People in EU are much more frugal and risk averse. Everything here is on a much smaller scale than in USA, it's normal for a car to have a 300k miles on a clock, and still not be ready for a scrapyard. I'm very thankful to be young investor now and be able to invest my money in US companies. I remember one thread about trading stocks on a croatian forum, dated way back in 2003. Couple of investors shared experience on how to buy US stocks. They couldn't just open a brokerage account in Croatia, they had to have a residence in Austria and austrian bank account, first then they could open a brokerage account in Austria. They had to phone their broker to place orders. The commissions were in range of 10-20$ for a single order. Mental
Yes...I am sure having been the location for two world wars and other conflicts and having lived under communism in many areas has also had a big impact on people and their thinking, especially those that are old enough to have lived that experience.....in addition to basic cultural differences When I was kid living in Germany in 1958-1960......it was an experience of a lifetime. At that time there was little to no Americanization of Germany....and it was only 13 years after the war. It definately impacted my thinking and life view, since at that time few average Americans had even flown on an airplane....much less....lived outside the USA. We traveled all over Europe, even into East Berlin. To get to West Berlin we had to take the one train that the communists allowed to travel through their territory, under heavy communist security. East Berlin was still a bombed out shell of a city. I think people here are CRAZY how often they buy a new car and always have a $400 to $800 car payment. Most cars now can easily go to 200,000 to 300,000 miles if you simply do the oil changes and routine maintenance. I have said it on here before....to me cars are just a commodity. We always try to buy a medium size SUV and try to get at least 200K to 300K miles out of them. Although in the past....we have owned a number of Range Rovers and a Defender back in the day when they were not common. Now we just stick with solid SUV's that we can pile on the miles. My personal record for mileage on a basic vehicle is 420K miles on a very stripped down and basic little Dodge Caravan. The car was so stripped down that it had crank windows, nothing electronic, and the only extra on the sticker was a rear wiper. That little van was my basic everyday vehicle from about 1999 to about 2007. It was a little work-horse. I am happy to see people all over the world now having access to world wide stock markets and good companies and funds. it is good for the markets and the businesses and it is good for people to have the option to invest and secure their future.
The week to come. The headline just about says it all. Big Tech earnings, a key Fed meeting: What to know this week https://finance.yahoo.com/news/big-...-office-what-to-know-this-week-123505201.html "Earnings from more than 100 members of the S&P 500 — highlighted by results from tech heavyweights Meta (META), Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), and Tesla (TSLA) — are set for release, with Wednesday serving as the week's busiest. Starbucks (SBUX), Exxon (XOM), and Chevron (CVX) are also set to report." and "On Wednesday afternoon, the Federal Reserve will also announce its latest monetary policy decision, with the central bank expected to keep interest rates unchanged and investors focused on what Fed Chair Jay Powell has to say about the balance of 2025."
Tech earnings......on deck. Tech’s $15 Trillion Rally Hinges on High-Stakes Earnings Stretch https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tech-15-trillion-rally-hinges-130000990.html "(BOLD is my opinion OR what I consider important content) (Bloomberg) — Investors are heading into yet another pivotal Big Tech earnings cycle with the companies’ shares near record highs and valuations stretched. A key distinction this time: The group’s profit growth is projected to come in at the slowest pace in almost two years. Shares of Alphabet Inc. (GOOG), Meta Platforms Inc (META). and other technology giants have rallied to start the year, outperforming the broader market amid a risk-on mood and high hopes for the billions of dollars the companies are spending to develop artificial-intelligence services. But the reporting period that kicks off this week may prove sobering for equities bulls: While earnings from the so-called Magnificent Seven behemoths are still rising — and far outpacing the rest of the market — Wall Street anticipates a marked slowdown in growth relative to prior quarters. What it comes down to is that pressure is mounting on the cohort, which has driven a roughly $15 trillion rally in the Nasdaq 100 Index since the end of 2022. “This should be a fairly good earnings season, but the bar has been raised and they may not be able to live up to high expectations,” said Dan Taylor, chief investment officer at Man Numeric. “It will be very difficult for the group to perform the way it did last year, especially as valuations have increased.” The seven companies’ announcements start Wednesday, when Microsoft Corp (MSFT)., Meta and Tesla Inc. (TSLA) are scheduled to report. Apple Inc (AAPL). follows Thursday, while Alphabet and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) announce next