It’s another Monday, and if my research is correct, today is one more blah day in many for most all of us.
- The average person will see about 4,040 Mondays in their lifetime. And outside of the few short years before you start school and the time you spend on vacation, or retired, Mondays are the most hated days on the planet.
I’ve used up a good portion of my Mondays on the planet, and I agree with the assessment Mondays, are, well, disliked, but I hate the word “hate,” so let’s just go with the words from one of the many famous songs about Monday to express my Monday mindset.
“Every other day of the week is fine, yeah / But whenever Monday comes you can find me cryin’ all of the time.”
The market is not up for this Monday either. Even though China PMI came in better than expected, Europe did as well (even if …) and Ukraine has faded from the headlines, the market is finding it hard to break out on this Monday.
- Europe Update: PMI Data Disappoints
Maybe that singular headline is the reason the market is pushing into the red. Then again, I give the market more credit. All the big players in Europe showed PMIs above 50, save for France, which came in at 49.6. The Eurozone came in at 52.2. Now, I know it is Monday, but how is that disappointing?
No, me thinks it is just Monday, the first Monday in June, the beginning of the week most schools in America end for the summer, which means the kids will be home every day, which means plotting out the family vacation, which means the movie “Vacation.” Okay, so maybe it is not all that bad, but Mondays generally do bring on the blahs, if not the blues, which brings to me to a question from a reader.
- My marital status changed in the last year. I moved my money over to a recommended local investment firm. I have not been with them long but I have not been impressed. Over the last six months they have only managed to make me $234. They have made themselves close to $2500 in that same six months in fees. I don’t mind paying for someone to do work for me. I know I can’t keep all the balls in the air myself. Am I expecting too much? Or is it time to change firms?
The simple answer is, “yes.” If your financial advisor is costing you more than you make from his or her work, it is time to get out of Dodge with your money. True, the last six months have been up and down in the market, but, despite that, the S&P 500 has gained over 4% this year. Any financial firm, advisor, or money manager should at least match the S&P gain. Your “gain” does not appear to have done that, and the fact that they charged you more fees than you made suggests something is not right in Denmark.
My guess is they took on some risk for you, say in gold, and they lost, which brings us to the problem with more than a few money managers – a lack of conservatism when it comes to OPM, other people’s money. There are several excellent mutual funds out there that I would recommend – American, Vanguard, and Fidelity to name three – all of which will make you more money than you pay in fees in the long run.
- The Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. commercial crude oil inventories increased by 1.7 million barrels from the previous week putting them at a whopping 393.0 million barrels well above the normal range.
Okay, so what’s up with the price of gas? Oil is sloshing over the top of the barrel just about everywhere and gas prices are not going down, at least not here where I live. Prices are still above $4, which makes thinking about the family vacation somewhat depressing. In fact, with oil in major surplus and gas prices not going down, it makes me think collusion and greed. Now, how’s that for a lovely thought on a Monday, a day already prone toward “uncheeriness.”
Yup, that almost word, uncheeriness, just about sums up my Monday sentiment.
Trade in the day; invest in your life …
