sarganaga

Prices at chain grocery stores like Smith's seem like they're moving up here in Las Vegas. However, prices at ethnic markets like La Bonita and Ranch 99 are very reasonable. Prices for quality produce are astonishingly cheap at La Bonita. For example, limes were 25 cents a pound last time I was there.

Getting ready to list a condo in Carlsbad CA in the ~$550,000 - $600,000 range. Broker says it's a seller's market with limited inventory. Offering me 3 1/2% total commission to list. We'll see how it goes.

Gazprom (OGZPY)

Birchcliff Energy (BIREF, BIR:TO)

KIA Sorrento. Drive about 30,000 miles annually. On my third. Great ride, dependable, CHEAP.

A bit more Birchcliff Energy (BIREF, BIR.TO)

Bought some Birchcliff Energy (BIREF, BIR.TO) yesterday & today. Has looked cheap for awhile, even cheaper now. Good long term assets, appears to have pretty competent management, Kitimat project (assuming it completes) should add value.

Top line royalty trusts offer participation in oil & nat gas production with no debt, no responsibility for expenses, & no self dealing management to contend with. I currently own Crosstimbers Royalty Trust (CRT) about 80% top line/20% bottom and have owned Sabine Royalty Trust (SBR) 100% top line & Dorchester Minerals (DMLP) about 70% top line in the past. Also bought some Birchcliff (BIREF) today. Canadian gas & oil producer, over 3% dividend, significant undeveloped assets, seems cheap ..... latest quarterly here https://seekingalpha.com/pr/17514047-birchcliff-energy-ltd-announces-q1-2019-results-provides-operational-update

Thanks for this recommendation. Just ordered a copy. Looking forward to reading it.

Added to Crosstimbers Royalty Trust (CRT)

First Trust Emerging Markets Small Cap AlphaDex Fund (FEMS) is a factor based fund that tilts toward small cap, value, & momentum. As per Morningstar http://portfolios.morningstar.com/fund/summary?t=FEMS&region=usa&culture=en_US some interesting metrics. I own quite a bit of this.

Since you're interested in value investing, you will eventually at least look at quant/factor investing. If you have an idea of what the quants are actually doing, it will help you better decide if any of it has relevance for you. Also, the main reason I suggested the podcasts was to offer a look at the different ways people look at investing. Just because you're mostly interested in value investing now doesn't mean that considering other investing paths won't be beneficial to what you decide to do. I would look hard at asset allocation. You should also probably try to a book or two by Harry Browne, Doug Casey, Howard Ruff, or other gold bug Gloom & Doomers from the 1970's when the investing world looked far different than it does now. For me, the 50+ plus years I've been investing have been a continuing learning experience. Best of luck to you in your endeavors.

I agree with the advice above that suggests low costs index funds as the best choice for most investors. It's simple, and realistically, if you don't have an absolute passion for the markets, anything else you might choose to do is going to be less successful. Quite likely to be less successful even if you do have a passion for the markets. Here's a few suggestions if you want to give it a shot. You have to understand risk, diversification, and inflation. Following is a recommendation I gave to an very bright student interested in finance: Understanding risk is the most important concept in navigating the financial markets. Against the Gods by Peter Bernstein is a look at how investors & businessmen have thought about risk throughout history. The Black Swan examines unanticipated events of significant importance and why they are responsible for most of the major changes in the world and in each individual's life. It also discusses many of the mistakes that are made in probability applications. The Meb Faber Show and Masters in Business with Barry Ritholtz are podcasts that feature interviews with financial market participants. Start at the beginning, plow throw them all & you'll get a pretty good financial education. Data science is important in most business fields today including the financial markets. While you will probably take a course in this sometime, Data Smart by John W Forman is a good place to get a first look at what's being done. You will also want to learn an a programming language such as Python to move beyond spreadsheets and deal with larger data sets. Barrons is a weekly magazine that gives you a summary of what's been happening the financial markets. Asset Allocation Strategy by Meb Faber_is a beginning look at asset allocation. Faber wrote an extended version of this that's often available free on his website or can be purchased on Amazon.

I don't think a transactions tax will do anything to help the small investor, just transfer more money to a rapacious government to waste. For those of you who are in favor of a this type of tax, if it negatively effects volume, how much do you think commissions will go up?

