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OT: Stock and Investment Talk

I simply do not understand what companies like Disney think they are accomplishing under the guise of “inclusivity”. Snow White will tank compared to what the remake could
have been. Do Star Wars fans really care about Ashoka to the point she needs her own Disney+ series? And look what they’ve done with Marvel. Will they ever actually launch the new season of Daredevil and will the Punisher’s role be marginalized because he’s too violent and angry? If Disney wants to push a certain agenda it does so at the peril of shareholders. Hollywood in general is a disaster. Does Tyler Perry care about “inclusivity” when he’s casting for his movies? Just make movies and content that are entertaining and add to the bottom line. It’s that simple.
My kids love it. Woke thing is more for grown ups.
 
YoY CPI Shelter/OER forecast from the San Francisco Fed. Dropping quickly and going deflationary as early as Feb 2024 (most likely by April 2024) and staying negative for the rest of 2024. Reminder, CPI Shelter/OER is 30% of headline and 40% of core.

Will we have a deflation scare in H2 2024? Plan accordingly:

el2023-19-3.png


Our baseline forecast suggests that year-over-year shelter inflation will continue to slow through late 2024 and may even turn negative by mid-2024. This would represent a sharp turnaround in shelter inflation, with important implications for the behavior of overall inflation.

 
YoY CPI Shelter/OER forecast from the San Francisco Fed. Dropping quickly and going deflationary as early as Feb 2024 (most likely by April 2024) and staying negative for the rest of 2024. Reminder, CPI Shelter/OER is 30% of headline and 40% of core.

Will we have a deflation scare in H2 2024? Plan accordingly:

el2023-19-3.png


Our baseline forecast suggests that year-over-year shelter inflation will continue to slow through late 2024 and may even turn negative by mid-2024. This would represent a sharp turnaround in shelter inflation, with important implications for the behavior of overall inflation.
It’s funny you mention the deflation word. US economy is probably the healthiest major economy on earth right now. China’s economy is on the verge of being a real sh*tshow and they are experiencing deflation.
 
It’s funny you mention the deflation word. US economy is probably the healthiest major economy on earth right now. China’s economy is on the verge of being a real sh*tshow and they are experiencing deflation.
Deflation is much scarier than inflation. The future CPI math is looking rather dangerous. It would be ironic (and sad) if the Fed screws up once again and is forced to rapidly cut interest rates and restart QE to avoid a China situation.
 
Can’t have strong employment and deflation. Not going to happen.
China has an over 20% youth unemployment rate and the US and China do have very different economies. Putin has already outed his failing kleptocracy of a nation mostly due to his awful policies and I’m wondering how desperate Xi is now becoming. If only I could accurately predict what the world will look like a year from now.🤔
In the meantime “AI” is the mantra…
 
Or the math is wrong
Gov'ment math is always wrong, but it's the garbage the Fed uses and we have to live by. If we used real-time shelter data, CPI would be 0.5% headline and 1.5% core right now. However, it will likely start stabilizing and not go deflationary.
 
It’s funny you mention the deflation word. US economy is probably the healthiest major economy on earth right now. China’s economy is on the verge of being a real sh*tshow and they are experiencing deflation.
Just watched something on Youtube about China, and apparently they have built all these "ghost cities" where literally no one lives. And there are a bunch of them.

I heard on CNBC (I think), that of China's 1.3 billion population, only 300 million are in urban area's, while 1 billion are still rural. So I guess the idea was continuing growth in manufacturing would pull more people off the farms and into these newly built urban area's. But the building of cities has outpaced the manufacturing growth. If that manufacturing slows, that could pull the rug out from the real estate development, and really pinch their economy.
 
Just watched something on Youtube about China, and apparently they have built all these "ghost cities" where literally no one lives. And there are a bunch of them.

I heard on CNBC (I think), that of China's 1.3 billion population, only 300 million are in urban area's, while 1 billion are still rural. So I guess the idea was continuing growth in manufacturing would pull more people off the farms and into these newly built urban area's. But the building of cities has outpaced the manufacturing growth. If that manufacturing slows, that could pull the rug out from the real estate development, and really pinch their economy.
I thought Xi's economic plan was to push citizens into the cities. However, I have seen some recent stories that contradict this, so perhaps that was a pre-COVID policy?
 
