The 20% Solution Must Be Considered

When there is a major selling environment in the markets the urge emerges to sell everything and wait it out.  A question that must be on the table is the income tax consideration.  If a holding is down 10% adding a 20% to 30% tax tab is the proverbial insult-to-injury.  At the least, make that calculation when deciding.

 

If Twitter and Musk agreed to a price of over $54 why is Twitter right now trading at $50 and change?

Looks like traders are hesitant about the actual times on getting the cash, and maybe even if something interrupts the sale.  Maybe government intervention is a fear?  Perhaps financing could look different on closer examination.  In any event, a negative for the overall market, at least in the near term.

 

 Cnbc proving value of Mute Button as Powell and Yellen cost investors

That was some performance yesterday by the Fed chairman and Treasury secretary.  Probably cost loyal viewers of Cnbc a bundle.  Fresh from his reappointment to helm the Federal Reserve Chairman Powell issued a not-very-veiled threat to start raising interest rates.  And Secretary Yellen seemed obsessed with the debt limit even though that activity seems pointless as Congress pretends not wanting to raise the limit while raising the limit.

President Biden wants to double the capital gains tax for those making over $400,000. Here's what we think will happen.

Here is how CNBC summarizes:  President Joe Biden proposed a top federal tax rate of 39.6% on long-term capital gains and qualified dividends. With average state taxes and a 3.8% federal surtax, the wealthiest people would pay almost 49% total.

We think, predict:  39.6% No, maybe a couple of percentage points up.  And not right away.  As has happened in the past, we see the present holdings in portfolios will be grandfathered so any sales of assets if and when a new tax becomes law will not affect wealth.  Remember, the big product of Congress is The Loophole.

And one more prediction:  Watch that $400,000 come down.

 

What A Week, If We Ignore Thursday

Just another upwards-direction week Til Along Came Thursday.  Looked like food for the down-beaters at CNBC who as the old saying goes, predicted ten of the last three crashes.  Investors who took to the hills, sold to take profits, now have fodder for their 2021 I-Owe-Tax File.  Objective facts indicated nothing happened on Thursday to warrant the negativity.  The proof?  Just look at Friday's market.  

Where is Joe Pagano when you need him?

It was the summer of 1958.  This blogger was working for the Department Of The Army as a civilian, supervised by a WAC captain.  During the numerous nonbusy times I would talk with Joe Pagano, titled Mortuary Specialist.  The office was the Quartermaster for the entire First US Army which in addition to feeding and clothing soldiers, buried the dead.

I helped Joe organize his storeroom and came across a box of forms labeled "Next Of Kin Notifications".  Because there was no pending war I asked Joe if I should trash the box.  "No.  Another war will come along and we will be sending those out again," he said.  

He explained, "This is the time to prepare for a war, not after it starts."

Which leads us to this question:  Yes, the Center For Disease Control probably put in the time, but did they do the work needed to prepare the nation before War Disease broke out?  Another question:  All of us were brought up realizing the CIA was watching everyone including probably us.  So why weren't they watching China?

Joe Pagano was prepared for Vietnam.  If he wasn't retired he would have been prepared for Iraq.  Was the CDC prepared for us?

Mayor Goodman, now in her second term as Las Vegas Mayor

The Lady Said It.

That's Carolyn Goodman, Mayor of Las Vegas.  Today she said the media is destroying the city, frightening the public.  She said:  "In 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, 'There is nothing to fear but fear itself.'  I have yet to see a doctor who espouses the voice of social media and what the media is doing here."

To which we add, look how the media is "helping" the financial markets by tossing around meaningless terms such as bear market or the like.  And having guests on who talk their books, like the gentleman who raises fears about stocks while forgetting to mention he sells bond funds.

It's time to talk profits, not fear.