Category: Policy

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Energy and National Security

I am fortunate enough to be spending a few days at the Kennedy School at Harvard as part of the Kennedy School’s program for Senior Executives for National and International Security.

One of the lectures we listened to today was on the role of energy in our national security policy and how energy transitions from carbon-based approaches to more sustainable energy will impact both global economies as well as the underlying fabric of global security

The US and our allies and partners need to think strongly about what a world looks like where oil is not a baseline power source.

What happens when that political and policy lever is not in play for global decision-makers. What does that look like, and what investments are leaders making now to ensure decision space in that new market?

This blog represents my personal views and does not represent the views of any element of the US Government or my views as a US Government employee.

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Reading Recommendation: Strategic Stimulus

Sound investing is all about digesting large quantities of macro and micro information and synthesizing that information into a view of a particular company or market.

One of my daily morning reads is the Strategic Stimulus newsletter.  Authored by some brilliant US military Veterans I find it a very insightful way to start my morning.  It gives me a timely and accurate view of the macroeconomic forces acting on the market for the day.

The team there also makes recommendations.  While my individual approach is generally long-term buy and hold, I find their work to be a compelling and thoughtful read – especially for the part of my portfolio that I trade more actively.  

If you are an active daily or weekly trader I think you will find their recommendations simple, understandable, and easy to execute.

They offer a free 14-day trial which you can sign up for here.

You can also follow them on Twitter at @strategicstim.

 

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Fred Smith, Chairman and CEO of FedEx, on tariffs

Credit: Market Business News

There has been a lot of talk lately about tariffs and the impact that they will have on global trade and our economy.

CEOs and business leaders are starting to come out with their opinions.  The discussion is fascinating to listen too as leaders debate important policy decisions that directly impact their stock price and the bottom line.

Yesterday legendary FedEx CEO, Mr. Fred Smith, opined on the impact of the President’s proposed tariffs during FedEx’s Q3 results conference call.   It’s safe to say that Mr. Smith supports free trade.

The specific discussion is at 27:30 into the webcast where Mr. Smith shares his views on free trade and a few suggestions that the US Govt should consider.   He has the listener type “Tariff” into google and then shares his thoughts on free trade.

One thing is for sure.  The issue is going to continue to be interesting.

Link: http://investors.fedex.com/news-and-events/webcasts-and-presentations/default.aspx