I have now progressed to a good big gain so far today. My RED stocks right now....COST and HD. LIVING THE....market.... DREAM.
A nice little article....some good data on a good chunk of the 24 million households in the USA that are millionaires. For the lower class millionaires.....much of their wealth is not liquid. It is tied up in their home and/or in retirement acccounts. SO....they really have little access to that money. In addition of course with a house...most people have a mortgage.....so simply having a home worth over a million does not mean you have a net worth of a million or more. The good news....having a million tied up in a house and/or retirement accounts helps to make that....long term money. House Rich Millionaires https://awealthofcommonsense.com/2025/10/house-rich-millionaires/
I like this little article. It answers all the....BUBBLE TALK....that has been forced on us lately. As for me....I see all the recent articles as simply media.....BS. Talk about herd behavior. The article goes through....point by point....on bubbles and comes to the conclusion that there are "some"....bubble signs....BUT...the little we see is NOT overwhelming or determinative......it is simply what is usually seen in the later stages of a nice BULL MARKET. AND....for me....I dont even see it as a late stage bull market. At this point I can see this BULL MARKET lasting for another 2-3 years. The GOLDEN ERA for investors and stocks....that I have mentioned a few time in here. RealTime Bubble Checklist https://ritholtz.com/2025/10/realtime-bubble-checklist/
My number one market indicator......the LORI INDICATOR. If LORI over there in England is doing well.....so are the markets.....and most long term investors. What is your latest report Lori? Have you made any moves lately? Still feeling good about the markets and your investing for the future security of your family?
Speaking of other places. Made me think to check in on the international index vs SP 500. I have referred to it a few times this year since international was leading. Well, it appears that lead has grown. The international index at just under +28% YTD vs SP 500 (+15% )YTD. Still just soundly beating it like a drum. Interesting to see for this year.
Looks like we are off to a good start in our own neck of the woods today. As mentioned, it is the short term, so whether it holds or builds can depend on anything....such as the wind changing direction.
LOL...I found it sort of an interesting read. My favorite is how it also points out "not being able to ever predict" this type of stuff....but then basically offer a prediction. I think this type of "predictive" behavior is such a waste of energy. At least from a long term investing standpoint. You really have two options....stay in or get out. Of course, that invites other decisions and timing. Most will be wrong on some of those decisions....if not all. We never hear about those it seems.
STILL....hanging in there with a good gain today....even though NVDA is.....mildly.... in the red right now. Forty five minutes to go....I am feeling confident in the markets today. BUT....today and even this entire month.....will hardly be visible on a long term chart of the SP500. The day to day "stuff" is meaningless.......in general. There is always a light and a silver lining....well make that a GOLDEN lining.... at the end of the tunnel....even in the middle of a horrendous BEAR MARKET. The power of long term investing.
I have NO FEAR....that social Security will be there for older workers, middle age workers, and even GEN-Z. The only way it will go away is if GEN-Z and others in the majority...VOLUNTARILY screw themselves.... and elect people to congress with a mandate to somehow change it or get rid of it. Unfortunately I dont have a lot of confidence in future voters. ALL the usual and typical.....BS....about the trust fund running out of money is BALONEY. We currently only tax the first $176,100 of earnings. This means there is a HUGE pool of un-taxed and un-tapped money. ALL...it takes to change the trust fund math is for congress to tap into that un-taxed money and raise the wage cap to $300,000 or $500,000 or....ALL....income with no cap. The impact of this on the average person....will simply be NOTHING....since the vast majority of the country already pays Social Security tax on their entire income. It would be nice if congress was not STEALING the trust fund money every year for general spending. They taxed us Baby Boomers to pay for our Social Security....by constantly raising the wage cap over our work lives to build up the trust fund..... and than took all the money so the trust fund is actually....EMPTY. Should You Plan for a Retirement Without Social Security? Here's What the Experts Say The Social Security trust funds are on course to run dry in less than a decade, but finance experts say not to panic yet. https://money.usnews.com/money/reti...ut-social-security-heres-what-the-experts-say The other issue hitting social Security and the....PHONY...trust fund. Our hero's in government have constantly added more and more programs into Social Security over many decades.