week, and then chipmaker Nvidia Corp (NVDA). on Feb. 26. The sector’s superior earnings growth and exuberance around AI have been key drivers for US stocks during the bull market that began more than two years ago. The megacap tech companies have accounted for the bulk of the S&P 500’s roughly 70% advance in that period, but gains have slowed amid expectations for weaker profits and questions about when all the AI investments will pay off more meaningfully. Smaller Jump Profits for the seven giants are projected to increase by 22% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, the smallest jump since the first quarter of 2023, data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence show. While that’s still well above the 8% increase anticipated for the S&P 500 Index (^SPX), it’s down from the 51% increase seen in the first quarter and shrinking for a fourth straight quarter. Bloomberg Intelligence’s Michael Casper sees cause for concern. With the tech sector’s share of the S&P 500’s market value eclipsing its share of profits by about 10 percentage points, the equity strategist worries that either earnings growth has to improve or valuations need to drop. “We know how stocks react if they miss on what everyone wants them to hit,” Casper said. When looking at prices relative to anticipated sales, valuations look even more precarious. At nearly eight times revenue projected over the next 12 months, the S&P 500 Information Technology Index trades close to the highest in at least a decade, according to BI data. Still, to Solita Marcelli, chief investment officer Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management, the valuations are worth paying up for with AI investments expected to generate more revenue in the year ahead. “While the easy gains in AI may be behind us, we think this rally looks far from over,” she wrote in a note to clients this month. Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta are projected to have spent more than $200 billion combined on capital expenditures in their last fiscal year, and they’ve all pledged to spend more in the current year. In addition to growth in AI-related revenue, investors will be monitoring spending forecasts. There are few signs that traders are primed for a massive disappointment. Demand for put options that protect against downside moves versus demand for call options in the Magnificent Seven stocks is shrinking after a spike in December. So far, bulls have been rewarded. Netflix Inc., one of the few tech-related companies that have reported, helped boost the Nasdaq 100 last week after posting a record jump in subscribers. “Valuations may be extended, and there could be some disappointment over the monetization of AI,” said Man Numeric’s Taylor, but big tech firms “remain great businesses throwing off a ton of cash.”" MY COMMENT The above may be true.....but.....we are STILL talking about the greatest companies in the world and we are STILL in the very early stages of the AI REVOLUTION. So I will continue to own the big tech monster companies for the long term.
Since I'm a big fan of early 1970s American cars, I have to ask you what did you drive when you were in your 20s? I just hope it wasn't a Beetle
Close.....I did drive a Beetle in High School...a typical 1962 Beetle....with the turn indicator handle that looked like a toothbrush......and the funky window wipers. Top speed 82MPH....I know because I tried many times. Before that from age 14 to age 16 I had a Lambretta scooter. Like this one: I drove my parents cars till I was about 21. At that time I got a Dodge Duster with a slant six engine. We had that as our only car till about 1975 when my wife's parents gave us their greatly used little Subaru. After that we always had two cars. Other early cars we had were a very small little Honda station wagon, a cheap little Mazda sedan, a better Mazda sedan, a Toyota Camry, and, a number of mini-vans when kids were young. Startling about 1990 or so....we had two Range Rovers. We got the Defender that I mentioned earlier in this thread about 1995. We drove Range Rovers through the 1990's...and about 2000 got the little mini-van that I mentioned above. From about 2001 we usually had one mini-van and a Dodge Ram Pick Up either 3/4 ton or 1 ton when we lived out in the country on our 20 acre horse farm. We needed the truck to pull our horse trailer and our farm trailer. Starting about 2012 when we sold the farm and moved to the suburbs of Austin we switched to owning a medium SUV and a mini-van that we use for hauling large antiques, large paintings, and dogs, etc, etc, etc. That is what we have now.....a Hybrid medium size SUV and a ten year old Chrysler Town and Country mini-van. The Town and Country....only has 45,000 miles at ten years old. When we got it...... Dodge was doing a Lifetime Bumper to Bumper warranty which we have. We only put about 5000 miles a year on the van since we pile all our basic day to day driving miles on the SUV. We want to make that town and country last for our lifetime........ with that great bumper to bumper warranty. We get a new medium size SUV about every 5-6 years when they get to about 250,000 miles. By the way....we have paid cash for all vehicles since about 1986 So there you have my "car" history. Nothing fancy except for our Range Rover and Defender years. We owned five different Range Rovers.....three new and two used.