Just watched something on Youtube about China, and apparently they have built all these "ghost cities" where literally no one lives. And there are a bunch of them.

I heard on CNBC (I think), that of China's 1.3 billion population, only 300 million are in urban area's, while 1 billion are still rural. So I guess the idea was continuing growth in manufacturing would pull more people off the farms and into these newly built urban area's. But the building of cities has outpaced the manufacturing growth. If that manufacturing slows, that could pull the rug out from the real estate development, and really pinch their economy.
You have your numbers flipped (or CNBC did) China is 2/3rds urbanized. Tibet is the only province not majority urbanized. And I’ve seen videos on the ghost cities you speak of. I think they can chalk up some of the overbuilding to education/training costs…by keeping builders building things. The central planners got a lot right…but a lot wrong.
 
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You have your numbers flipped (or CNBC did) China is 2/3rds urbanized. Tibet is the only province not majority urbanized. And I’ve seen videos on the ghost cities you speak of. I think they can chalk up some of the overbuilding to education/training costs…by keeping builders building things. The central planners got a lot right…but a lot wrong.
Ya just checked. It appears 35% of their population is rural.
 
if everyone is so wealthy, why are they using their CC?
And ... the average balance per CC rose to $5,947, the highest in 10 years, according to TransUnion. CNBC reports that not only are balances higher, but more cardholders are also carrying debt from month to month. Of those carrying card balances, 60% have been in debt for at least one year.

The average credit card interest rate today is 24.37% — the highest since LendingTree began tracking rates monthly in 2019.

When student loan repayment resumes this fall, well, there will be more pain.
 
if everyone is so wealthy, why are they using their CC?
For the convenience of day to day living. Don't yell at me about the facts. CC debt burden is lower today than most of the past 2 decades. No amount of bearish hysteria will change this.
 
And ... the average balance per CC rose to $5,947, the highest in 10 years, according to TransUnion. CNBC reports that not only are balances higher, but more cardholders are also carrying debt from month to month. Of those carrying card balances, 60% have been in debt for at least one year.

The average credit card interest rate today is 24.37% — the highest since LendingTree began tracking rates monthly in 2019.

When student loan repayment resumes this fall, well, there will be more pain.
The sky is always just about to fall for some people. LOL!
 
Inflation creeping up last month. You are seeing it in commodity prices as well.

 
Disney isn’t declining because of cancel culture. It’s declining because:
-revenue declines in the cable (ESPN) and streaming (consumers cutting back on subscriptions and content producers are being pressured to be cash flow positive after a boom/bust period).

-DIS eliminated dividends in 2020. Many dividend-based funds had to dump the stock. Dividends may come back end of 23.
 
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For those tracking MMM:

3M (MMM) is close to reaching a $5.5 billion settlement over claims its earplugs did not protect against hearing loss, according to The Wall Street Journal. The market had been anticipating a much higher potential settlement, in the range of $10 billion to $15 billion. - CNBC
 
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Disney isn’t declining because of cancel culture. It’s declining because:
-revenue declines in the cable (ESPN) and streaming (consumers cutting back on subscriptions and content producers are being pressured to be cash flow positive after a boom/bust period).

-DIS eliminated dividends in 2020. Many dividend-based funds had to dump the stock. Dividends may come back end of 23.

Consumers are cutting back because the content sucks. ESPN and Disney content both went woke and the decline is directly linked to that decision.
 
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Disney isn’t declining because of cancel culture. It’s declining because:
-revenue declines in the cable (ESPN) and streaming (consumers cutting back on subscriptions and content producers are being pressured to be cash flow positive after a boom/bust period).

