Calculated Risk
AUGUST 5, 2022
Today we celebrate the recovery of all the jobs lost in 2020, and the unemployment rate matching the lowest level since 1969. The headline jobs number in the July employment report was well above expectations, and employment for the previous two months was revised up by 28,000, combined. The participation rate decreased slightly, and the employment-population ratio increased slightly.
The Big Picture
AUGUST 5, 2022
Source: Visual Capitalist. It’s light summer posting season! I am heading out of town for a wedding, and then on to the “ Shadow Kansas City Federal Reserve Board ” next week, then some family gatherings. Meanwhile, mull over this chart of the 20 fastest growing jobs over the next decade. Enjoy what’s left of the Summer! The post What Employment Sectors Are Growing the Fastest?
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Calculated Risk
AUGUST 5, 2022
From the BLS : Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 528,000 in July, and the unemployment rate edged down to 3.5 percent , the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job growth was widespread, led by gains in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and health care. Both total nonfarm employment and the unemployment rate have returned to their February 2020 pre-pandemic levels.
The Big Picture
AUGUST 5, 2022
My end-of-week morning train WFH reads: • The stock market can be an emotional roller coaster. It shouldn’t be. There’s how you think about investment risk — and then how you feel about it. ( Vox ). • Gen Z Knows What It Wants From Employers. And Employers Want Them. To tap into the creativity of younger workers, and to offset a labor shortage, companies are offering four-day weeks, club memberships and work-from-anywhere flexibility. ( New York Times ) see also You’re Back at the Office.
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Calculated Risk
AUGUST 5, 2022
From Manheim Consulting today: Wholesale Used-Vehicle Prices Decrease Minimally in July From Seasonal Adjustment Wholesale used-vehicle prices (on a mix, mileage, and seasonally adjusted basis) decreased 0.1% in July from June. The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index declined to 219.6, up 12.5% from a year ago. The non-adjusted price change in July decreased 3.2% compared to June, leaving the unadjusted average price up 10.2% year over year. emphasis added Click on graph for larger image.
Wealth Management
AUGUST 5, 2022
If clients have the stomach to stick it out, this is an opportunity to take short term lemons and make them into long-term gifting lemonade.
Financial Advisor Source brings together the best content for financial advisor professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Wealth Management
AUGUST 5, 2022
Buoyed by a private equity infusion, The Mather Group reinforced its regional footprint in D.C. and Houston this week.
Abnormal Returns
AUGUST 5, 2022
Business Zack Fuss talks with Christian Bellinger about the business of luxury giant LVMH. (joincolossus.com) Howard Lindzon talks with Will Ahmed, founder and CEO of WHOOP. (howardlindzon.com) Barry Ritholtz talks with Hannah Elliott discuss how EVs are changing driving. (ritholtz.com) Derek Thompson talks with Ted Gioia on why old music is seemingly pushing aside new music.
Wealth Management
AUGUST 5, 2022
It's more important than ever for financial advisors to cut through the noise of a competitive market and connect with targeted audiences. This free eBook from TIFIN Clout shows you how to create a digital media strategy that resonates with prospects and clients.
Calculated Risk
AUGUST 5, 2022
Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: New Home Cancellations increased Sharply in Q2 A brief excerpt: First, a few quotes from some Q2 SEC filings: "We believe the recent increases in interest rates during 2022 have caused buyer apprehension, affordability concerns, and an increase in cancellations.", Taylor Morrison Q2 SEC Filing "The magnitude and speed of these recent rate increases has caused many buyers to pause and reconsider a home purchase, resulting in lower gross demand
Speaker: Claire Grosjean, Global Finance & Operations Executive
Finance teams are drowning in data—but is it actually helping them spend smarter? Without the right approach, excess spending, inefficiencies, and missed opportunities continue to drain profitability. While analytics offers powerful insights, financial intelligence requires more than just numbers—it takes the right blend of automation, strategy, and human expertise.
Wealth Management
AUGUST 5, 2022
Eileen Cure was terminated by LPL last summer after accusations of racism against Black job applicants. Now, she's suing the firm for almost $100 million, claiming it stole her clients illegally.
