Search found 755 matches

by jhogue
Fri Sep 06, 2019 4:23 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: The Bond Dream Room
Replies: 554
Views: 359941

Re: The Bond Dream Room

I certainly do not consider EE bonds to be “a pointless waste.” A couple of specific, real world examples: 1. The EE bonds we used to pay for our daughter’s college back in 2007-2011 paid 6% p.a. and were both federal tax free and tax deferred. The accumulated interest was also exempt from all state...
by jhogue
Fri Sep 06, 2019 9:40 am
Forum: Bonds
Topic: The Bond Dream Room
Replies: 554
Views: 359941

Re: The Bond Dream Room

The key question for potential EE bond investors this: Do you have a 20 year plan for your money? If you don’t, then you should never buy EE bonds. If you do have a 20 year plan (or longer), then EE bonds might have a useful role in your portfolio. Pugchief’s worry that rates may rise above 4.00% re...
by jhogue
Wed Aug 28, 2019 9:31 am
Forum: Bonds
Topic: Trump Considering Issuance of 50 & 100-Year Bonds
Replies: 7
Views: 16132

Re: Trump Considering Issuance of 50 & 100-Year Bonds

A report on Bloomberg TV today said that recently-issued 100 year Austrian bonds have doubled in price, while their yield has fallen to +0.62%. I think it shows how far European investors are willing to go to avoid buying German 10 year bunds featuring guaranteed negative interest rates. If interest...
by jhogue
Tue Aug 20, 2019 8:27 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Greenland
Replies: 7
Views: 5498

Re: Greenland

Article IV of the constitution has governed the acquisition and disposition of US territories since 1789. Few Americans have more than a passing familiarity with it these days, but I would not describe it as “weird.” Most Americans are also unaware that FDR ordered US Marines to occupy Greenland (an...
by jhogue
Mon Aug 19, 2019 11:20 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Greenland
Replies: 7
Views: 5498

Re: Greenland

Trump could finance the purchase of Greenland with ultra-long 100 year bonds. There is plenty of historical precedence for this. Teddy Roosevelt ordered the sale of 50 year bonds to finance the construction of the Panama Canal. Opened in 1914, the canal has never operated at a loss-- including two w...
by jhogue
Fri Aug 16, 2019 2:03 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: Treasury Yield Curve - June 3 2019
Replies: 23
Views: 25598

Re: Treasury Yield Curve - June 3 2019

Are the banks that currently offer 5-year CDs at 3% basically taking a loss on the CDs in order to hopefully attract new customers who will also sign up for lines of credit (from which the bank actually makes its money)? My example was Ally, which doesn’t require a new account to get that rate. But...
by jhogue
Fri Aug 16, 2019 10:43 am
Forum: Bonds
Topic: Treasury Yield Curve - June 3 2019
Replies: 23
Views: 25598

Re: Treasury Yield Curve - June 3 2019

Are the banks that currently offer 5-year CDs at 3% basically taking a loss on the CDs in order to hopefully attract new customers who will also sign up for lines of credit (from which the bank actually makes its money)? My example was Ally, which doesn’t require a new account to get that rate. But...
by jhogue
Thu Aug 01, 2019 1:40 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Will Trump be Re-elected?
Replies: 648
Views: 343001

Re: Will Trump be Re-elected?

I don't recall Trump running as a fiscal conservative in 2016.
by jhogue
Sun Jul 28, 2019 12:09 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Mueller's Testimony
Replies: 14
Views: 7920

Re: Mueller's Testimony

I will defer to the the specialists in neurology among us for a diagnosis of dementia. I am sure that would be interesting. Applying Okkam's Razor leads me to a different set of conclusions regarding Mueller's appearance: 1. Mueller did not want to testify. He said so. He had no incentive to prepare...
by jhogue
Thu Jul 25, 2019 7:39 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Will Trump be Re-elected?
Replies: 648
Views: 343001

Re: Will Trump be Re-elected?

Everything will be exactly the same, except different. In 2020, Dems will nominate Elizabeth Warren who will rail against plutocrats in banks, Wall Street, and offshore tax havens; but for taxes on Roth IRAs over $1 million, tighter capital controls, and Obamacare Plus Free Everything. Ironically, ...
by jhogue
Tue Jul 16, 2019 2:52 pm
Forum: Gold
Topic: Gold as Actual Money - Sucks
Replies: 18
Views: 12280

Re: Gold as Actual Money - Sucks

Uhh, well, China really is long on the US dollar. At the moment, it has no choice: China's central bank currently holds about $2 trillion foreign exchange reserves denominated in US Treasurys. It is the largest holding outside the US. The precise amount of US Treasurys held by the PBOC is an officia...
by jhogue
Tue Jul 16, 2019 10:11 am
Forum: Gold
Topic: Gold as Actual Money - Sucks
Replies: 18
Views: 12280

Re: Gold as Actual Money - Sucks

Is there something wrong with China (and many other countries) being long on the US dollar?
by jhogue
Fri Jul 05, 2019 2:57 pm
Forum: Cash
Topic: How do you invest the Cash portion?
Replies: 243
Views: 168851

Re: How do you invest the Cash portion?