-DIS eliminated dividends in 2020. Many dividend-based funds had to dump the stock. Dividends may come back end of 23.
DIS has been hurt by three things:

1. Excessive amount of debt via the Fox Studio acquisition (which was done by Iger 1.0)
2. Weak performance at the box office, most of their recent movies have bombed (you can blame this on wokeness or poor quality or whatever, lots to point to on this).
3. As you pointed out, legacy cable issues

I do believe the stock will begin a turnaround by the end of the year. So much bad news is baked in that even a glimmer of hope would make a positive impact.
 
Consumers are cutting back because the content sucks. ESPN and Disney content both went woke and the decline is directly linked to that decision.
Disney content - movies and streaming - has been very weak for the past 2 years. Marvel has become unwatchable.
 
For the convenience of day to day living.
People don’t “save up” for anything anymore and younger generations don’t care about prices. $8 for a coffee. $15 for a sandwich. I honestly think stores can almost charge whatever they want and most people will pay without thinking about it. I have friends buying new cars paying way over MSRP instead of shopping around. People are lazy when it comes to managing money or using a budget.
 
People don’t “save up” for anything anymore and younger generations don’t care about prices. $8 for a coffee. $15 for a sandwich. I honestly think stores can almost charge whatever they want and most people will pay without thinking about it. I have friends buying new cars paying way over MSRP instead of shopping around. People are lazy when it comes to managing money or using a budget.
Shiny happy people.... Ignorance is bliss.
 
I keep trading in and out of MARA positions in anticipation of the Grayscale decision. Tomorrow is another possible decision day (Tuesday and Fridays for the US Court of Appeals). We shall see!
 
SMCI?

Taking a breather after a huge run. But 22x trailing with impressive growth expected.
 
SMCI?

Taking a breather after a huge run. But 22x trailing with impressive growth expected.
Over $7B in revenue with a $13B market cap. What am I missing? Strong double beat a few weeks ago but the stock gave back a lot of recent gains.
 
Over $7B in revenue with a $13B market cap. What am I missing? Strong double beat a few weeks ago but the stock gave back a lot of recent gains.
Im thinking the run up has been so extreme that some are taking profits….even though the fundies suggest it has much more upside.
 
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5-Star Silver Fund - beating the S&P 600 which is the small cap value benchmark I normally use:

A stellar choice for small-value exposure.

Summary
Avantis U.S. Small Cap Value ETF AVUV shrewdly taps into value and profitability, a time-tested tandem of factors that complement one another well and should provide an edge. The management team consistently executes the strategy in a cost-efficient manner, warranting a People Pillar upgrade to Above Average from Average.

This fund sifts through the small-cap universe for stocks with the best combination of value and profitability characteristics, an attractive duo. Both factors have historically been tied to market-beating returns, and they tend to excel at different times. Threading the needle between both should keep the fund competitive in most market environments.

Once the fund whittles down its portfolio, it modifies stocks’ market-cap weights based on their value and profitability traits. Stronger companies receive a boost, while weaker firms see their portfolio share subside. This approach enhances factor exposures without neglecting the information stored inside stocks’ prices. Indeed, the portfolio trades at cheaper valuations than the small-value Morningstar Category benchmark (the Russell 2000 Value Index) and sported a better return on invested capital (a measure of profitability) than 97% of its small-value peers as of May 2023. All that comes with a bold but palatable 63% active share versus the Russell 2000 Value Index, giving the fund ample room to recoup its fee.

Market-cap weighting helps stymie turnover, and Avantis’ disciplined trading approach helps the same cause. The implementation team constantly weighs the cost-benefit of a trade’s expected added value to the portfolio against the requisite transaction cost, only acting when the scales tip in its favor. This flexibility is an advantage over similarly broad, well-diversified exchange-traded funds that rigidly track indexes.

A unique sector composition induces some risk. The fund avoids regulated utilities and real estate securities and takes a small stake in healthcare stocks. Energy and consumer discretionary companies fill the void; the fund’s stakes in those two sectors exceeded the Russell 2000 Value Index by 11 and 8 percentage points, respectively, as of May 2023. Trading defensive stocks for cyclical sector exposures invites volatility that may not be rewarded over the long term.
 
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