Archive
Dear reader, Let's dissect the old idiom, "Nothing is certain but death and taxes." Many people attribute this quote to Benjamin Franklin in 1789, but it was first recorded in 1716 in the transcript for actor and playwright Christopher Bullock's The Cobbler of Preston. I suppose it's fitting that the quote's origin falls in the […]
Dear reader, Few CEOs have been more influential than Jack Welch of General Electric (GE). Welch joined the company in 1960 and became CEO in 1981... By that time, GE was an aging, 90-year-old conglomerate that was considered by investors only for its dividend. But the market was unprepared for the sweeping changes that would […]
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- GE
Dear reader, On September 18, 1958, the "Fresno Drop" completely changed the banking and payments industry... While the exact history of the credit card is a bit hazy, the original cards can be traced back to early single-store "charge cards" in the 1920s and '30s. These allowed trustworthy customers to pay their bills on a […]
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Dear reader, If Mickey Mouse is the face of American culture over the past century, then Coca-Cola (KO) is its lifeblood. Through the signature contour bottle and the "Teach the World to Sing" campaign in 1971, Coke became America's beverage. However, no Coca-Cola marketing initiative has struck the public conscience like its basic premise: the […]
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Dear reader, Let's talk about one of America's most beloved – and infamous – companies. But it might not be for the reasons you think... I'm not talking about its viral one-cent burger promotion. While I'm excited about it as a pescatarian, I'm not discussing this company's partnership with meat-substitute producer Beyond Meat (BYND)... nor […]
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Dear reader, There's real estate, precious metals, natural resources, municipal bonds, and a litany of other "alternative assets" out in the markets. I often get questions about why our firm spends so much time looking specifically at stocks and bonds. There are so many other asset classes that can help diversify an investor's overall portfolio. […]
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Dear reader, Imagine an open-air space with modern lighting, trendy furniture, and free Wi-Fi. You can buy coffee and pastries from the barista at the counter... and sit at a table and use the device-charging stations for your laptop or iPad while you crank out that novel you've been working on for the past few […]
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Dear reader, Occasionally, a market event happens that's so big it's impossible to ignore. And not just impossible for investors to ignore, but everybody. The housing bubble and Great Recession are obvious ones, but several others in recent memory come to mind. The dot-com bubble of the late 1990s to early 2000s shook the public's […]
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Dear reader, If you've been tuning in for a while, you should know I don't trust Wall Street for stock advice. Regular readers know by now that my goal in Altimetry Daily Authority is to give you a different opinion from what you'll find elsewhere. Don't get me wrong – there are plenty of intelligent […]
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Dear reader, Diseases can create companies and industries, and can just as easily destroy them. Owens Corning, Armstrong World Industries, and other insulation companies went bankrupt in 2000 because of asbestos lawsuits from mesothelioma outbreaks. Gilead Sciences (GILD) is worth about $80 billion today from its drugs that treat HIV, hepatitis, and other liver diseases. […]
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