THINKING NOW – Page 2

Editor's Choice, FUNDAMENTALS, GREEDY CREEP, INVESTING, Reader's Choice, STOCKS, THINKING NOW

4 Bullets To Savvy Dividends

OCTOBER 26, 2019. Dividends don’t flutter from fall skies like seasonal leaves. Dividends are paid out of cash flows, if there’s enough. Who has enough? It isn’t always those promising. No problem. Checking’s a piece of cake. We’ve got cake.
But paying isn’t the only issue. Dividends are paid by companies doing real business, in a rapidly changing environment. No one gets a free pass through macro chaos or the battle for market share. The fight for cash flow goes on everyday and everywhere. That includes “dividend aristocrats” like JNJ, with it’s’ 57 year history of consecutive dividend raises. How about an affordable, recession-proof, price-performing example, paying 4%? We’ve got that too.
Hoping to be paid regularly for the market risks you take isn’t rocket science. But it isn’t simply aristocratic standing either. Smart people get this one wrong, routinely. We’ve got the right, in “4 Bullets to Savvy Dividends.” Make sure you’ll be paid, top and bottom–and enjoy.

FUNDAMENTALS, INVESTING, STOCKS, TECHNICALS, THINKING NOW

Walking Away From JNJ

OCTOBER 20, 2019. Looking for trouble is unneeded. Plenty exists.
We’ve warned against one since August 29th. It’s glowed right before us, everyday. JNJ, and it proved that trouble, clinically. On October 11, Bernstein analyst Lee Hambright charmed JNJ with an upgrade to “Outperform,” and a price target of $155. Seven days later shares dropped -6.22% on greater than triple volume. Why? FDA testing revealed asbestos contamination in its” baby powder. That came right on the heels of the massive judgment against the company for it’s antipsychotic Risperdal, creating a new nightmarish third legal front. That judgment was for $8 billion, for one individual.
Meanwhile, the company suggested it was “open” to a collective settlement of thousands of looming lawsuits relating to its’ part in the opioids plague. And in the foreground Purdue Pharma is being eviscerated on the very same charges. This month comes the start in Ohio of the first federal-level opioids case.
New Brunswick-based Johnson & Johnson has for decades been viewed as a cozy haven of stability and payouts to investors in all markets. Besides the Bernstein upgrade, eight days ago Barron’s named it as one of its’ five best dividend plays. For now JNJ will be more known as a defendant, on multiple fronts. Their payouts in the future will look very different. “Walking Away From JNJ.”

CULTURE, Editor's Choice, FUNDAMENTALS, GREEDY CREEP, INVESTING, MARKETS/ECONOMY, Reader's Choice, STOCKS, THINKING NOW

Dividend Joy. How Now.

OCTOBER 15, 2019. Standing butt-naked on the beach–is that a dividend? Maybe that’s the joy. Either way, there you are. Why? You found your dividend, and they pay, everyday. What would you do to get there? We learned what to look for and we’re sharing. We also came to terms with a criminal bank. Wouldn’t you? Wells is different now. “Really?” you question. Naw, not really–maybe. Corporate culture is as difficult to change as a raging surf. Besides, crime pays well, for a while. Wells knows.
Once and for years Wells was run like some rum-poisoned pirate ship. Former CEO John Stumpf’s gone, replaced by a tenured insider present for all the criminality. Absolutely nothing else has changed, except for the firing of thousands who were only following heavy-handed dictates of senior management bent on committing sprawling fraud. He’s gone too. Now there’s a new guy coming. He’s the FNG. So, let’s say Wells is in progress.
Meanwhile, Morningstar pins a $58.00 price target on the stock. That suggests a 16% up move from here. That’s without the 4.15% dividend. Is it worth it? What makes any dividend stock worth owning? We use wells and a new Barron’s article as examples and lessons.
We pose all the proper dividend questions. STOCKjAW talks “Dividend Joy. How Now.”

CULTURE, FUNDAMENTALS, INVESTING, MARKETS/ECONOMY, STOCKS, TECHNICALS, THINKING NOW

A Nine Worm Apple? Tell Me No.

