Sooner or later we were bound to have a nasty correction. I wasn’t sure what the catalyst would be, but I knew it was coming. We discussed, in subsequent posts, how I thought it might have to do with politics. Instead, a novel virus with origins in Wuhan, China has spread across the world. Thankfully, China now appears to … [Read more...]
Recent Buy: International Business Machines
Towards the end of last year, I added two new positions. With Ameritrade moving to $0 commissions I was able to average in a share or two per week. I eventually built up smaller positions in Honeywell (HON) and Cracker Barrel (CBRL). Honeywell is one of the highest quality industrial companies in the world and thus carries a rich … [Read more...]
Goals for 2020
Around the New Year most of us reflect on what we accomplished over the past 12 months. In my personal life I renovated my house, battled a minor health problem, and navigated a struggling industrial market at work. From a financial standpoint, my portfolio increased by nearly 50% YOY. In January 2019, it was valued at roughly … [Read more...]
Recent Buy: Cracker Barrel
You’re tired and hungry after a long grueling road trip. There’s a McDonalds at every rest stop but you’re just not in the mood. After all, you already had McDonalds for breakfast and stopped at two others to use the bathroom. At the same time, you don’t want to go too far into town. The traffic on main roads right now feels … [Read more...]
Recession Fears Mitigated
For the time being, major media outlets are admitting a recession is no longer in site and that the U.S. economy remains strong. On Friday, the jobs data blew past expectations. The United States created 266,000 jobs in November versus 180,000 expected. The unemployment rate ticked down to 3.5% with average pay rising 3.8%. … [Read more...]
Target is #1
In September 2016 I acquired Target’s stock in the upper 60s. This was shortly after the company went “political” and sparked a boycott from conservative groups. In addition, the company was facing stiff competition from Amazon and other retailers were failing everywhere. I watched the stock fall into the lower 50s. As it collapsed further, I … [Read more...]