Author: Tim Porter

Surviving the storm

 

3 lessons learned from the USCG to help get through the next market drop…

Some months in the stock market feel like the unexpected Nor’easter that pounded the New England coastline the night of February 18, 1952. January of this year began as the worst start to any year for the stock market of all time, down -10% in less than two weeks. With little news to validate this irrational instability, the stock market headed back up to end the month, but is now Continue reading “Surving the Storm – 3 lessons from USCG”

February 2, 2016

How could I afford Berkshire Hathaway stock?!

The cash merger is now done! PCC is officially a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary and $235 per share was the price paid for the company. That cash is now sitting in your account (Fidelity if you’re part of the employee stock option purchase plan ESPP) and ready for direction. A question I just got this morning was… “How could I afford to purchase Berkshire stock that’s trading at approx. $194,000 per share?!”

Other than Continue reading “PCC / Berkshire Hathaway Merger – Part 2”

 

1/28/2016

Click to Download – What you need to know about the Precision Castparts acquisition.

Continue reading “PCC / Berkshire Hathaway Merger – Part 1”

Jan 22, 2016

Emotional Response

The plunge in U.S. stock markets is an “emotional response” obscuring expansion in both the American economy and corporate profits, said Abby Joseph Cohen, president of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s Global Markets Institute. 

The fair value for Standard & Poor’s 500 Index is 2,100, Ms. Cohen said. The S&P last closed above that level on December 1 and has fallen 11% since, after turbulence in China’s stocks and currency spurred a global market rout. “What is happening is really very much an emotional response,” Ms. Cohen told Elliot Gotkine on Bloomberg Television. “We need to put things into perspective. Stocks are probably… Continue reading “Emotional Response”

January 13th, 2016

Chinese Volatility

A “clown show“ is how one analyst described China’s stock markets recently:  The world’s second largest economy is home to the developed world’s most immature stock markets.  Here’s a few reasons China’s stock markets are down over -12% this year so far and why our stock markets are suffering in sympathy, S&P 500 down almost -6% at the end of the first Continue reading “Chinese Volatility”

December 21, 2015

 

2015 Recap: Better Than Buffet?

As a persistently turbulent, frequently disappointing, but by no means disastrous 2015 comes to a close, we’d like to recap some of the topics we’ve been addressing this year:

• Energy – Oil prices dropping to 11-year lows today, approximately $34/barrel. We’re thankful Continue reading “Better than Buffet?”

November 19, 2015

Short-Term Forecasts Best Left for Weathermen

The investment business is full of people who make wild speculations of short-term price movements in the financial world. We choose not to engage in this practice, mostly because we’re terrible at it. Our opinion of these short term forecasts is they’re largely entertainment and useful only to sell TV commercials and newsletters.

Continue reading “Short Term Forecasts”

November 4, 2015

Suze Hollywood or Grandma Suze?

Despite the Hollywood-esque appearance, the Emmy award-winning financial advisor, Suze Orman, seems more like your depression era grandma after reading her advice on retirement planning. Invest safely, project conservatively, plan for longevity and don’t invade the principal… that’s just the way we like to plan for retirement too!

Continue reading “-Video- Can You Trust Suze Orman in Retirement?”

October 22, 2015

The Right Direction

After enduring 4 straight months of declines, it appears the market, and our accounts, are moving back in The Right Direction. The S&P 500 has posted a 5.5% gain so far in the month of October and our average accounts are registering gains close to that as well.

Continue reading “-Video- Corporations Too Generous?”

October 12, 2015

Iraqi Dinar Scam

Washington State’s Department of Financial Institutions posted a webpage back in 2011 warning consumers of an Iraqi currency fraud. Why talk about this now? Recently we’ve had personal knowledge of several investors planning retirement who’ve been defrauded by this not-so-new scam.

The desire to make up for late retirement income planning has apparently led some to throw caution to the wind. Desperate investors grasp for straws without seeking advice, and risk most or all of their savings in this retire-rich scheme. Continue reading “-Video- Investing in the Iraqi Dinar Scam”