Asset protection

The Lucrative New Tech Hijacking Your Privacy

We’ve come a long way from being able to superimpose Trump’s hair on our own heads. We’ve also come a long way from wearing masks and sunglasses in public for reasons of fashion or healthcare. Now, it’s about dodging facial recognition.

Protesters in Hong Kong are doing exactly this to avoid facial recognition technologies, with some even employing lasers that cameras can’t process or recognize.  But it’s not just amid mass protests in Hong Kong that everyone should be worried about facial recognition technology. It’s used everywhere from airports and shopping centers to all that lies in between.

Proponents hail the crime-solving and potential crime-prevention benefits, but the sacrifice is great.

Privacy advocates say it could lead to automatically identifying and tracking anyone, not just criminals, and it can be used for violations of privacy….CLICK for complete article

It’s a Wonderful Time of Year to Face Financial Ghosts.

What are your ghosts?

Ghosts of the past are notorious for creeping into the present, especially when holidays roll around.

If you’ve unpacked an ornament from 30 years ago or got lost in a memory while watching A Charlie Brown Christmas, then you understand.

The ghosts of Financial Mistakes Past are sometimes not so kind. In other words, they’re not mindful of seasons; they aren’t warm and fuzzy either. Rattling chains of the ghosts of financial mistakes can be uninvited guests for years to come.

December is the month to objectively review your financial history – expose the good and bad – then, outline tactics to sever ominous chains and sprout wings to the beneficial for 2020. Oh, watch for financial disciplines or lack of them that may conjure the ghosts of financial future.

Just because I partner with others on personal finance challenges doesn’t mean I don’t own my share of mistakes. Thankfully, my Ghosts of Financial Mistakes Past lose their power to frighten me, especially as I too assess my consistent progress to slay them. As a financial professional, let’s just say I remain ‘fiscally aware’ throughout the year. Hey, it’s my job.

This month, as you prepare your favorite meals from recipes that have been in the family for decades, watch a timeless film, (White Christmas is my favorite), and go through old photographs, take some time to unwrap financial gifts and pack away the mistakes.

Here are three ideas to get your started. CLICK for complete article

This 1-Minute Animation Puts $110 Billion of Wealth in Perspective

Just over a week ago, Bill Gates reclaimed the familiar title of the world’s richest person after seeing his net worth jump to the $110 billion mark.

The recent gains can be attributed to a surge in Microsoft’s stock price, after the tech company surprised the market by winning a $10 billion cloud contract from the Pentagon. This also pushed Gates past fellow Seattle billionaire Jeff Bezos, who currently holds a $108.7 billion fortune.

With these numbers topping a hundred billion dollars, they can be difficult to comprehend. Luckily for us, Twitter user @betty__cam put together a short animation that simplifies things.

$110 Billion, Visualized

The following one minute animation starts with the median household wealth in the United States of $61,937, working its way up to the Bill Gates fortune of $110 billion…CLICK for complete article

5 Warning Signs of Market ‘Euphoria’

The U.S. stock market, as measured by the S&P 500 Index, is up 23.4% this year and recently reached a new record high, but five signs of investor euphoria suggest growing risks, according to Lori Calvasina, head of U.S. equity strategy at RBC Capital Markets. She endorses RBC’s year-end 2019 target of 2,950 for the index, 4.7% below the Nov. 12 close, according to a recent story in Barron’s.

Calvasina discussed these five signs in a note to clients:

  1. Asset managers have bullish positions in U.S. equity futures similar to the highs before the financial crisis, risking a big negative reaction to bad news.
  2. U.S. stock valuations are near their late 2017 highs.
  3. Earnings forecasts for 2020 are too optimistic.
  4. Stock prices anticipate a phase one U.S.-China trade agreement, but business confidence remains seriously damaged.
  5. The S&P 500 has risen nearly 32% above its Dec. 2018 low, similar to previous rallies off lows in 2010, 2011 and 2016 that paused.

Significance for Investors

“We haven’t learned anything in the current reporting season that justifies euphoric positioning and peak valuations,” Calvasina wrote. “Reporting season has been better than feared, but the overall tone around demand/macro, tariffs and cost savings all sounds very familiar–it’s what companies have been saying all year,” she added.

On the other hand, money market fund assets are $3.4 trillion, a 10-year high and still rising, undercutting the “euphoric positioning” narrative. Several strategists see this as a bullish indicator, per The Wall Street Journal.

Calvasina predicts that a pause by the Fed in cutting interest rates limits the upside for equity valuations. If 2020 earnings disappoint, as she anticipates, stock prices should sink….CLICK for complete article

The Skeptical Investor

Despite the risks, this market is driving higher. Watch McIver Capital Management’s Skeptical Investor video where Portfolio Managers Ethan Dang and Matt Ehrenreich discuss the resiliency of this market.