Common Sense

I’ve been writing about the housing market for years now. It fascinates me to no end because housing is one of the most important decisions from a personal and financial perspective. In recent years, much of my focus has been on how broken the residential housing market is. Higher prices and mortgage rates have driven housing affordability to levels we’ve never seen before in the United States.

Marketing 135
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At the Money: Investing Is Hard

The Big Picture

Investing Is Hard with Brian Portnoy (July 10, 2024) Why is investing so hard? It’s because our brains have been trained, over thousands of years, to trust our fear instincts. In this episode, I speak with Brian Portnoy sits down with Barry Ritholtz to explain why humans aren’t built to be good investors. Portnoy has held senior investment roles throughout the hedge fund and mutual fund industries.

Investing 144
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Podcast links: crypto confessions

Abnormal Returns

The biz How a podcast network makes money. (linkedin.com) Spotify ($SPOT) has a bundling problem. (vox.com) Global Tyler Cowen talks with Brian Winter discuss the politics and economics of nearly every country from the equator down. (conversationswithtyler.com) Russell Napier talks with Harold James, author of "Seven Crashes: The Economic Crises That Shaped Globalisation.

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4 Things Great Companies Do to Improve Cash Flow

Speaker: Don Gallianza, Credit Manager at Chevron Phillips Chemical and Indy Chakrabarti, Chief Marketing Officer at HighRadius

4 Case Studies to Optimize DSO 26 Days Sales Outstanding. Already better than most. But, should you improve on that? Why would 3 fewer days even matter? It matters because it fundamentally transforms business outcomes. Join this webinar to explore 4 things companies do to reclaim hard dollars - not just soft costs - and go from good to great! What You'll Learn 6 operational KPIs every AR manager should track: Define and track these metrics to enhance performance, drive efficiency, and make infor

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Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (July 13-14)

Nerd's Eye View

Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" - this week's edition kicks off with the news that at a time when employee retention has heightened importance for advisory firms given the ongoing competition for advisor talent, recent studies indicate that factors such as firm culture and leadership, as well as providing advisors with a sense of autonomy, can play important roles in building advisor loyalty to the firm.

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YoY Measures of Inflation: Services, Goods and Shelter

Calculated Risk

Here are a few measures of inflation: The first graph is the one Fed Chair Powell had mentioned when services less rent of shelter was up around 8% year-over-year. This declined, but has turned up recently, and is now up 4.8% YoY. Click on graph for larger image. This graph shows the YoY price change for Services and Services less rent of shelter through May 2024.

Food 125
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The Stock Market Never Changes

A Wealth of Common Sense

Charley Ellis wrote a great book about the index fund revolution back in 2016. One of my favorite parts of the book is where Ellis looks at how Wall Street has changed in the past 50 years: MBAs were uncommon. PhDs were never seen. Commissions still averaged 40 cents a share. All trading was paper based. Messengers with huge black boxes on wheels, filled with stock and bond certificates, scurried from broker to broker tr.

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Monday links: a gambling zeitgeist

Abnormal Returns

Finance Why Bill Ackman spends so much time on Twitter. (sherwood.news) Hedge funds are boosting their electricity trading capabilities. (wsj.com) Human FX traders are getting replaced by algorithms. (bloomberg.com) Why you should expect to see more ETFs designed by, and for, institutional investors. (institutionalinvestor.com) Housing Housing supply and affordability go hand-in-hand.

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Pricing for Profit: How to Set, Negotiate, and Succeed

Speaker: Igli Laci, Strategic Finance Leader

In today’s competitive market, pricing is more than just a number — it’s the cornerstone of profitability. The right pricing strategy ensures that you capture the true value of your offering, paving the way for sustainable growth and long-term success. Join Igli Laci, Strategic Finance Leader, in this exclusive session where he will explore how a well-crafted pricing approach balances customer perception with business objectives, creating a powerful tool for securing both competitive advantage a

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Kitces & Carl Ep 142: Carl’s 13 Magical Questions Of Conversational Goodness With (New) Clients

Nerd's Eye View

Meaningful communication is crucial to building strong, durable relationships, and asking effective questions is an essential part of facilitating impactful conversations. Being able to initiate and lead those conversations has become an important aspect of any financial advicer's skill set , but for many, it's one that isn't always as straightforward or easy to learn … particularly for advicers who might be happiest when nerding out with spreadsheets and flowcharts!

Clients 163
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MBA: Mortgage Applications Decreased in Weekly Survey

Calculated Risk

From the MBA: Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey Mortgage applications decreased 0.2 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending July 5, 2024. Last week’s results included an adjustment for the July 4th holiday. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.

Marketing 124
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Explaining the Performance of Low-Priced Stocks: The Penny Stock Anomaly

Alpha Architect

An efficient way to improve the expected performance of an equity strategy would be to systematically exclude penny stocks, as well with high asset growth and extreme past returns, especially if they have low profitability (and exclude funds that don’t screen out such stocks). Explaining the Performance of Low-Priced Stocks: The Penny Stock Anomaly was originally published at Alpha Architect.

Assets 116
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Sunday links: what to trade

Abnormal Returns

Markets How the rise of automated investing has changed the stock market. (awealthofcommonsense.com) When did the 'degenerate economy' really take hold? (howardlindzon.com) Crypto Mt Gox's Bitcoins are in motion. (axios.com) Why Bitcoin miners are of interest, i.e. they have power to run data centers. (coindesk.com) AI Do we really want our AI assistants emailing back and forth?

