Mr. Bernanke’s tenure as Chairman of the Federal Reserve is quickly drawing to a close. On Thursday his replacement nominee, Ms. Janet Yellen, appeared before the Senate Banking Committee to answer questions and just allay any fears that she would make changes at the Fed that could impact the fragile American economic recovery. On Wednesday. I noticed an article on one of the major news websites that said that 91.5 million Americans were no longer considered members of the work force because their unemployment benefits had expired and they had not looked for work in the prior four weeks.
I always find that curious. If these people are not looking for work, and their unemployment benefits have expired, how does the government know they are not looking for work? Is there some special number these people call to say they are not looking for work?
On Tuesday I saw a chart on Google. I had no idea there are 317 million Americans and that a new American was born every 8 seconds, and an old American died every 12 seconds. America ranks third in the world when it comes to population. I also noticed on the same chart that there are approximately 157 million American workers.
So that means that there are only 66 million Americans that have a job? No, wait! It is actually lower than that! With the unemployment rate at 7.3% that means that there are 11 million Americans that aren’t working but are looking for work. When I add those folks to the 91.5 million folks that have given up, that means that about 103 million folks are currently not part of the American workforce.
My God! No wonder Brother “O” was re-elected. I mean 54 million American are paying for 103 million Americans to sit around all day in their underwear with their hands in their pants and their minds in Arkansas watching Ofra Winpee while the band of 537 interviews some chick that promises not to make changes in the way the Federal Reserve does business.
And this is America?
And this is America.
Hi. My name is Wax, and I am an individual, working class, investor just trying to do the best I can in a world that was never intended for investors like me.
Throughout the course of the week, I post a Value Alert, which is my review of an individual equity. It is intended to help the reader decide if that particular equity is worth their time to research.
The other thing I do, is let the world watch as I manage the The Wax Ink Portfolio.
Perhaps watching me make the mistakes I make will help other working class investors avoid the investing pitfalls that seem to find me.
Enjoy your weekend
Wax
Markets
The Wax Ink Portfolio was up 2.1% for the week. By comparison, the Dow was up 1.3%, the Nasdaq was up 1.7%, the S&P 500 was up 1.6%, the Russell 2000 was up 1.5%, and the Volatility Index, commonly known as the VIX, was down 5.5%.
Year to date, the Wax Ink portfolio is up 31.5%, the Dow is up 21.8%, the Nasdaq is up 32%, the S&P 500 is up 26.1%, the Russell 2000 is up 31.4%, and the VIX is down 20%.
Breakdown
The Wax Ink Portfolio breakdown remains unchanged with roughly 70% of the portfolio in equities, 30% of the portfolio in cash, and 0% of the portfolio in bonds.
Research
A great deal of time is spent every week looking for potential investments. Part of that research is listed below. Use it wisely and to your long-term advantage,
Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Corporation (Nasdaq: GLDD) – No Investment Interest based on a recent price of $8.64 and a fair value estimate of $14-$16.
Layne Christensen Company (Nasdaq: LAYN) – Negative Investment Interest based on a recent price of $15.79 and fair value estimate of $36-$38.
ABB, Ltd. (NYSE: ABB) – No Investment Interest based on a recent price of $25.05 and fair value estimate of $26-$31.
Alere, Inc. (NYSE: ALR) – Negative Investment Interest based on a recent price of $33.86 and fair value estimate of $26-$33.
Holdings
This week's moving on up stocks were west bound and down trucking company Arkansas Best (Nasdaq: ABFS), up 21%, container maker Myers Industries (NYSE: MYE), up 7%, and government helper company Science Applications International (NYSE: SAIC) was up 7%.
This week's floaters in the bunch bowl were chicken grease collector Darling International (NYSE: DAR), down 3%, airplane repair company AAR Corporation (NYSE: AIR), down 2%, and cylinder maker Worthington Industries (NYSE: WOR), down 2%.
Not Performing
The top portfolio choke and puke stocks are, soon to be taken private communications equipment company Tellabs, down 55% since being added to the portfolio, industrial construction company Layne Christensen, down 23% since being added to the portfolio, and garage door and telephone headset maker Griffon Corporation, down 26% since being added to the portfolio.
Portfolio Notes
During the course of the week, I was able to add 1000 shares of Layne Christensen to the portfolio. The per share cost including fees was $15.12.
In October, SAI performed a 1-4 reverse split. At the same time, the company was renamed as Leidos Holdings (NYSE: LDOS). In conjunction with these activities, Leidos Holdings spun off part of the company into a new company called Science Applications International (NYSE: SAIC). The portfolio ended up with 428 shares of the new company.
