My Two-for-Tuesday morning train WFH reads:
•21 reasons to hope in 2021 We’re not out of the woods yet, not yet. One year after the first case of COVID-19 was detected in the U.S., more than 400,000 people have died and thousands of businesses have shuttered. Here are 21 reasons to hope in 2021. (Fast Company) see also 50 things that are better already President Biden has not completed his first week in office, but already there is much to celebrate. Let’s count the ways: (Washington Post)
• With Democrats in Control, Investors Are High on Cannabis Weed businesses are counting on the political shift to help them win access to financial markets and perhaps even national legalization of pot. (Businessweek)
• Hempton: Where we are: Many quality growth stocks are now very expensive, often requiring a decade of uninterrupted growth to “earn their way” into the current valuation. And garbage stocks and new issues are at levels that even a few years ago we would have considered vanishingly unlikely. On the plus side we look at shorting opportunities now and see a “target rich environment.” Alas, recent experience tells us that the targets can shoot back. (Bronte Capital)
• Something you can’t understand Q4 2018 was one of those rare moments where Apple had gotten inexpensive. Since then, the stock has sold at an above-market multiple. And with good reason – there isn’t another company like it. So if you want in, it’s a one-way situation. But the valuation is the valuation and there is no good reason for why investors should expect “a bargain” for Apple shares anytime soon.(Reformed Broker) see also How tech stocks ‘ate’ the stock market In the past, most corporations had balance sheets full of tangible assets: land, buildings, equipment, and inventory. Now the majority of assets are intangible: patents, brand value, software, and customer data. Look at that shift from 1985 to 1995 as the Internet came online in a meaningful way. The corporate balance sheet of today looks nothing like the one from the 1970s. (Fortune / Mirror)
• Business Insider Did Nothing When the Pandemic Hit. It Worked. Business-news site generated 30% revenue growth in 2020 despite Covid-19 crisis thanks to subscriptions, automated ads (WSJ)
• 15 Reasons Why I Will Get a Covid-19 Vaccine But the vaccines’ effectiveness isn’t dependent on the scientists alone. It’s also dependent on us. So, what should we do and why? Here’s why I am going to get vaccinated. (Medium) see also How to Vaccinate a Nation of Skeptics Against Covid People sitting on the fence, not hardened anti-vaxxers, should be the target of any communication campaigns. (Bloomberg)
• POTUS steps out of the White House and into a company in crisis The picture emerging shows the inversion of Trump’s fortunes since 2015, when he entered politics promising to remake the country in the image of his growing, swaggering business. Now, Trump returns to a business remade in the image of the country he led: beleaguered, indebted and toxically politicized. (Washington Post)
• How will Trump handle life without Twitter and Facebook? Ask Alex Jones. What happens when the former leader of the free world gets deplatformed? We’re going to find out. (Vox) see also Trump’s new reality: Ex-president, private citizen and, perhaps, criminal defendant (Washington Post)
• Six Stars, Six Eclipses: ‘The Fact That It Exists Blows My Mind’ A handful of other six-star systems have been discovered, but this one is unique. (Science Times)
• Final score: Tom Brady 1, Patriots 0 Brady has beaten Bill Belichick and Bob Kraft in a landslide. Ten months after leaving New England because the Patriots were done with him, Brady showed he’s still got the goods. The Patriots, who had no real plan to replace their quarterback, finished 7-9 and out of the playoffs. Meanwhile, Brady is going to his 10th Super Bowl; with the clown car Tampa Bay Buccaneers, no less. (Boston Globe) see also Tom Brady Has Added to a Legacy That Had No Room to Top We thought Brady had already done everything a quarterback could do. More than everything. His 2020 has somehow only added to the story. (Sports Illustrated)
Be sure to check out our Masters in Business interview this weekend with Andrew Beer, Founder and Managing Member of Dynamic Beta investments. The firm manages several ETFs that seek to replicate illiquid alternatives at lower costs, with full transparency and daily liquidity. Their hedge fund replication fund, iM DBi Long Short Hedge Strategy ETF (DBEH) is up 27.7% since it launched in December 2019.
What Low-Paying Fixed Income Still Gives Us: Ballast
Source: Chief Investment Officer
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