I like this deal....if we follow through. A good step in the right direction for the entire world. Trump's rare earth pact with Australia sets the table for highly anticipated meeting with China next week https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trum...d-meeting-with-china-next-week-184144968.html I will also add....we dont even need rare earths. We NOW have the tech to make high tech magnets from simple and readily available materials. I dont know why no one ever mentions this and why we are not putting all our resources behind this tech. Companies like Niron Magnetics are commercializing iron nitride magnets, which are made from abundant materials like iron and nitrogen. AI TELLS ME: Iron nitride: This is a promising alternative being developed by companies like Niron Magnetics.It's made from iron and nitrogen, which are abundant and inexpensive.Its performance is being fine-tuned for commercial applications. Benefits: The main benefit is avoiding the supply chain constraints and geopolitical issues tied to rare earth elements, as well as potentially offering a more environmentally friendly option. Challenges: Achieving the same level of performance as rare earth magnets is a significant challenge.For example, iron nitride magnets currently have a lower resistance to demagnetization compared to neodymium magnets, which can limit their use in applications like EV motors where they might be exposed to strong magnetic fields.However, ongoing research is focused on improving performance and scaling up production. Permanent Magnets. Zero Rare Earths. Made in Minnesota https://www.nironmagnetics.com/ Scientists develop rare earth free magnet for use in industrial motors https://www.ameslab.gov/news/scientists-develop-rare-earth-free-magnet-for-use-in-industrial-motors A Radical New Magnet Without Rare-Earth Metals Is About to Change Motors Forever AI created it in just 3 months—and the implications are staggering. https://www.popularmechanics.com/sc...i-developed-magnet-free-of-rare-earth-metals/ Niron Magnetics and Stellantis Partner to Pioneer Rare-Earth-Free Electric Motor Innovation https://www.nironmagnetics.com/news...eer-rare-earth-free-electric-motor-innovation Of course Stellantis is one of the largest car companies in the WORLD. BOTTOM LINE....China is over playing its hand. They have a short time perhaps 5-10 years to continue to hold the world hostage. After that they are screwed..... as what they are doing now is giving massive motivation to the USA and other countries to free themselves from China. At this moment only about 12% to 13% of USA imports come from China. As they drive us to disconnect and take back our important industries like drug pre-cursor chemicals, magnets, chips, etc, etc, etc....this percentage of imports from China will go down....more and more. They will be back to producing plastic crap for Walmart and Dollar stores. SCREW CHINA.
It is NEVER a good thing to wake up a....sleeping giant. Talking to you....CHINA. Major US steelmaker pivots to rare earth minerals as China tightens grip Cleveland-Cliffs CEO says company has 'obligation' to explore domestic production at Michigan, Minnesota sites "American manufacturing shouldn't rely on China or any foreign nation for essential minerals, and Cliffs intends to be part of the solution," https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy...ivots-rare-earth-minerals-china-tightens-grip
OK....a good way to start out the week....a nice large....medium gain. In spite of getting beaten by the SP500 today by.....0.43%. MOVING ON UP.
Yeah, it is too much of a political bargain chip to likely vanish. However, as younger investors are chugging along, I say ignore the fact and don't count on it. Handle your 401 or whatever retirement plan you have. Always get the match and more when possible, contribute as much as possible, and just keep doing it. There will come a time when you will want to include the SS factor as you are nearing the end of your "working years", but until then....invest like you aren't going to get any.
Along with other agreements....I like the possibility of the US not just sitting around waiting on something to happen. This includes other areas too like semiconductor and the like. We really can't afford to just "hope" it works out anymore nor turn a blind eye to what has occurred over many years.
The markets today were simply rocking it. Right out of the gate and stayed strong all day it appears. It would be so nice to just go on an epic run all the way to the end of the year. I mean just smash the place on our way out of 2025!! That's my rally speech anyway....
