Archive

The 'Costco of Home Furnishings' Has Been a Huge 'At-Home Revolution' Winner

By Rob Spivey

Tuesday, December 1, 2020

The biggest change resulting from the ‘At-Home Revolution’ has been where money is spent… We talked about this radical shift back in October regarding golf equipment manufacturer Callaway Golf (ELY). Since the coronavirus pandemic began, folks are spending more on goods and less on experiences. It’s a big change from the trends over the past […]

Consumer Delinquency Rates Are Plummeting... Here's What It Means for the Economy

By Joel Litman

Monday, November 30, 2020

The holiday season is finally upon us… However, just like many aspects of life this year, it looks different than usual. Normally, we’d be talking about the strength of Black Friday sales. We’d see videos of consumers camped out in front of retail stores racing to win the best deals.  Additionally, today’s Cyber Monday is […]

It's Important to Always Find a Silver Lining

By Joel Litman

Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Today’s Altimetry Daily Authority is a little different than usual… I heartfully and warmly wish all our readers a very Happy Thanksgiving weekend! We’ve been reserving our Friday Daily Authority issues for sharing opening remarks about the coaching topics for our global employees. As we aren’t publishing this Friday, we thought the Wednesday before Thanksgiving […]

Bad Accounting Data Doesn't Just Mislead Investors

By Rob Spivey

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Home buying has been surging during the coronavirus pandemic… And September data show that the trend isn’t letting up. As industry publication HousingWire explained late last month, existing home sales jumped more than 9% from August and more than 20% from a year ago. During fall and winter, housing prices usually round off and sales […]

Debt Holders Are Scared About Bankruptcies, But They Shouldn't Be

By Joel Litman

Monday, November 23, 2020

When investors buy bonds, they naturally hope that the underlying company doesn’t go bankrupt… But even in the event of a bankruptcy, they do have some protection. One of the positives in bond investing is that creditors are reimbursed before equity holders if a company goes under. Between 2005 and 2019, the average bond holder […]

This Data Platform's Algorithms Use Your 'Amygdala Hijack' to Print Money

By Joel Litman

Friday, November 20, 2020

More than 38 million people caught on to the ‘EQ hazards’ of The Social Dilemma documentary… My coaching comments for our global team often revolve around the subject of “EQ,” or the emotional quotient (more commonly known as “emotional intelligence”). From Benjamin Franklin to Carl Sagan to Warren Buffett, folks have emphasized how temperance and […]

Digital Payments Are Booming, and This Processor Is Taking Advantage

By Joel Litman

Thursday, November 19, 2020

For years, the world has been trending toward digital payments… And yet, as The Economist recently explained, banks have been slow to adopt this trend. This has led to the emergence of a new breed of banks…  Offerings like Nairobi-based Safaricom’s M-PESA, a mobile-money service, have thrived during the shift. Other beneficiaries include Nubank, a […]

The Election Dealt a Huge Blow to This Industry, but Our Numbers Suggest Otherwise

By Rob Spivey

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

Based on Nielsen ratings, one cable news channel had the highest ratings on election night… Fox News captured the top spot by far with a massive 14.1 million viewers. CNN came in second place with 9.4 million, and MSNBC took third place with 7.6 million. All three of these cable news channels bested the broadcast […]

This Old School Industry Is Dying, But One Firm's Creativity Is Keeping It Competitive

By Rob Spivey

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Active investing has come under fire in recent years…  Thanks to low fees and predictable performance, passive investing is all the rage right now. Active portfolio management is more expensive, so wealth managers, hedge funds, and mutual funds need to charge fees to operate. Even if the money manager’s gross (pre-fee) returns beat the market […]

A Vaccine May Be Here, But Don't Celebrate Just Yet

By Joel Litman

Monday, November 16, 2020

Last Monday was a big day for the stock market… And it wasn’t due to the major news networks calling the presidential race. Even though everyone was watching news about the election all week and weekend, the real reason for optimism had to do with the coronavirus.  Early in the morning, Big Pharma firm Pfizer […]