Welcome to the forum. I think the above suggestions will probably work out just fine for you. That said, consider the following points: 1. Keep in mind that the purpose of Cash in the PP is to always hold the safest and most liquid asset possible in case one of the three volatile assets exceeds its ...
by jhogue
Sat Jun 29, 2019 7:51 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Will Trump be Re-elected?
Replies: 648
Views: 343001

Re: Will Trump be Re-elected?

Did the televised debates narrow the Democratic field?

Did Kamala Harris-- who is "black"-- trash Joe Biden's civil rights record enough to damage his status as frontrunner?
by jhogue
Fri Jun 28, 2019 7:09 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: A question only a PP novice could ask
Replies: 16
Views: 11529

Re: A question only a PP novice could ask

Funds you need for 6 months to 1 year should be safe and liquid. Keep it in your Vanguard Treasury money market fund.
by jhogue
Fri Jun 14, 2019 2:12 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How do you watch Cricket world cup online?
Replies: 16
Views: 6650

Re: How do you watch Cricket world cup online?

Yes, but do we know for sure if Xan is a replicant/bot?
by jhogue
Thu Jun 13, 2019 11:33 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How do you watch Cricket world cup online?
Replies: 16
Views: 6650

Re: How do you watch Cricket world cup online?

Leon knew he was a replicant, which was why he blew away the detective/blade runner in the spectacular opening scene of the movie. Rachel, the hot number that Tyrell has Deckard administer the Voigt-Kampf test, does not know she is not human.
by jhogue
Thu Jun 13, 2019 9:29 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How do you watch Cricket world cup online?
Replies: 16
Views: 6650

Re: How do you watch Cricket world cup online?

Marlb10, could you convince me that you're not a subtle and sophisticated spambot? No offense (if you're not a bot), but your posts all have a very "with it but not with it" quality that have a sort of Eliza-esque feel. And you post things that are way off topic including links to quasi-illegitimat...
by jhogue
Wed Jun 12, 2019 6:56 pm
Forum: Gold
Topic: KeyBank Bans Gold Bullion from “Safe” Deposit Boxes
Replies: 18
Views: 8338

Re: KeyBank Bans Gold Bullion from “Safe” Deposit Boxes

What caught my attention in the Chase notification was the $25,000 cap on value, which seems simply ridiculous from both the perspective of the bank and its clients. For instance, why should Chase know or care if I have more than that amount in I-bonds?
by jhogue
Wed Jun 12, 2019 8:10 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Will Trump be Re-elected?
Replies: 648
Views: 343001

Re: Will Trump be Re-elected?

I think that Nancy Pelosi is a vote counter. She has the House, but she does not have the votes in the Senate to throw Trump out. Her whole purpose in keeping the Trump/Russia investigations on simmer is to continue to dirty up Trump and the Republicans for 2020. I am not counting Biden as a shoo-in...
by jhogue
Wed Jun 12, 2019 7:37 am
Forum: Gold
Topic: KeyBank Bans Gold Bullion from “Safe” Deposit Boxes
Replies: 18
Views: 8338

Re: KeyBank Bans Gold Bullion from “Safe” Deposit Boxes

https://www.silverdoctors.com/headlines/world-news/keybank-bans-gold-bullion-form-storage-deposit-boxes/ Here is the article in case it is not widely known. Also Chase bank has already banned storage. If I read Keybank's notice correctly, there appears to be a loophole in their gold ban: It does no...
by jhogue
Mon Jun 03, 2019 1:39 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: What have we learned over last 10 years?
Replies: 42
Views: 35732

Re: What have we learned over last 10 years?

however if that insurance cost 25% of the price of the house it was insuring i would think twice about it , especially with the odds of it burning down so low.. Bad analogy. Gold is a store of value and a hedge against economic chaos; not an insurance policy that costs you 25% of your portfolio. If...
by jhogue
Thu May 30, 2019 3:33 pm
Forum: Variable Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Invest like Buffett?
Replies: 24
Views: 12836

Re: Invest like Buffett?

Warren Buffett has become a plutocrat, plain and simple. Once upon a time, he made a fortune by shrewd value investing. More recently, his methods have changed. Take his $5 billion investment in Bank of America in the depths of the Great Recession: Buffett did not simply buy common shares in the ope...
by jhogue
Fri May 24, 2019 4:53 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: What have we learned over last 10 years?
Replies: 42
Views: 35732

Re: What have we learned over last 10 years?

I would like to shift the focus of this thread and speculate on what the NEXT 10 years of the PP will bring: -I hold most of my gold in tax-deferred ETFs, and therefore not as much physical as I would like. Gold ETFs seem to have performed its uncorrelated role in these “normal” times, but they have...
by jhogue
Thu May 23, 2019 9:13 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: Ally Bank No Penalty CD
Replies: 26
Views: 31004

Re: Ally Bank No Penalty CD

See Craig Rowland's comments in Cash FAQ: "Q: Why a Treasury Money Market Fund and not something else with better yield? A: Because you are not looking to take risk with your cash. Treasury Money Market Funds that are properly run are one of the most liquid investments you can own. There are no FDIC...