I had a good discussion this last week with a private businessman. He said many businesses are doing ok but a bit nervous to invest multi millions into some new production environment right now due to uncertainty of next election. I listen when this man speaks. He has convinced Wal-Mart to change some of their business actions just as an example. He said, if Trump gets elected again (which we both hope for), the economy and businesses will take off like we can't believe. Made sense to me.

What has he convinced Walmart to change?

He convinced them the color of plastic bags was ruining them taking them back in for recycling. This man has built up, sold, and still running the biggest recycling operations from KC to St Louis. He has survived the market fluctuations, deals direct with China and foreign countries, understand the impacts of tariffs first hand.

If you remember a few years back - Wal-Mart went to a blue or green plastic bag. They did because it was cheaper - but then they couldn't get rid of them. So, they went back to the white/clear because they can be re-utilized - not directly but the resins can be re-used.

I've been trimming my stocks back pretty far, taking profits and keeping more money on the sidelines just in case the market drops far enough that the best stocks go on sale.( Walmart is one company that I think I keep hold of)

I may miss out on some growth if things start picking up again, but nobody has ever lost money by taking profits. On the flip side, there is no place to keep the profits that pay anything worthwhile.

My Walmart always used the blue/green bags and still does. Im a small time self-employed person and things are still slow, Im still waiting on the trickle down effect from this booming economy.

I'm sure the example you give is what you were told.But I am confused. The bags that WMT uses walk out the front door with the customer. Why would WMT need to "get rid of them" ??


I suspect your friend is right about waiting to expand until after the election. I think the economy held it's breath for 8 years during Obama just for this reason. Who is going to spend millions on a new plant or equipment when you have no clarity on tax and regulatory outlook ?

I also think we have a fair shot at a recession in the next 1-5 years, The media is trying to talk us into one right now with the 'yield curve' hysteria. If that happens prior to the election it will have consequences. What those might be is anyone's guess at this point.

As far as the market is concerned, I'm not adding to existing positions ( I would in the right circumstances) but I am adding hedges just in case. I try to avoid taxable events like selling.

You might consider some preferred stock for those profits Gryhkl.

Thanks, White. I may just do some of that.
I don't like selling often. I have actually done very little of it until recently. I have to believe that a correction will be enough to cover the hit I take in taxes when I buy back in. I have had an uneasy feeling about things for the last couple months so I've been doing some trimming. Very little buying for about six months or more.

I understand the "uneasy feeling" . I hate to give up a good entry price and then be faced with buying back in at a higher one...even after a big drop.

Options are definitely your friend at times like these

Thanks, White. I don't know enough about the options strategies to feel comfortable. Is their a good source of information you could recommend?

Try this. Be patient. It can be confusing at first.

https://www.cboe.com/education/

Big Investment money sat idle for 8yrs. during the obama reign.
Meanwhile the Media and democrats pray for recession.

White17,
Wal Mart has bins you can bring back their bags and deposit them in, the next time you come back shopping. The recyclers got picky about plastics when China quit taking all of it. It's my understanding colored plastic is hard to get rid of still.

Who told you big investment money sat idle for eight years under Obama? Not only is your claim unsupported, but it defies common sense.

People with money to invest try to keep it invested. They want their money earning money for them ALL THE TIME, not just when they happen to have a president they like.

That's what I do with my own modest investments: try to make money with them. All the time. Even now, under the worst president of my lifetime, my investments are not sitting idle.

Jim

I am confused about the recycling thing. Is plastic some kind of poison? There are old quarries all over the place that construction waste gets dumped into. Old concrete, asphalt, dirt with lots of rock or whatever in it. old houses that are being demolished etc. Takes years and years to fill them back in to the point where dirt can be put om top and buildings built on it or a park or something. Household waste now requires a liner then trash then dirt and I don't believe anything can be built on it.

Isnt plastic legal to dump in old quarries for land reclamation? Or is plastic hazardous?

new quarries get opened up pretty regular

James, Trump is the best president we had in my lifetime especially for my 401k's that are IRA's now!!!!

Owning a business in Illinois has it's challenges. There are many people here who are retired teachers, and other public sector employees. There is a lot of fraud and double dipping. Those people do NOT support our LOCAL economy. They are terrible to deal with. They vote 100% Democrat and they are toxic angry people.

Our Governor has signs way to many new laws. He signed 50 over the weekend. We have 19 new taxes in Illinois. We have many new Rules. This drags on all business in our state. It makes things take longer, cost more, and people have to make decisions based on their budget and what code enforcement will ''allow'' them to do. Our code enforcement people do not follow the national building code but actually make things up and tell people they have to buy things that were not figured on for their project. They say they are ''helping'' the economy. In towns the people are very different than the people in the country.

I like Trump. I hope he get re-elected. I'll vote for him but I'm finding out that just voting doesn't cut it anymore. I need to tell all my friends and then make more friends and make them see the problems for what they are and see that people like Trump will help us to be the great country where there is opportunity like there used to be. My 401K is growing great.

Thanks Mr. Trump!

Thanks Rally. I didn't know that.

Ray at Bridgewater offers many free items. Of course there is a recession coming. They always do, throughout history. I just hope it happens after the election. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5jf0LpwZe8

You need to check the facts. Your statement above is way, way off.

News media is using the same playbook they used against the first Bush Presidents reelection. Everyday saying recession,recession,recession until enough people believe it to change the election outcome. Just like for 2 years they screamed Russia, Russia, Russia and it affected the 2018 midterms, even though it was not true.
I live near NYC and have done ADC work for quite a few in the news media (and once for Trump's casino in Atlantic City for that matter). Some are nice, regular people but most are pompous "Donkeys". They reminded me of teenagers, knew everything about anything, but actually had no clue. You have heard the expression "living in a bubble". They truly have no idea what goes on in the world beyond Manhattan island. The nicest, down to earth news person I worked for, Lew Dobbs.