Investment Watch Blog

Donald Trump wants allies to pay much more for hosted US troops US President Donald Trump wants countries hosting US troops to pay 150 percent of the cost or more, a report says. Germany could be one of the countries asked to pay the most. Countries hosting US forces could in future be asked to … Read more

via RecessionAlert: We have updated the RecessionALERT Valuation Index (RAVI) forecast models for the SP500 using fourth quarter 2018 data. Stock market valuations continue to pose a “clear and present danger” to positive economic and SP500 returns outcomes and have worsened since our last warning. One and two year SP500 forecasts continue to offer relatively accurate short-run … Read more

via dailyreckoning: We’ve written numerous times about the likelihood of a Chinese credit crisis, and the risks of contagion from such a crisis in China and the global economy. Despite long-standing concerns, this issue simply won’t go away. China has repeatedly turned to more debt, lower interest rates, currency devaluation and other cheap tricks of … Read more

via Reuters: It seemed like an opportunity a lender would not want to miss. The loan paid 10.25 percent interest which would go up if a benchmark rose. The borrower was Trident USA Health Services, a growing company which provided bedside medical testing in nursing and assisted living centers. Trident was buying similar companies across … Read more

via NYT: Wells Fargo has spent years publicly apologizing for deceiving customers with fake bank accounts, unwarranted fees and unwanted products. Its top executives say that because they have eliminated the aggressive sales targets that spurred bad behavior, the bank’s culture has changed. Many employees say that is news to them. There is no evidence … Read more

via YAHOO: Forget the ongoing trade war and China’s slowing growth — Deutsche Bank thinks “the biggest risk to the global economy comes from Europe.” “Data has stabilized in some areas, e.g. with France’s activity improving as the ‘yellow vest’ protests fade, [but] other areas show weakness,” David Folkerts-Landau, group chief economist at Deutsche Bank, wrote … Read more

Earlier this month, Amazon announced plans to hire 3,000 remote workers in 18 states. The job listing for customer service associates, posted on March 4th, indicates that the role pays $15 an hour, provides health care coverage after 90 days of employment and offers overtime pay. Amazon is considering candidates who live in 18 states: Alabama, … Read more

Overnight Quick reacap: Japan tool orders drop -29.3% Turkey is officially in recession China auto sales slide -15% Germany industrial production -3.3% Global Economy Hits Its Weakest Spell Since Financial Crisis S. Korea exports down -19.1% and and down -23.9% to China — Tracy Shuchart (𝒞𝒽𝒾 ) (@chigrl) March 11, 2019 this does not look … Read more

by MedicalInsuranceQA   I worked for a Blue Cross affiliate for nearly three decades and frequently see questions here about medical insurance. I wanted to share some helpful tips about some common roadblocks people run into. Firstly, medical insurance has many, many policies in place, but you have to ask for them. You visit the … Read more

by Foofymonster I’ve been wanting to write this for a while. A while back I hated my job. I was working 80 hour weeks and getting paid doo-doo for the effort. In response I wrote up an “escape plan”. It included a bunch of ways for me to replace my income, but it also included a … Read more