Good morning. Markets are flat to start the week as investors await the arrival of economic data that, hopefully, will show the government shutdown only had a limited effect. But no matter what the data claims, will that be enough to convince consumers that things are about to improve? In this regard, CNBC produced a survey which concludes that people are planning to spend less this holiday season which, if true, could turn smiles now on the faces of optimistic economists into frowns. It is amazing how quickly things change. Many homes have robotic vacuums … and, if memory serves me correctly, it was the “Roomba” that set the tone. But things have improved, competitors (with some very good products) entered the arena … and the company behind the Roomba … iRobot … filed for bankruptcy this morning. Being early and having high market share is wonderful … but only if you can keep competitors from nipping at your heels and surpassing you … something the Kansas City Chiefs are experiencing today. Wow … sorry … what a bad analogy. I mentioned last week that Denmark was planning to follow Australia’s lead in banning/limiting social media use among kids … and this movement appears to be growing as Norway, Spain and France are implementing similar restrictions. A news story from The Guardian reports it is also being discussed in the United Kingdom, and several U.S. states have already announced court-challenged plans along these lines. On a federal level, I suspect it is only a matter of time. There is also a bit of excitement among Doritos salesmen everywhere as there is expected to be an announcement this week that cannabis will no longer be considered a Schedule 1 drug … and moved to Schedule 3 … which would allow a wide range of studies. At the moment, pot is considered more dangerous than crack or cocaine which, to many, seems downright silly. One bit of advice … for those who care to dream … is you might want to pick up a Powerball ticket for tonight’s drawing … as the top prize is now above $1.1 billion. For mathematicians in the audience, this is well above the odds of winning (1 in around 292 million) so that seems to be well worth the $2 “investment.” A final note before I sign off is there have been quite a few studies I’ve come across recently mentioning health improvements as we get older … with sleep quite important (which concerns me since I have become addicted to late-night Netflix binge-watching). But one regimen that deals with exercise caught my attention, which I’ve adopted. It is really quite simple. I walk or run every day for 30 minutes … and if I miss a day, I add 30 minutes to the next day’s schedule. This has really been a game-changer. Tomorrow, I ‘m supposed to run for 3 weeks. Have a great day, Joseph G. Witthohn, CFA Have any questions? Please contact info@teamemerald.com
|
Call Us: +1 (800) 722-4123 
Back