There are things you can replace
And others you cannot
The time has come to weigh those things
This space is gettin’ hot
You know this space is gettin’
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The Philosophical Investor's Blog
The First Final (and Match) on The Eleven
by 
Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
In my last post, I unveiled The Eleven, my new tennis court and viewing space. A little less than a week later, Heather and I had our first social gathering to show some of our friends why we have been hermits for the last three years.
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Unveiling The Eleven
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
Regular readers know that I have written a lot about tennis over the past few years and that I have been embarking on building my own tennis paradise at my home. This process has taken over three years (so far) but last week was a milestone as I was able to play on the court for the first time.
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Some Thoughts on Clarity
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
The more I go through life, the more value I place on clarity. And while clarity can often come from an epiphany, it takes a lot of training to put oneself in a position to have such epiphanies. Besides having a lot of life experience to know what has worked and what has not,
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GDPtopia
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
Last week, the GDP report for the 4th quarter was released as well as the Fed’s favorite inflation index, the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index (PCE). The Fed should be very pleased with what the reports revealed and how it has defied the overwhelming consensus that a hard landing was necessary to break the back of inflation.
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Remembering Not To Cry Over Spilled Milk
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
Last week I participated in what we call our State of the Company meetings. I was in Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, Denver, and Phoenix. Seattle had to be postponed because of the grounding of Boeing Max 9 planes. Alaska Airlines was particularly impacted by this and this has led to the cancellation of a number of flights.
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Tennis, Dylan, and a New Year's Day Insight
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
Regular readers know that I am a big Bob Dylan fan and have cited him many times over the years to convey essential insights I’m trying to convey. Obviously, I’m not the only one to have leaned on Dylan to help me navigate through life.
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Opening the Door to '24
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
It’s always good to reflect as a year comes to a close and a new one begins. Professionally, 2023 was extremely challenging (and humbling). Our beautiful hedge capping most of our variable rate loans at 1.25% for 30-day LIBOR, when it was still in existence,
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Peek-A-Boo Powell
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
Perhaps Powell’s pivot was highly influenced by having access to the Fed’s favorite inflation indicator, the Personal Consumption Expenditure Index (PCE), well ahead of its official release last Friday. As this headline from the Wall Street Journal shows, the index went into negative territory,
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Powell Pivot III: Too Little Too Late for Overleveraged Apartment Owners?
by Gary Carmell
Gary Carmell
Powell did it for the third time. He proved for the third time that you should listen to him carefully until he does something completely different, and then you should listen to him again. After raising rates aggressively starting in April 2022, after he had said that the Fed wouldn’t raise rates until the end of 2023 at the earliest,
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