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2024 Lending Outlook: Innovations and Evolutions in the Financial Sector

As we step into 2024, the lending landscape evolves rapidly with technology, regulations, and market dynamics driving change. For banks and financial institutions to stay competitive and meet the evolving needs of their customers, these drivers must be understood and engaged with. Lenders can anticipate significant transformation fueled by technological advancements, regulatory shifts, and changing consumer behaviors.

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Buying a House at the Top of the Market

A Wealth of Common Sense

Greg Ip at The Wall Street Journal penned a piece recently that warned potential homebuyers about the prospect of low returns from current levels: I don’t need to offer any more details from the story because you already know them. Housing prices are up a lot. Mortgage rates are also up a lot. This is a fair warning. We essentially pulled forward a decade’s worth of housing returns into the first few years of.

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An Early Look at 2025 Cost-Of-Living Adjustments and Maximum Contribution Base

Calculated Risk

The BLS reported yesterday: The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) increased 3.3 percent over the last 12 months to an index level of 308.163 (1982-84=100). For the month, the index increased 0.1 percent prior to seasonal adjustment. CPI-W is the index that is used to calculate the Cost-Of-Living Adjustments (COLA).

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Producer Price Index: Wholesale Inflation Unexpectedly Rises in June

Advisor Perspectives

Wholesale inflation unexpectedly rose last month. The producer price index for final demand increased 0.2% month-over-month (s.a.). On an annual basis, headline PPI accelerated from 2.4% in May to 2.6% in June.

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Research links: simple corporate events

Abnormal Returns

Asset pricing The CAPM doesn't work. Maybe this measure does. (klementoninvesting.substack.com) Brown stocks outperform green stocks. (alphaarchitect.com) Hedge funds Replicating multi-strategy hedge fund returns is kind of a waste. (insights.finominal.com) Do even failed activist investors help stock prices? (klementoninvesting.substack.com) Quant stuff More research is being done on the interaction between social media and market outcomes.

Budgeting 234
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If It Aint Broke, Don’t Fix It: A Dangerous Mindset

Time and time again we tell ourselves and others NOT take action on something that is not "broken." We apply that mindset at home and at work. Sometimes, it doesn’t work out so well. Because when it's truly broken, it's usually an emergency, costs more and causes stress. Join us in this webinar where we share ways where you are able to anticipate your needs, understand benefits that you will get from getting better now instead of later, and relieving your team of tasks that they don't need to be

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How Much Money You Need For Retirement

A Wealth of Common Sense

A reader asks: On this week’s episode, you guys mention that nobody uses the 4% rule. I have been tracking my annual expenses for the last few years and multiplying it by 25 as a ballpark figure of what I need to retire. Is this not a good way to estimate? If not, what do you suggest? Sorry if this is a dumb question, but yes, I have read this in a lot of blogs.

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Real Estate Newsletter Articles this Week: Office Vacancy Rate at New Record High

Calculated Risk

At the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter this week: Click on graph for larger image. • FHFA’s National Mortgage Database: Outstanding Mortgage Rates, LTV and Credit Scores • Moody's: Apartment Vacancy Rate Unchanged in Q2; Office Vacancy Rate at New Record High • ICE Mortgage Monitor: Existing Home Inventory Surges in Florida and Texas • Asking Rents Mostly Unchanged Year-over-year • Final Look at Local Housing Markets in May and a Look Ahead to June Sales This is usually published 4 to 6 t

Sales 118
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Multiple Jobholders Account for 5.1% of All Employed

Advisor Perspectives

Multiple jobholders account for 5.1% of civilian employment. The survey captures data for four subcategories of the multi-job workforce, the relative sizes of which we've illustrated in a pie chart.

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Personal finance links: a wonderful gift

Abnormal Returns

Podcasts Barry Ritholtz talks with William Bernstein about changing your behavior for the better. (ritholtz.com) Sam Parr talks with Scott Galloway author of "The Algebra of Wealth: A Simple Formula for Financial Security." (podcasts.apple.com) Dan Haylett talks with David Blanchett about swapping 'financial independence' for retirement. (humansvsretirement.com) Thomas Kopelman and Jacob Turner talk retirement planning with Taylor Schulte.

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Banking on Loyalty: Holistic Financial Advice for Unparalleled Business Growth

Speaker: Joe Buhrmann, MBA, CFP®, CLU®, ChFC® Senior Financial Planning Practice Management Consultant eMoney Advisor

During an era of evolving consumer preferences, the banking sector is undergoing a profound shift. As customers continue to broaden their perspectives, banking professionals must support their customers' financial wellness by providing holistic financial advice that aligns with individual goals and circumstances. Without adapting, financial institutions will find that loyalty may crumble amid uncertainty.

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Next-Gen Prospects Are Wondering: Where Are You?

Wealth Management

Today, the conversation isn’t led by you saying, “Let me tell you about our firm.” It’s led by prospects saying, “Hey, I’ve been following your content, and now I want to meet.

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Leading Index for Commercial Real Estate Increased 10% in June

Calculated Risk

From Dodge Data Analytics: Dodge Momentum Index Gained 10% in June The Dodge Momentum Index (DMI), issued by Dodge Construction Network, increased 10.4% in June to 198.6 (2000=100) from the revised May reading of 179.9. Over the month, commercial planning increased 14.5% and institutional planning ticked up 0.2%. “Data centers continued to dominate planning projects in June – fueling another strong month for commercial planning,” stated Sarah Martin, associate director of forecasting at Dodge Co

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The Next Chance at Nvidia-like Returns

Advisor Perspectives

No investor wants to miss the wave of a massive, transformational technology. Spot these big shifts early, and you have a chance at Nvidia-like returns.

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