SEPTEMBER 24, 2019. Apple isn’t Amazon. It’s China locked–big time. Nor is it exactly cheap. Some can’t decide. It’s either 18 trailing and 19 forward, or the other way round. Anyone worried about that shouldn’t buy Apple. Owning shares of Apple is like owning a slice of a country. AAPL doesn’t have revenue. It has GDP. Thousands of companies collaborate to create those ultra-sleek marvels. Does that matter?
GDP drops during any recession. Being big doesn’t stop that. Last night Jim Cramer stared into the camera and said “It’s not trading on fundamentals.” But he was talking about JNJ. “It’s mammoth” he said, and “JNJ’s trading on opioid headlines.” We said that in our piece “Off Label” back in August.
So what’s JNJ have to do with Apple now? Both are involved in complications that can’t be measured. For JNJ it’s a blizzard of full-ugly lawsuits, and Apple’s global fishing net of component supplies, most in oppositional China. Anybody know what they’re gonna do?
Apple has more money than Italy. That’s good because it will take money to thrive if economies dive. What else does Apple have? “A Nine Worms Apple? Tell Me No.” STOCKjAW takes a bite(Cover photo; Apple Store, Union Square, San Francisco.)

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Oops…Somebody’s Thinking.

JULY 21, 2019. Savvy people have no “betters.” They realize complaining accomplishes Fa King nothing. Savvy people only do so after the work is done, and just for fun. Shaking the robbers off of your money is like soaking the sump pump stink out of old shoes.
Wall Street’s job is to lie and steal, concoct and on occasion create, a moment you can actually use. No sump pump on the planet’s strong enough to suck that stink out of Wall Street. No juke you can throw will fully dodge their busy hands.
However, you can keep things relatively fair when it comes to your retirement and investments.
No one-time fix exists. It’s more about containment, while creating your own good. “Oops…Somebody’s Thinking.” Nice.

CULTURE, EDITOR'S DESK, FUNDAMENTALS, GREEDY CREEP, INVESTING, TECHNICALS, THINKING NOW

Turd Spotting. Roku. The New Cable.

JULY 5, 2019. Facebook didn’t charge you up-front. FB played your back side, the data usage shell game. Roku does both and more. Roku deceives you up-front, charges you for their device, then leverages an account and a c card to activate what you already paid for, tracks your every move, pimps you with the ads you sought to dodge, shares your personal and viewing data, and then assists others in their attempts to target and track you. Roku is the new cable, on steroids.
Free was never free and Facebook illustrated such. The old East Germany was never free and the Stasi showed that. Today many simply flip their privacy away like a cigarette butt. Years ago Zuckerberg declared blithely that “privacy is dead.” FB then created the standard of contempt for “privacy” in the digital age. None. Like Daniel Ortega he’s now on the other side of that. Whatever it takes.
Along came TiVo, and their DVR surveillance platform. TiVo brought advertisers right on to your sofa. Only one step remained. Direct surveillance. Apple’s now got that covered–auditory and visual surveillance. No? Sharp consumers found the Apple camera in their digital assistant. There’s also Mitsubishi TV. They also tell you, after you buy and install.
Is it only Us? Little things create character. Roku is dishonest, by omission. “So what?” Dishonesty displays contempt. Dishonesty in business displays contempt for both you, and the business you bring. Honesty means saying “Credit card required to activate.”
But they don’t. If Roku games you like that from the very start, what else do you think they’re willing to do? Sj shows you.
Contempt, “the feeling that a person or a thing is beneath consideration, worthless.” -Google. That’s why Sj is “Turd Spotting. Roku. The New Cable.”

EDITOR'S DESK, EDITORIAL, THINKING NOW

Theft and Tariff. Thriving This Trade War.

JUNE 15, 2019. Who doesn’t enjoy a mad swarm of bees–more than a trade war wedgie? Bees obey rules, usually. Besides, it’s hard to make sense with your unders wrapped around your chin. Trade is a fight and all fights are personal. Can anyone else hear that back-up warning beep? Once launched trade wars float forward creating some funky life all their own. Trade wars are also sort of like that guy stitch-fixed together out of spare parts by that famous German doctor. No one knows what’s coming next. They lumber and lurch clumsily crushing anything good and sensible. Soon the goal shifts to stopping the damage.
Thieves piss everyone off, with the exception of those doing the thieving. Some entities refuse anything but a boot in the ass. Ask T. May. Middle school also proved that. Such requests should be solemnly honored. Talk goes only so far. Sometimes only a frown signifies progress. “Forced technology transfer” is not free trade, and “Joint venture partners” who systematically steal are not partners. Meanwhile the WTO has never loved America and looking to them for fairness is as effective as tossing empty pop cans.
This gargantuan pie fight mashes onward, and investors make their way through the mess. Doing so intelligently means sticking to what works. No one knows our collective future. They only pretend to. We alone hold on to our portfolio rudder. Thriving this trade war. Ultimately one truth exits. The decisions are ours.

