You Can Learn A Lot

At Your Neighborhood Barber Shop

What a week, eh? We had surprises galore along with expected responses. I decided a long time ago what my strategy was. I’m long all types of government bonds, long gold bullion, long the Yen versus the Dollar, actively buying “solid” dividend paying stocks as well as “dogs” that didn’t do all that well last year. I’m a “kiss” keep it simple stupid kind of investor, one that is better known as boring. Given most of the funds managed are in Roth IRA accounts, taxation is of no concern. That makes life easier.

So most of each day I work on getting my courses into a sellable format, watch, listen and learn. Given I do that more than 16 hours a day, I’m able to stay ahead of the herd and the crowd. They are usually wrong but there’s one item repeated everywhere. The interest rates charged worldwide are coming down for reason. Which reason that is doesn’t really matter, they are headed lower regardless of whatever targets are met.

It’s an election year. Most election years see rates decline and equities increase. Given this scenario positioning my accounts the way they are is a no-brainer. Whether Biden or Trump wins rules future years. I would love to see someone different running than these two grandparents, perhaps even a qualified third party candidate but the longer it takes the less challengers will appear, at least qualified ones.

What Do Others Think

I practice what I preach. I’m more interested in what others have to say; you should be too. That is how positions are formed. While it is not “rocket science” listening is a viable method to learn from. Given fewer people read in today’s world, shame on you, the courses being assembled for the “oral” world make sense. Regardless, it is up to you to keep both ears and eyes open as this world changes every day.

You’ve seen this picture before, eh? Well, get used to it, you are going to see more of it in the courses. It’s is exactly what I preach and practice besides, it works.

So I got my haircut. Makes sense as I’m going to be filming over the next couple days. It gave me a chance to listen and interact with the public-at-large. When I get haircuts I do my best to hang out at my neighborhood barber shop, open my ears and listen to others. They had a lot to say, some of which simply made a lot of sense.

This area is rather diverse. Newly minted immigrants compete for space with Texans who have lived here for years. In the past, their interests have been pretty much split between the liberal and conservative persuasion. That wasn’t the case today. From the youngsters to their accompanying grandparents, what’s happening to this country is not to their liking. In the past, most were not as talkative or opinionated. Must be the upcoming election giving them a voice. They are openly speaking their minds.

While a couple remain “solidly” in the liberal Democratic camp today they were quiet. In essence they were outnumbered but I read something more into their actions. They are unhappy with the direction this country is heading as well. Conservatives were far less reserved. There was a question or two raised about picking between two “older” candidates but when summarized, the conservatives, many of them “very religious” in nature, are going to support the conservative ideal. Surprisingly, “immigrants”, those who landed in Texas a generation ago were the strongest participants. They came to the United States the hard way; they paid their dues and are unhappy with the recent influx of humanity. The one newly minted immigrant was quiet and happy to get his haircut then leave. I wonder who gave him the money to get his haircut.

These are the people you should be listening to. Sure, I had an “in depth” discussion on today’s “investment world” with my barber but she’s doing everything right. She’s forcing herself to save money with a mortgage and a whole life insurance policy. I’d hope that she cuts that loser she calls a boyfriend out of her life but that’s her call. It would be nice to see her meet someone who appreciates her twenty-five year career as much as I do but again, to each their own. Nonetheless she’s entrenched in the future and realizes, like most others, this is a really important election. Her voice is a critical one as she cuts lots of hair and talks to lots of people. That makes a big difference.

So What Else Is New

Investment wise, not much as I’m pretty well set. Take a “gander” at my last article if you have the time. You’ll see again that I practice what I preach, rebalancing. SGP was up 40% from where I bought it so I “trimmed” some shares and put more money into NTR a stock that’s down about 15% from my original entry point.

I started to take a “harder and longer” look at Cocoa. What goes up must come down and parabolic moves correct. That’s what I’m seeing. Since I‘ve not pulled the trigger on the short, today’s article is free. When I finally “pull the trigger” on a Cocoa short, or change something else, I’ll charge for that article after I tell “my flock” what I am doing, but for now, I’m free. Enjoy it and please, go get a haircut and listen to others.

I’m still looking for that “blow-off” spike to the upside and I’ll be on board. Last week was “pretty normal” for Cocoa, kind of a “one way street”. That can change on a dime so I’ll keep on watching. I’ve got a few other positions on my radar but schizophrenic markets are not my sytle. They are not healthy as certainty is not associated with their movements. Patience is a virtue which is why I am very long 2024 June 18 VIX calls. I hope everyone sees that “speculative” positions never exceed 10% of the money under management. That allows me to be wrong and if there is one thing that is a certainty it’s that I will sometimes be wrong and remember, I’m usually early.

So enjoy a weekend without football. Taylor Swift has taken over the “replay” screen especially when Travis Kelce catches a pass or scores a touchdown. It’s very good for football and it’s good for the country. No matter how you slice it, this coverage beats “knelling” on the sidelines Colin Kaepernick style. I am going back to teaching a few new investors a couple old tricks to get them started. I’ll be doing that for as long as I can and appreciate the overall interest. I hope they all learn that traders die broke.

Remember folks, “keep it simple stupid”. There’s no better way to drill that into “the space between your ears” than with Kiss and their “Rock And Roll All Night” song. I can’t tell you that these guys were my favorite but I loved their theatrics. Showman of the year honors is what they should have won. As they say, image is everything. What people think and say is everything as well. Open up your ears and your eyes and take it all in. That’s what I do and it pays off. Give it a try; it works.