Author Archives: konkin
A disturbing trend in offshore outsourcing...
A story broke recently in the Canadian media regarding a few prominent companies who have been (allegedly) replacing full-time Canadian employees with foreign workers who were in the country on temporary work visas. This post isn't about how right or wrong this practice is - I've spent years working on both sides and I can … Continue reading
Investment Outlook for 2013 - what I'm reading....
While 2012 saw equities muddle along, 2013 should prove to be a very 'interesting' year. Here is a list of articles I'm reading now to form a bias for the next 12 months...
Russell 2000 Membership List in Spreadsheet format (updated)
My last post on the membership list generated some positive feedback, but it appears that it needs an update. I'm posting the steps I took to convert the index's PDF-only list to an Excel spreadsheet in case anyone else would like to have a go at updating in the future...
An open letter to Hurricane Sandy...
Dear Sandy, On behalf of our American brothers, we're sorry. We know you're upset, and you have every right to be. We know Americans put 6 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year. We know most of that is absorbed by the ocean, which you seem to be protecting. We also know … Continue reading
Building a Perfect Portfolio - Taking Profits (HED)
With any portfolio, whether it be for long term capital preservation or short term aggressive growth, it's always good to revisit your positions and review the reasons why you chose them in the first place.
Russell 2000 membership list in Spreadsheet format
Side note: Why is it so difficult to find a CSV list of members in any stock index? I have been searching for a list of members in the Russell 2000 index that I can import into Excel, but for some reason Russell doesn't want the list published in this format. The conspiracy theorist in … Continue reading
Building a Perfect Portfolio – Part 5: Investing in Global Warming
I'd like to claim one thing before I start this post: I am an environmentalist and consistently do my part to spare the planet from our own destruction. It saddens me to see video clips of giant glaciers melting away into the ocean, or tsunamis sweeping away entire coastal Japanese villages. I cycle to work … Continue reading
Building a Perfect Portfolio - Part 4: Where's the growth?
A great thing about modern-day investing compared to when our parents did it, is that we have so many more options available to us than just the old 'buy and hold' strategy. Ideally, we would just be able to ride a wave of growth by purchasing shares in companies that are poised to take advantage … Continue reading
Building a Perfect Portfolio - Part 3: A bet on inflation
In my last post I touched upon the baby boomer generation's positive impact to the overall economy. Given that they were a good catalyst to 50 years of stock market explosions, I'd say it's worth examining this group a little closer. Ask a boomer how much they paid for their first home 30 years ago … Continue reading
Building a Perfect Portfolio - Part 2: The only thing certain is uncertainty
This is a 50-year chart showing the S&P 500 index from the year 1960 to present day (click on the chart for a larger image). After chopping around in the 60s, the market bottomed round 1975. After that it didn't look back as the market soared to the first of three peaks you see at … Continue reading