EDITOR'S DESK, INVESTING, MONEY, THE AMERICAN DREAM, THINKING NOW

Giddy Spring Joy. Blame it on Your IRA.

APRIL 13, 2019. April brings joy. It marks a turning point. Bubbles of inspiration tickle our spirits. Why not? Well, taxes? We’re here to remind. We’re simply brimming with four joys of this new season.
Our taxes are done and with very little pain. But what pays you? Everyone get the relief of finishing.
The federal forced march toward the 15th becomes merely a memory. Repeat our move, if you haven’t already. That pays you.
Many know the abiding truth. Available to you each year, and every year there after, is a safe place from which to file. Once done, it’s forever. That’s a joy right? You can simply be there, annually, at this very time of year. Birds sing there, and lunch is always Al fresco. The service is wonderful, and cheap. For many no trading reports are required. That’s a joy, right?
The blooms of spring lead to summer and airline tickets to places worth visiting. The money you save by the above hinted move, may just pay for your trip. Raise a glass. Our four summer kick-off joys, just for you. Two will pay you all year long. Enjoy.

EDITOR'S DESK, FUNDAMENTALS, INVESTING, MONEY, THINKING NOW

Pay Yourself First. Signal To Launch.

APRIL 9, 2019. You often hear it. “It’s your money.” Is it? Only yours until you spend it. The spent becomes someone else’s. Learn to keep it, and create joy. Oops. Money doesn’t create happiness. No, it allows joy, something far superior. A thousand cappuccinos equals two shares of Amazon. More actually. Fact. Who knew? Long-time Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. Yet living like Martin Luther during his monastic tour leads to little. Hair shirts are nonsense, and so is frittering all your hard-earned jack.
The clean soothing new car smell is outstanding. We love it, every time we load into someone else’s car. That’s because ceaseless car payments grow monastic, except for dealers and OEMs. Depreciating assets don’t pay. What does? Paying yourself first.
PYF is a skill set. No? Were it not, more people would be doing it. We pay ourselves straight off the top, like a Fa King blizzard. If you do also, you know exactly what we’re speaking of. Living better is no accident. Nor is it a money treadmill. Get your edge.
PYF is that edge. It’s about creating more than the sum of your days. Make your efforts accumulate. Again–it’s your money, and time. It’s also your life. Your name’s on all three. PYF means you’ll have more. More means you’re on your way to better. And there’s even more than that. That’s called the Gift of O. It’s simple. You can do this.
Here’s how it’s done.

FUNDAMENTALS, INVESTING, MARKETS/ECONOMY, MEDIA, Reader's Choice, TECHNICALS, THINKING NOW

Bank Shots. Rates Play Rim Protector.

APRIL, 6, 2019. Buckle your couch belts for all the excitement. It’s simultaneously time for both the Final Four, and Earnings Season. Did your bank transfer? “Survive and move on” remains the way. Please be advised. No shortage of Cinderellas or shilling money managers exists now. And once again, none will fail to foul or front for their favorite financial.
It’s make believe time all over again. Super-heated gases will leak forth from your screens. Back up., content and advertising will meld. Trash will be talked. This smear of nonsense will end only after earnings are done, the nets are cut down, or CNBC finally bloats into a purely promotional gas giant.
“We love Tech–and the financials right here.”
Goddammit. Jamie Dimon doesn’t even “like the financials right here.” “Why do you like the filthy financials?” “They’re cheap, like dirt, and they hit their fros.” Well–of course they do. What else have the banks had to do, except work their fros? NIM is nonexistent.
The banks haven’t done a goddamn thing since that guy on the $10 bill was running the Treasury. What about now? Did Wells Fargo, Chase, or Skank of America transfer to your Final Four? STOCKjAW takes a reality look, again.