Nerd's Eye View
AUGUST 5, 2022
Enjoy the current installment of “Weekend Reading For Financial Planners” - this week’s edition kicks off with the news that the SEC has issued a new bulletin clarifying the responsibilities of brokers under Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI). The guidance indicates that, despite early fears that Reg BI was ‘overly accommodating’ to the brokerage industry, the Commission is expecting that reducing conflicts of interest should be an ongoing task for broker-dealers rat
Abnormal Returns
AUGUST 5, 2022
Markets Crude oil prices are down to February levels. (axios.com) Why the crypto market is smaller than reported. (wsj.com) Startups Y Combinator is shrinking it new class of startups. (techcrunch.com) Startups are turning to the debt markets while the IPO window is shut. (theinformation.com) Companies Apple's ($AAPL) cash hoard has come down over time.
Wealth Management
AUGUST 5, 2022
The retirement accounts can be leveraged to pursue other goals — like saving for your kid’s schooling — in a tax-advantaged way.
Speaker: David Worrell, CFO, Author & Speaker
Your financial statements hold powerful insights—but are you truly paying attention? Many finance professionals focus on the income statement while overlooking key signals hidden in the balance sheet and cash flow statement. Understanding these numbers can unlock smarter decision-making, uncover risks, and drive long-term success. Join David Worrell, accomplished CFO, finance expert, and author, for an engaging, nontraditional take on reading financial statements.
A Wealth of Common Sense
AUGUST 5, 2022
Three random thoughts on personal finance, stock-picking and financial mistakes: Banks are the worst. Got this in the mail this week: In a word — ridiculous. Inflation is over 9%. The Fed Funds Rate is now 2.5% and going higher. You can earn 3% on a 6 month T-bill these days. Yet banks are still paying pennies on the dollar to hold your money.
Wealth Management
AUGUST 5, 2022
Buoyed by a private equity infusion, The Mather Group reinforced its regional footprint in D.C. and Houston this week.
Dear Mr. Market
AUGUST 5, 2022
Dear Mr. Market: Dividends! Journalists write about you daily. Investors constantly think and talk about you. Analysts and economists spend their entire careers trying to figure you out. You’re a complex yet simple character, Mr. Market! All that said, today we want to share with our readers a substantial part of you that doesn’t get enough appreciation (pun intended).
Meb Faber Research
AUGUST 5, 2022
Michael Mauboussin, Counterpoint Global – Everything Is a DCF Model (The Best Investment Writing Volume 6) Author: Michael Mauboussin is Head of Consilient Research on Counterpoint Global at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Summary: Each year, our team carefully sorts through tons of research from some of the most respected money managers and investment researchers from […].
Speaker: Erroll Amacker
Automation is transforming finance but without strong financial oversight it can introduce more risk than reward. From missed discrepancies to strained vendor relationships, accounts payable automation needs a human touch to deliver lasting value. This session is your playbook to get automation right. We’ll explore how to balance speed with control, boost decision-making through human-machine collaboration, and unlock ROI with fewer errors, stronger fraud prevention, and smoother operations.
Covisum
AUGUST 5, 2022
In the absence of Congressional action, multiple provisions of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act (TCJA) will expire at the end of 2025, and tax rules will revert to what they were before the legislation. The TCJA reduced specific tax brackets and increased the standard deduction. Certain charitable gift deductions moved from 50% to 60%. Additionally, the personal exemption phase-out and the limitation on itemized deductions for some filers were eliminated.
Random Roger's Retirement Planning
AUGUST 5, 2022
In the last few blog posts we've looked at portfolios that seek to replace bonds with alts in such a way to reduce portfolio volatility the way bonds used to. In a couple of instances we've created portfolios that outperformed Vanguard Balanced Index (VBAIX) a proxy for a 60/40 portfolio and did so with a lower standard deviation. What about claims from some that Bitcoin is a miracle holding in this context?
Validea
AUGUST 5, 2022
Marko Kolanovic of JPMorgan Chase & Co is sticking to his calls for risky assets in the second half of this year, expecting stocks to rebound, according to an article in Bloomberg. That expectation makes him one of the few bullish strategists on Wall Street right now. While acknowledging that the outlook is still “challenging,” Kolanovic wrote in a recent note the second half is looking more positive for risk-reward on equities as most of the bad news has now been factored in.
