Tech stocks continue to tumble. Apple reports this evening.
Maybe its blowout numbers will restore buoyancy to tech? Maybe.
Cramer thinks tumbling tech stocks is “panic” selling. Hence no long-term worries.
I’m the worst panic seller. I just sold Facebook three points below where it is now. Dumb me.
Tech socks are joined at the hip through ETFs. When investors sell ETFs, the managers need to sell all the tech stocks in the ETF — not just the ones not doing well.
My friend is nibbling, also call bottom fishing.
Hard to know when the bottom is. Maybe impossible. He thinks Nasdaq 7,500 will be the bottom. Right now it’s 7,650.
Me? I have no idea. So I’m staying pat with my portfolio and eyeing my other investments — especially my real estate syndications. For some reason, most are doing well (depends on the manager). Some managers have found it’s a good time to sell.
The deal with real estate investing is simple: Buy it cheap in a good place. Fix it up. Stainless steel / granite kitchen tops are a good beginning. Manage it well. Keep your expenses low. Treasure your good tenants. Bump the rent a little. Increase the cash flow. Refinance or sell it. Go onto the next one. Only buy real estate “with hair on it.” That means there’s room for improvement.
Most importantly, don’t build or buy a second or third home — unless you’ll use it regularly. Most people who buy vacation homes spend way too much on them. When it comes time to sell, they will never get their money back. Trust me on this one.
I could write a book on country homes that are now worth half what the owners spent on them. Want pictures?
The Perfect Investment
Jeff Bezos’ parents, Jackie and Mike Bezos, invested $245,573 in Amazon in 1995.
Now, their investment could be worth as much as $30 billion, according to Bloomberg.
That would be a 12,000,000% return.
Which is clearly better than a slap in the belly with a cold fish.
And their son never became a doctor, or a lawyer. Shucks.
Nice new tax cut — if they can get it
The Trump administration wants to cut capital gains tax by adjusting for inflation.
Currently, capital gains taxes are determined by subtracting the original price of an asset from the price at which it was sold and taxing the difference, usually at 20 percent. If someone bought $100,000 of real estate in 1980, then sold it for $1 million today, that person would owe taxes on $900,000.
But if the original purchase price were adjusted for inflation, it would be about $300,000, reducing taxable “gain” to $700,000. That would save the investor $40,000.
For more click here.
Iran’s currency has dropped 18% in the last few days.
That means it’s lost nearly two-thirds of its value since the start of 2018.
This is a major disaster.
Iran’s government is, predictably, blaming the decline on a conspiracy of enemies.
Trump announced in May that it was pulling out of the 2015 nuclear deal and that it was going to reimpose its full range of sanctions in two stages on August 6 and November 4.
Our sanctions are designed to curb Iran’s terrorist activities in the Middle East, which the Nuclear agreement did not address.
I can’t imagine why anyone would invest in “emerging” markets. But — if you ever think about it — cast a beady eye over countries like Iran, Egypt, Argentina, Turkey, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, South Africa, India and Pakistan.
The more I read on China, the less I like it.
Here’s a piece on
China’s Xinjiang Province
A Surveillance State Unlike Any the World Has Ever Seen
In western China, Beijing is using the most modern means available to control its Uighur minority. Tens of thousands have disappeared into re-education camps. A journey to an eerily quiet region.
You can read the full Der Spiegel piece (in English) here.
How to conquer stress
+ Accept the fact that some days you’re the pigeon, and some days you’re the statue!
+ Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
+ If you can’t be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
+ If you lend someone $1000 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
+ Since the early worm gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.
+ When everything’s coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.
+ Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
+ Some mistakes are much too much fun to make only once.
+ A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
+ Finally, save the earth….. It’s the only planet with chocolate!
Harry Newton. I’m flying to Munich this evening. In a few days I’ll join my son Michael on a Backroads bicycle tour around the Italian and Austrian Dolomites. Great idea for a cool summer vacation. Except it’s over 90 in the mountains. I’m spending a few days in Munich. I’d like to visit a few tech startups. Anyone got a lead? I’m staying at the Hotel Bavaria in downtown Munich.