Copyright © 2013 Wax Ink
Wax Ink is a baseline equity research company not licensed or registered with any government agency
I always find that curious. If these people are not looking for work, and their unemployment benefits have expired, how does the government know they are not looking for work? Is there some special number these people call to say they are not looking for work?
On Tuesday I saw a chart on Google. I had no idea there are 317 million Americans and that a new American was born every 8 seconds, and an old American died every 12 seconds. America ranks third in the world when it comes to population. I also noticed on the same chart that there are approximately 157 million American workers.
So that means that there are only 66 million Americans that have a job? No, wait! It is actually lower than that! With the unemployment rate at 7.3% that means that there are 11 million Americans that aren’t working but are looking for work. When I add those folks to the 91.5 million folks that have given up, that means that about 103 million folks are currently not part of the American workforce.
My God! No wonder Brother “O” was re-elected. I mean 54 million American are paying for 103 million Americans to sit around all day in their underwear with their hands in their pants and their minds in Arkansas watching Ofra Winpee while the band of 537 interviews some chick that promises not to make changes in the way the Federal Reserve does business.
And this is America?
And this is America.
Hi. My name is Wax, and I am an individual, working class, investor just trying to do the best I can in a world that was never intended for investors like me.
Throughout the course of the week, I post a Value Alert, which is my review of an individual equity. It is intended to help the reader decide if that particular equity is worth their time to research.
The other thing I do, is let the world watch as I manage the The Wax Ink Portfolio.
Perhaps watching me make the mistakes I make will help other working class investors avoid the investing pitfalls that seem to find me.
Enjoy your weekend
Wax
Markets
The Wax Ink Portfolio was up 2.1% for the week. By comparison, the Dow was up 1.3%, the Nasdaq was up 1.7%, the S&P 500 was up 1.6%, the Russell 2000 was up 1.5%, and the Volatility Index, commonly known as the VIX, was down 5.5%.
Year to date, the Wax Ink portfolio is up 31.5%, the Dow is up 21.8%, the Nasdaq is up 32%, the S&P 500 is up 26.1%, the Russell 2000 is up 31.4%, and the VIX is down 20%.
Breakdown
The Wax Ink Portfolio breakdown remains unchanged with roughly 70% of the portfolio in equities, 30% of the portfolio in cash, and 0% of the portfolio in bonds.
Research
A great deal of time is spent every week looking for potential investments. Part of that research is listed below. Use it wisely and to your long-term advantage,
Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Corporation (Nasdaq: GLDD) – No Investment Interest based on a recent price of $8.64 and a fair value estimate of $14-$16.
Layne Christensen Company (Nasdaq: LAYN) – Negative Investment Interest based on a recent price of $15.79 and fair value estimate of $36-$38.
ABB, Ltd. (NYSE: ABB) – No Investment Interest based on a recent price of $25.05 and fair value estimate of $26-$31.
Alere, Inc. (NYSE: ALR) – Negative Investment Interest based on a recent price of $33.86 and fair value estimate of $26-$33.
Holdings
This week's moving on up stocks were west bound and down trucking company Arkansas Best (Nasdaq: ABFS), up 21%, container maker Myers Industries (NYSE: MYE), up 7%, and government helper company Science Applications International (NYSE: SAIC) was up 7%.
This week's floaters in the bunch bowl were chicken grease collector Darling International (NYSE: DAR), down 3%, airplane repair company AAR Corporation (NYSE: AIR), down 2%, and cylinder maker Worthington Industries (NYSE: WOR), down 2%.
Not Performing
The top portfolio choke and puke stocks are, soon to be taken private communications equipment company Tellabs, down 55% since being added to the portfolio, industrial construction company Layne Christensen, down 23% since being added to the portfolio, and garage door and telephone headset maker Griffon Corporation, down 26% since being added to the portfolio.
Portfolio Notes
During the course of the week, I was able to add 1000 shares of Layne Christensen to the portfolio. The per share cost including fees was $15.12.
In October, SAI performed a 1-4 reverse split. At the same time, the company was renamed as Leidos Holdings (NYSE: LDOS). In conjunction with these activities, Leidos Holdings spun off part of the company into a new company called Science Applications International (NYSE: SAIC). The portfolio ended up with 428 shares of the new company.
Copyright © 2013 Wax Ink
Wax Ink is a baseline equity research company not licensed or registered with any government agency
