Thoughts on Business, Politics, and Life from a Private Investor
My mom just sent these pictures from her and dad's reserved season ticket holder seats for the Kansas City Chiefs. They love it - she gets a little, um ... loud ... at sporting events. Compared to me - If I were there, I would enjoy it but I'd have my head in a book half of the time and only look up when the crowd started yelling. Probably something that didn't require a lot of concentration like the Morningstar Stock Guides or the S&P Stock sheets ... … [Read more...]
This is a risk analysis of PPL Corporation stock for a friend of mine that was hired by the company. Those of you who want to know how I think about risk management are perfectly welcome to read it but it is specifically targeted so I'm not sure how useful you'll find it. I've worked my way through a few hundred pages of the PPL 10K report and I already reached several conclusions. Here are my thoughts. Take them for what they are worth. They are most certainly not recommendations, just … [Read more...]
A friend of mine sent me information on the recent actions of the Attorney General in Virginia. I almost couldn't believe it, but true enough, he has issued his legal opinion that state colleges and universities cannot self-govern and determine their own community standards, including creating classes of people they want to protect. Not only is this bad for civil rights, it is an affront to the independence of the nation's school systems. Educational institutions must be free to teach … [Read more...]
A week or two ago, I wrote an article called Understanding Stock Repurchase Plans for About.com, a division of The New York Times, which discussed Sonic Restaurant and the massive stock buy back program that had taken place over the past few years. In it, I walked the readers through a lot of the math and explained that I had purchased a couple hundred shares to watch and monitor the stock through one of my companies, Mount Olympus Awards, LLC. (I've since increased it to about 500 shares … [Read more...]
First: Before we begin, the education system in the United States over the past few decades has done such a poor job teaching basic logic that by virtue of the headline alone, it is statistically likely that you have already made a decision about whether or not this short essay on pay inequality is "good" or "bad". You've done this without considering any of the factual data or evidence I'm going to offer by virtue of my own experiences in finance, based nothing more on your own political … [Read more...]
It’s nearly 4 in the morning and I’m up reading political blogs; happened to come across http://cognidissidence.blogspot.com/ and enjoyed reading it. This particular entry is way off base from a financial perspective and since the author seems to be working to expose problems in government, I thought I’d take the time to explain why if any of you are interested. If not, that’s okay, too. Also, given the time, I apologize if there are errors or it is not entirely coherent. Let’s … [Read more...]
Though the home renovations have gotten the most headlines due to their nature (constant onslaught of choices and tasks that need to be completed), one of the most important items on the agenda of the six-month project has been to drastically reduce my digital footprint. By the end of the program, I will have one personal presence [...]
This makes me sick. This high school is ranked in top 5% of high schools in the United States. The worst part of the video for me was the part where the kid says, “I was never taught that knowledge”. It’s not somebody else’s job to teach you, it is your job to seek out [...]
This is a great way to start the day … one of the reasons I love writing this blog. Joshua, [In American Households Continue to Deleverage But That Only Tells Part of the Story, you wrote] “The numbers are just figures on a sheet trying to explain human behavior. Study the behavior, what is driving [...]
We’ve been looking for a corn chowder recipe to add to the “permanent” on-demand recipe collection but most are geared toward summer when fresh corn on the cob is abundant in the Midwest. This allows you to use the rich pulp, corn juices, and kernels to create a delicious, thick chowder that can be eaten [...]
The best message I received all day in the usual flood of reader submissions … Hello Mr. Kennon, I am 24 yr old who has saved/invested incessantly since I was 18, and my portfolio just recently breached 6 digits! I have always had a similar mindset to you when it comes to the future value [...]
I'm a private investor, author, and business philosopher who started with nothing and was essentially retired by my early twenties thanks to my first Internet startup. I went to school on a music scholarship and spend my days doing what I want and growing Kennon Green Enterprises, LLC, the family holding company. Continue reading ...
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