There’s no perfect answer but I like the idea of a boots on the ground approach through vacationing or a seasonal rental. Once you determine you actually like living somewhere new, then it’s time to make the big move. Research is part of the fun and here’s one way to get you on the road again. Glenn Ruffenach at The Wall Street Journal gives potential movers a way to compare destinations: So, as you indicate, combining results from several resources generally works best. Here are some good places to start: The nonprofit Council for Community and Economic Research in Arlington, Va., has … [Read more...]
Dow Swings 2,000 Points: My February RAGE Gauge
Make sure you have your investment plan in place sooner than later. There may be some rough waters to navigate. Inflation numbers out today could foretell some tough times as the Fed may be forced to respond. When a record share of small businesses say now is an opportunity to expand operations I pay attention. Bloomberg reports: Six of the 10 components that make up the small-business optimism index increased in January, producing one of the strongest readings in the 45-year history of the survey. The figures show sustained, sturdy business sentiment since the November 2016 election. A … [Read more...]
While American Kids Eat Tide Pods, Swiss Kids are Learning to Shoot
In America, parents are furiously attempting to prevent their kids from eating Tide Pods, an inexplicable "challenge" fad that has sent participants to the hospital. Meanwhile, in Switzerland parents are driving their kids to Jungschützen, or junior rifle courses. The number of Swiss children learning to shoot is growing rapidly. In the last two years, the number of Swiss youths participating in shooting courses has increased by over 40%. At SwissInfo.ch, the craze is explained: The courses are designed for teenagers aged 15-20 to prepare them for their call-up to the militia army. The … [Read more...]
Bitcoin: Bubble, Ponzi Scheme, and Environmental Disaster
Bitcoin is a “combination of a bubble, a Ponzi scheme and an environmental disaster,” a top central-banking official recently cautioned, referring to the large amount of electricity needed to create bitcoin. You don’t have to tell that to the residents in Wenatchee, Washington, where a bitcoin invasion is under way. Why? Because the electricity is cheap. “Home to hydroelectric dams that harness the flow of the Columbia River, north central Washington has some of the cheapest power in the U.S. That has made the largely rural area best known for its apple orchards a magnet for bitcoin … [Read more...]
Do You Know How to Make an Untraceable Gun in Your Home?
I have been following the rise of the "ghost gun" movement for some time. It turns out, it's not so hard to build your own untraceable firearm. Unsurprisingly, people in states with the most restriction on the ownership of firearms are most likely to decide to build their own at home. A whole cottage industry has developed around building guns at home with CNC machines and computerized plans. Writing at Reason last week, Mark McDaniel explained the efforts of one of the ghost gun's biggest proponents, Cody Wilson, director of Defense Distributed, one of the industry's biggest names. He … [Read more...]
Is Elon Musk Right about the Apocalypse?
Originally posted on July 3, 2017. Words that come to mind when you hear the name Elon Musk are Tesla, electric cars, solar, batteries, rockets, futurist…but prepper? It turns out Musk believes the Apocalypse is nigh, and that’s why he’s developed a plan called “Making Humans a Multi-Planetary Species,”—in other words colonizing Mars. Musk writes: I think there are really two fundamental paths. History is going to bifurcate along two directions. One path is we stay on Earth forever, and then there will be some eventual extinction event. I do not have an immediate doomsday prophecy, but … [Read more...]
Stand with Rand: Spending Matters
“I simply asked for one thing in this broken process: a 15-minute vote on whether those caps should or should not be broken. The furor this request set off among leadership, the wailing and screeching among Big Government advocates in Congress and in the media — well, you would think I had asked them to shut down forever,” writes Senator Rand Paul in Time. He wanted them to act like spending matters, “Like the process matters.” “The sad irony is that December’s Republican tax cut is supposed to save Americans $1.5 trillion over 10 years. But the new spending is essentially a $1.5 trillion … [Read more...]
Meet the Man Behind the Largest Private Investment Fund, Part II
When the 59-year old head of Softbank, Masayoshi Son, met with the 31-year old deputy crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) for 45 minutes in Tokyo, MbS committed $45 billion to Son’s Vision Fund. "Forty-five minutes, $45 billion," Son said in September. "One billion dollars per minute." That caught the attention of the investment industry—where your value is measured by your next deal—the fear of missing out is a powerful emotion. Perhaps motivated by the easy money being raised by funds like the Vision Fund, BlackRock has announced it is offering a $10 billion “Long … [Read more...]
Meet the Man Behind the Largest Private Investment Fund
How do you lose most of your wealth in the dot com bust and then rise from the ashes to become one of the 100 richest people in the world? Good question. Meet Masayoshi Son, the 59-year-old head of Softbank, an investment company that raised $100 billion last year alone for its Vision Fund. In watching Mr. Son interviewed by Carlyle group co-founder David Rubenstein, it’s hard not to like the man. Here’s a guy who at age 16 hounded McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc’s office with phone calls asking for just a few minutes of his time simply because he wanted to see him in person. When … [Read more...]
20-Year Review: Stock Market Cuts Investors’ Wealth Roughly in Half—Twice
“Monday’s madness is a reminder that investing in stocks doesn’t automatically make people rich. Twice in the past 20 years—between 2000 and 2002, and again between 2007 and 2009—the stock market has cut investors’ wealth roughly in half,” writes Jason Zweig at the WSJ. When you think about the mathematics of investment losses (see chart below), you quickly realize how difficult it becomes to get back to square one, especially for retirees. And when you think about it in terms of real dollars—seeing $1 million decline to $500,000—imagine how many hours you have to work to make that kind … [Read more...]
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