Wow!!! Thanks for posting this. Fixed income can be really complicated & treacherous.

Hutchinson Port Holdings Trust (NS8U in US dollars or P7VU in Singapore dollars)

Imperial Brands (IMBBY) Gazprom (OGZPY)

-3.5 percent. Emerging markets & royalty trusts hurt.

Crosstimbers Royalty Trust (CRT)

More Enbridge (ENB)

Enbridge (ENB) Raised dividend by 10% for 2019. Confirmed growth target 10% for cash flow growth through 2020, 5%-7% after that. Looks cheap.

The Reverse Wine Snob https://www.reversewinesnob.com/ does a good job of reviewing wines that cost less than $20. It has continuing recommendations for wines from Costco & Trader Joe's. Buy a group of singles of some of these, figure our which ones you like, then load up on the favorites. A quick & easy way to become a junior wine expert.

Half position in Birchcliff Energy (BIREF), Canadian natural gas/oil producer. I've traded in & out of this a few times.

I am not a lawyer, so... I think any defensive moves work in certain cases, don't work in others and result in even worse situation in yet others. Yes, if you make a relative your guardian, this will work unless the court is corrupt/broken like in NewYorker article and moves guardianship to non-relative anyway. Especially if your relative is not resident of the state and only in-state guardians are allowed. Also this puts a risk that your relative could take advantage of you. This might not be an issue for you personally, but for other people it might be (I know situations like that and there are articles about this too). Obviously the state guardian and judge in NewYorker article were evil. But look at it from different perspective: what if a relative is evil and milking old person? Then you'd want the state to appoint different guardian than the evil relative. How do you determine who's evil who's not? Yeah, in ideal world you can. In our world, it's not that easy. Of course the relative will say that they are not evil, the state guardian will say that they are not evil, and the court judge will say that they are not evil either. The best thing is to have trustworthy relatives, trustworthy lawyers/advisors/doctors and live in a location that has trustworthy legal system. It might not be easy to get all of these, but it's worthwhile to try. 8) Those are good points, with lots to think about. I'm more of the age where my elderly relatives are trusting me with stuff. Which works out great for them, because I'm honest and hardworking. :D But it does seem like a good idea to have a plan in place for things like this. I'm going to bring it up with my estate lawyer the next time we do our wills. Yet another side of this - which you may be familiar with since you have elderly relatives: (Some changes were made to protect the innocent): Elderly person: Hi, who are you? Younger person: I'm your kid. You should get a nurse, move to retirement home, nursing facility. Elderly person: No, I'm fine, this is where I lived whole life I am not moving anywhere. Elderly person leaves the gas turned on: I wanted to make tea Younger person: You should get a nurse, move to retirement home, nursing facility. Elderly person: No, I'm fine, this is where I lived whole life I am not moving anywhere. Elderly person falls and cannot get up... Younger person: You should get a nurse, move to retirement home, nursing facility. Elderly person: No, I'm fine, this is where I lived whole life I am not moving anywhere. Elderly person shits into their pants, bed, etc... Younger person: You should get a nurse, move to retirement home, nursing facility. Elderly person: No, I'm fine, this is where I lived whole life I am not moving anywhere. :-\ (And this is without even touching the money side...) Jurgis, This is certainly true. Dysfunctional/greedy families can be a big part of this. One of the top recommendations from people who have been through this is that families resolve their disputes without involving courts. The situations that are most concerning are those where reasonably healthy people, without notice, are snatched up by professional guardians after secret hearings, isolated from their families & friends, drugged with "control medication", & financially exploited.

After reading the New Yorker article I did some online searching & found Americans Against Abusive Probate Guardianship, which was founded by Dr Sam Suger, a Florida doctor whose family was a victim. Their website http://aaapg.net/ has a lot of good information. I also bought Sam Sugar's book, Guardianships and the Elderly, The Perfect Crime http://aaapg.net/new-book-from-aaapg-founder-dr-sam-sugar-guardianship-and-the-elderly-the-perfect-crime/ . Most of the info is more scary than anything. There are some great suggestions, but the situation with the legal system is really bad Making this scam public seems to be helping some. I spend part of my time living in Las Vegas which was/is a real hotspot. Some offenders here have been jailed. The politically connected worst case who is estimated to have stolen over $100,000,000 seems to be having no problem, though