Investors' Worst Enemy, Earnings Hint Recession, Costco Cheap Chicken, State of Housing Market, Bitcoin Rainbow Chart

Why You May Be Your Own Worst Enemy as an Investor

Howard Marks says...

Stores are more crowded when there’s a sale going on. But in investing, the buying counter at the exchange is less crowded when there’s a sale going on, when prices are falling.

Superior investing is taking advantage of the errors of others. In order to get an above-average return in the long run, you have to buy things for less than they’re worth, which is to say that the other people out there have to be selling that thing for less than its worth.

They’re making a mistake and you need to act in a contrarian way to take advantage of that.

More @ NY Times

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Corporate Earnings Hint Economy on Brink of Recession

If S&P 500 profits rise to exceed NIPA profits by 20% or more, it is a signal that companies’ reported profits are being generated largely by their accountants. Usually this means that the economy is on the brink of a recession, and that the stock market is about to take a beating.

Details @ Haymaker

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How (and why) Costco keeps its rotisserie chickens so cheap

Costco’s popular chickens have stayed fixed at $4.99 for more than a decade — even in the face of raging inflation. But it’s come at a cost.

In a 2015 earnings call, Costco’s CFO, Richard Galanti, admitted that the retailer was taking a multimillion-dollar hit by not raising chicken prices.

As is the case at most grocery chains, Costco’s rotisserie chickens are a loss leader.

“Very few people simply buy the chicken and leave,” John Longo, a professor at Rutgers Business School, told The Hustle. “They probably shop for other items that provide higher profit margins.”

Costco maximizes the chances of this happening by placing the rotisserie chickens at the back of the store, next to its wines (14% margin) and side dishes.

Details @ The Hustle

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Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-October

1.) New listings have declined further year-over-year.
2.) Mortgage rates have increased further pushing monthly payments up sharply.
3.) House prices have started to decline month-over-month (MoM) as measured by the repeat sales indexes.

Details @ Calculated Risk

Bitcoin ‘Rainbow Chart’ Sees Possible $600K Price by October 2024

Details @Bitcoinist

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