Trading Update (Tongue-in-Cheek)

Sold zero shares of pipeline stocks to buy one unit of Pipeline game.



If time is money, then I expect this trade to provide a very negative return on investment. That's the amusing thing about games. The more time they waste, the more value they have. If this one ultimately wastes 50 hours, for example, that will bring its cost down to just $1 per hour. It's a very reaasonable goal for entertainment, in my very humble opinion.

For those interested, there are highly-rated unofficial solo rules available. That's probably how I will mostly be playing this one, assuming I can't talk anyone of the female persuasion in this household into embracing this gaming experience. A fairly safe assumption!

It's just another Panic Monday. No big deal, in the grand scheme of things. I'm comfortable with my current investments. No desire to sell.

Anecdotal Supply Chain Issues

Bought a narrow white Billy bookcase at the Seattle area Ikea store yesterday. Would have bought it sooner but it has been out of stock. It's been a day. It's already out of stock again. Out of curiosity, I checked the status of their normal white Billy bookcase. It too is out of stock.

Bought a white 5x5 Kallax at Ikea recently. Would have bought it sooner but it had been out of stock. It was also out of stock shortly after I bought it. It's out of stock right now. Once again, out of curiosity, I checked the status of their other white Kallax shelf units.

4x4? Out of stock.
4x3? Out of stock.
4x2? Out of stock.
4x1? Out of stock.
3x3? Out of stock.
2x2? Out of stock.

It's like we're living in a WW2 supply chain disruption movie. Doesn't seem to be getting better yet. The U-Boats are now seemingly hunting allied cargo ships in packs.

Inflation Drama

The following chart shows the natural log of the median CPI. When using natural logs, constant exponential growth is seen as a straight line. I have added a trend channel in red.

 

Once the inflationary extremes are stripped out, it's just more of the same. When combined with exponentially decaying long-term interest rates, it is of little consolation to safety-seeking long-term savers though.

5 Great Reasons to Like Verizon’s Stock

September 11, 2021
The Motley Fool: 1 Warren Buffett Stock Perfect for Dividend Investors

1. This isn't Berkshire's most exciting investment, but could be a great fit for income seekers.

2. It's essentially a utility at this point.

3. To be fair, if I were closer to retirement age, I would probably like Verizon better.

4. It's probably the best dividend stock on this list.

5. What looks more attractive, Verizon or a 30-year Treasury right now?

Of course, this retiree might be more than a bit biased as a dividend and income seeker, who recently bought utilities thinking they were more attractive than the 30-year Treasury, then sold some utilities to buy a stock that is essentially a utility.

They are definitely preaching to the choir. Verizon has not been a good performer in the very short time that I’ve owned it, but I’m keeping the faith. Nothing goes straight up.

The Sound of Silence

Nothing Else Matters

Trading Update V

Sold some VPU @ 150.40 to buy TSN @ 75.63.

New IRA asset allocation:

This is definitely a stock that I intend to hold long-term. I'm overweighting it and bracing for more pain. Not only has Tyson been in falling knife mode for the past month, but the White House isn't at all happy that the company raised meat prices during a pandemic. Makes inflation look bad, as if there aren't enough reasons already that inflation looks bad.

I suspect that the pace of my trading will soon grind to a halt, now that VPU is down to just 20% of my IRA. The buying and selling seems mostly done. Now it's time for the holding. If I thought that there was even a chance that we'd soon see 1% real yields on the 30-year TIPS then I would not be taking such risks.

Trading Update IV

Sold some VPU @ 151.29 to buy OKE @ 52.68 and KMI @ 16.14.

New IRA asset allocation:

Lured by the high dividends of ONEOK and Kinder Morgan. I'm certainly taking on a lot of risk for an economy in uncharted waters. *shrug*