The Philosophical Investor's Blog

A Reunion of Reflection

Central School 8th Grade Class of 1979

This post will be a little self-indulgent, as it will not touch on anything related to real estate, interest rates, or economics. It is inspired by my recent attendance at the 40th reunion of my eighth-grade class.

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Economic Gain, Treasury Pain

Treasury Yield

It’s been a brutal couple of weeks for Treasuries as the following headline from Bloomberg attests to on September 13th.

Bloomberg Treasury Dive

10-year yields bottomed on a closing basis on September 3rd at 1.47% and have shot back up to 1.90% as of September 13th.

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Sickness, Grit, Reliability, and Variable Rate Loans

mental toughness

Roneet used to say that you have to be healthy in order to be sick. She was spot on. I, fortunately, don’t get sick very much but last week was one in which I was fighting my annual cold. It usually lasts five to seven days and then I’m back to good health.

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The Road to Zero?

road to zero percent interest

The market didn’t react very well to Jerome Powell’s characterization of Wednesday’s interest rate reduction as a “mid-cycle adjustment.” Investors took that to be a bearish easing of monetary policy. The stock market dropped, the bond market took a future interest rate reduction off of the table,

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Find a Game and Get in the Game

Failure to Launch or Find Yourself

I was talking to my daughter about a few college graduates that seem to me as if they fall into the category of “failure to launch”. Well, maybe they have launched but they have not reached escape velocity to reach an orbit of independence (and I don’t just mean financially) and growth.

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Benefits of Philanthropy - Give it Away Now..or Later

Carnegie Hall

I was in New York City in 2015 and stayed near Carnegie Hall which is fitting since I wrote about Andrew Carnegie last week and plan to continue with discussing him again this week. Carnegie Hall is one of the great legacies he left behind.

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From Anger To Well Being - Harnessing Hurt

Anger Tennis

Awhile back I wrote about the book called The Surprising Purpose of Anger: Beyond Anger Management: Finding the Gift. I went back and reviewed the book again because I’ve been playing tennis recently and quite frankly I have felt personal disappointment because I have been unnecessarily hard on myself and angry when I make unforced errors to the point where my behavior can be unbecoming.

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How My Father Taught Me to Live a Truly Wealthy Life

On July 25, 1998, my father, Sherman Carmell passed away and today is the anniversary. I would like to pay tribute to him by sharing this video. He was a very special person who left an indelible imprint on my life. He truly made his mark in the world despite having passed away at the relatively young age of 67.

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Think Globally Act Locally

Think Globally. Act Locally

There has been some criticism of Fed chairman Powell as he has gone from saying this in early October 2018:

Jerome Powell we're a long way headline

To telegraphing this on July 10th:

Jerome Powell Signals Rate Cut

Those who are upset by his dovish turn are irked because they feel like he is kowtowing to the market and Trump who is forcing his hand despite record high stock market averages,

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Kevin Durant and the Power of Grudges and Adversity

A lot of people have become quite successful from a career and financial perspective by seeming to always have a chip on their shoulder. There was some slight, insecurity, or need for total dominance that feeds the creation of enemies to fuel their drive and success. I have been listening to Michael Ovitz’s autobiography on Audible and this was clearly the case for him as his goal at CAA was total domination of the agency industry.

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