Trade Brains
AUGUST 5, 2022
List of Top Moat Companies in India: Have you ever wondered, if the greatest investor existed in the Indian stock markets, “What stocks would he pick?”. This question got us wondering about Warren Buffet too. Hence we have created a list of Buffets favourite type of stocks existing in the Indian stock market. In this article, we’ll cover the list of top moat companies in India, which is the Warren Buffett style of stocks for investing.
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Based off SkyStem's popular e-Book, the book of secrets to the month-end close will be revealed in this one-hour webinar. Learn leading practices when it comes to building a strong and sustainable month-end close that has room to grow and evolve. Learn about the power of precise estimates, why reconciliations are critical to closing the books, how and when to automate, and how the chart of accounts play into your close process.
Validea
AUGUST 5, 2022
Bear markets can induce panic-selling in investors who would do better to focus on their long-term goals, and financial advisors need to foster constructive conversations with their clients to see them through these rough times, contends a piece in ThinkAdvisor. It can also be a good chance to pick up new clients by timely, insider information that can help newer investors contextualize the current environment.
Trade Brains
AUGUST 5, 2022
Top Food and Beverage Stocks to Buy: The dependence on food and beverage has made companies engaged in the business one of the most attractive investments. FMCG is the fourth-largest sector in India and food and beverages make up 19% of this sector. In this article, we take a look at the top food and beverage companies to invest in. Keep Reading to find out.
Validea
AUGUST 5, 2022
The yield curve, which shows how interest rates on different U.S. government bonds such as 3-month bills, 2-year and 10-year Treasury notes compare, as well as functions as a recession indicator, is ringing alarm bells on Wall Street, portends an article in The New York Times. Normally the yield curve slopes upward, but occasionally, when short-term rates climb higher than long-term rates, the curve inverts, signaling that the bond market is turning upside down.
NAIFA Advisor Today
AUGUST 5, 2022
In a competitive job market, businesses are looking to financial professionals for benefits to help them attract and keep talent. Nonqualified benefits, like deferred compensation plans, may be a good solution to appeal to executives looking for pre-tax opportunities beyond IRAs and 401(k) plans to accumulate greater wealth for retirement. Knowing the ins and outs of these products may help you practice stand out and appeal to a larger pool of business clients.
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Like being inches from the end zone, many advisors are frustratingly close to their next level of success. You work hard. You put in the hours. But if your closing rate is stuck or your pipeline feels like a revolving door… something has to change. Most advisors are just one small shift away from dramatically increasing their revenue. The difference?
Validea
AUGUST 5, 2022
Venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, known as a16z, has hired former Jordan Park Group CIO Michel Del Buono to head up its new business managing the wealth of many of the clients it helped make rich. Del Buono will oversee wealth management for a16z’s partners and executives of its portfolio companies, according to an article in Financial Advisor , which spoke to insiders familiar with the firm’s plans.
Advisor Websites
AUGUST 5, 2022
Clients are the backbone of any successful business. Having a dedicated and loyal client base that trusts you and is happy with your services is necessary for your business to succeed and grow. In the financial industry, there are two main ways to grow your business. Increase the overall number of clients. Increase the portfolio of your existing clients.
Validea
AUGUST 5, 2022
Warren Buffett has been snapping up stock in Occidental Petroleum since 2019, garnering a 20% stake in the company that’s worth about $180 million. The move has made some wonder if Buffett plans to buy Occidental outright as he did with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railway corporation, but others believe it could instead be a very smart investment in renewable energies, contends an article in Forbes.
James Hendries
AUGUST 5, 2022
August 3, 2022. Dear Valued Investor, Last week was epic for market-watchers. A Federal Reserve (Fed) rate hike, a much-anticipated gross domestic product (GDP) report, and the busiest week of earnings season got most of the headlines. There was even a surprise out of Washington D.C., with a Schumer-Manchin agreement on a climate-healthcare-tax bill and some inflation data that added to the evidence that inflation has peaked.
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