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Money Matters Update- April 20, 2016
Grand Canyon by plane Giants Preseason Baseball
Marc's Notes:
I stayed in Phoenix, Arizona a few weeks back, guest of a San Francisco Giants spring training game and being my first time in Phoenix, I found the city to not be lacking in space. Everything there is spread out as if there was any hankering to make a street longer just to make it longer, Phoenix might be the place that did it.
I mean, some destinations just seemed to be farther out just to be farther out. Often the street and byways were wider than necessary and empty lots filled the spaces between destinations. It was as if city planners said “we are in the middle of the desert with more land than God so let’s double the distance between places just in case we want to fill it in later”. Either that or “lets flaunt our plethora of wasted space to make big city visitors jealous”.
Whatever the reason, I found myself going “holy cow, look at all this wasted space” or “Man o’man, I can’t believe it’s taking me 30 minutes to find an Outback Steakhouse”.
You would think a place like Phoenix would have a ton of Outback’s and they actually have 3 (all 30 minutes from each other) and many more chain restaurants just like it. It was just that everything was so spread out no matter where you were, everything seemed to be 30 minutes away.
The stadium was 30 minutes, the airport was 30 minutes, finding a steak was 30 minutes, the hotel was 30 minutes. Heck it even seemed making my way to the bathroom took 30 minutes (well that’s an exaggeration of course). So traversing Phoenix was making sure you had plenty of gas and plenty of time and you had to leave early for everything.
The streets were way wide so driving by brail was super fun, waiting with eyes shut to hear the proverbial “bumpity, bump, bump” of the highway buttons to know you were straying into dangerous territory. What fun I had. (Don’t try this in Los Angeles).
The rental car company gave me what I call the “Rubik’s cube” of Ford. A sort of delivery vehicle with 6 seats, square as a Texas dance and with TONS of head room. It was the kind of car that looked like the Nissan Cube but it was a Ford. It was originally sold as a custom delivery vehicle but was cheap (hey, it’s a Ford) so the rental agency bought a ton of these and rented them as “minivans”. HAHAHA, it was quite a shocker seeing this block of square metal upon arriving at my rent a car slot and when I got in, I noted the roof was literally 2 feet above my head, I kid you not. It had a weird sort of shelf above me that was so odd shaped the only thing I could fit in there was my crumpled up sweater.
The “cube” drove ok although it lacked power and was noisy but the view from inside reminded me of “Wayne’s World” Chevy Pacer which they made with huge windows. The cube kind of grew on me and eventually I thought if I ever have a second house somewhere this would be the perfect car to park for 9 months than run around town in during my stay. It got ok gas mileage but not great for the unpowered motor it had
(hey it’s a Ford) and was cheaper to buy then a Mini-Cooper ( I think) with way more space. That’s IF you don’t mind the weird looks that you get from other drivers thinking you are the Adams family or Clampetts with no clue as to what one SHOULD NOT BUY.
But I don’t care, I laughed the whole way and continued to marvel at the ridiculous nature of this car every time I came upon it in the parking lots, having forgotten about it every time I left it somewhere to go do something. So goes the cube. Anyway the trip was event packed and in the last newsletter I showed you a few pictures from my hike so I hope you enjoyed that and today’s travel edition of the world as seen through “thine own eyes”, (Star Wars line from Return of the Jedi”).
Peace and tranquility to you, but leave early and allow 30 minutes. :)
Markets:
Meandering I guess is the best way to say it. Continued strength in many sectors including gold, commodities, healthcare and others. The Dow appears to have no fear as it attempts to assault the 18,000 level. A far bit more enjoyable then the bloodbath we witnessed in January. Nobody knows where it goes of course until after it has arrived so past movements are no indication of future glide paths but we added a few small positions to take advantage of what appeared to me to be nice trends in certain areas.
Existing clients can view their statements and trade confirmations to see our thinking and what we added.
Any dividends or payments can also be viewed on your statements or on your brokerage account website.
Non-clients wishing to discuss options, get a no-cost review or just hear our way of investing can email me at mcuniberti@cambridgesecure.com or call my office to set up an appointment. (530) 823-2792.
Watching the markets so you don’t have to,
Marc
No Money Matters this Thursday or next due to the membership drive. Next show is first Thursday in May.
Want me to speak at your event? Just send me an email.
Want to me to discuss your holdings? Again just email me.
