John T. Reed’s news blog

I just saw a TV ad for annuities on Fox News. . Jeez! . First a definition: An annuity is a contract that promises to pay you a certain amount in USD usually monthly. They are typically sold by insurance companies. Pensions are also widespread annuities. The payments stop when the annuitant(s) die. . Social Security is the most widespread annuity in the US. . U.S. annuities are USD-denominated assets. In USD USD-denominated hyperinflation, USD-denominated assets are financial shooting stars. They burn up and turn to nothing at great speed. On the day the dollar dies, the salient activity is...

There is a wealth of info in the WSJ including in pages of numbers. Occasionally, I focus on one that I never scrutinized before. Today I noticed what is apparently a quarterly feature..The first quarter ended yesterday. Track the Markets: Winers and Losers It is titled “Track the Markets: Winers and Losers.” It is a list of selected stock indexes, bond ETFs, currencies, and commodities. That is a rather eclectic collection of assets. The are ranked by percentage gain in value during the quarter. Here are the top five and bottom five:.Orange juice 30.57%S&P 500 Information Tech 21.49%NASDAQ 100 20.49%S&P...

There is a wealth of info in the WSJ including in pages of numbers. Occasionally, I focus on one that I never scrutinized before. Today I noticed what is apparently a quarterly feature. . The first quarter ended yesterday. . It is titled “Track the Markets: Winers and Losers.” It is a list of selected stock indexes, bond ETFs, currencies, and commodities. That is a rather eclectic collection of assets. The are ranked by percentage gain in value during the quarter. Here are the top five and bottom five: . Orange juice 30.57% S&P 500 Information Tech 21.49% NASDAQ 100...

Trump got indicted by a grand jury. It appears, this is an action only a Trump hater could love. I need to see the polls, but I expect Trump will go up because the voters will think Dems are trying to deny them the right to choose him as their guy..We have long known Trump is a ham—which Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines as “someone who enjoys performing and who tends to behave in an exaggerated or playful way when people are watching” It is a word that is no longer used in that way. Bob Hope used it..So it cannot be...

Maybe I need to publish a decryption key so investors can find the truth in WSJ reporter Nicole Friedman's invariably misleading stories..Today's headline is 'Home Prices Log Seventh Straight Monthly Decline.' Actually, home prices went up You know want the story actually says? Home prices for the last 12 months rose 3.8% nationwide (Case-Shiller) and 5.3% (FHFA)..What intellectually dishonest debate tactic did Friedman use to create that "hones suck as an investment" headline? Note the word "monthly." MONTHLY home price changes!? Who looks at those? People in the real estate industry never looked at MONTHLY changes in home values. Why...