So You Want To Work In The Automotive Field

(Facebook.com)

I'm A Bit Suprised By The Amount

Want To Be Part Of The World’s One-Percent? Here’s How Much Money You Need To Have 

According to Credit Suisse Research Institute’s 2018 Global Wealth Report, you need to have a net worth of $871,320 USD.

Less than you thought, or more?

Using that number, there are over 19 million Americans who are members of the One-Percent club. And no other country is even close, as China comes in second on that list with 4.2 million people.

The report also revealed some other very interesting financial numbers.

• There are 42 million millionaires worldwide.
• The average wealth per adult in 2018 was $63,100.
• A net worth of $93,170 will put you in the top 10 percent worldwide.
• To be in the top half worldwide, you need a net worth of just $4,210.
• Global wealth increased by $14 trillionlast year.
• Global wealth in 2018 reached $317 trillion.
• Global wealth is projected to rise by nearly 26 percent over the next five years.
• China is now clearly established in second place in the world’s wealth hierarchy.
• Switzerland ($530,240) is the wealthiest country, based on wealth per adult.
• Australia ($411,060) and the United States ($403,970) are second and third on the list.
• Australia ($191,450) was the highest, followed by Switzerland ($183,340) using median wealth per adult.

(Bits&Pieces.us)

Uh, Ok . . . . .

CFO Luca Maestri announced that the company will no longer be reporting unit sales of its iPhones, iPads, and Macs because the figures don’t accurately reflect the business. It’s like they say, you can’t change what you can’t measure.

(BroBible.com)

The More Options, The Higher Price. Duh!

Pickup trucks priced like luxury cars out of reach for many buyers 

Consumers are spending far more for new trucks than they expected 

Data from Cox Automotive show that most buyers expect to pay $26,699 for a new midsize pickup like the Toyota Tacoma or Chevrolet Colorado. But the average transaction price in August was much higher, at $33,275. For full-size pickups, the respective gulf was wider: $38,529 versus average transactions of $47,987 — in the same ballpark as the Porsche Macan or even the current, well-appointed versions of the Tesla Model 3 electric sedan. In the last decade through September, according to Edmunds data, prices for full-size pickups rose 48 percent to $48,377.

Much of the sticker inflation is down to added technology and more sumptuous trim options. Low gas prices have also fueled growth in truck sales, as more and more consumers turn to pickups as their family haulers, as opposed to using them strictly for work.

(AutoBlog.com)

This Is So True

(Facebook.com)

Why Math Is, And Always Will Be Important

(Facebook.com)

It Really Is That Simple

It sounds pretty simple, right? Find successful people and do what they did. Easier said than done, sure, but it’s still a sound strategy.

(BroBible.com)

Let This Sink In

Pokémon is the highest-grossing media franchise in the world with $59 Billion in revenue, $16 Billion more than Star Wars

(CavemanCircus.com)

 

This Advice Should Be Taken Seriously

Aston Martin CEO fears for mass-market auto brands

TURIN -- The increasing commoditization of cars will force mass-market manufacturers to change their business models or face extinction, Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer told the Automotive News Europe Congress.

“I do believe we are at the beginning of end of the traditional automotive industry,” he said.

“For a long time, the business model has been stack 'em high and sell 'em cheap,” he said. “But profitless volume is no way to build a sustainable company. It makes no sense to spend 1 billion [euros] on a new car and discount it almost at launch.”

“We risk moving toward commoditization of a pod,” he said, drawing a comparison with the aerospace industry as a possible scenario for car manufacturers. “The world does not need dozens of nameplates making the same objects. There are more than 75 automotive nameplates in Europe, but just four plane makers,” he said.

Palmer said there was need for “a different business model” that capitalized on customers' desire to own beautiful, exciting cars built by a company with a strong brand.

“People are still looking for emotion in their motion and that's where the luxury manufacturers sit, and where Aston Martin is flourishing,” he said.

Aston Martin has proved that car companies don't need to be part of a wider giant group to survive and generate good profit margins, Palmer argued. “Having worked in mass market and volume, I know now that small is beautiful. You have the agility to respond to market and customer needs, and as long as you have friends to share technology there is the ability to improve margins,” he said.

(AutoNews.com)

An Interesting Perspective About Watercraft

[T]he market for boats isn’t without pitfalls: it’s highly cyclical and dependent on discretionary income. The US boat market still hasn’t recovered from the Great Recession.

(BroBible.com)

This News Does Not Surprise Me

More People Are Now Prioritizing Their Phone Bill Over Their Car Payment

Phones are less expensive than a car, I get that, but here’s another bullet point to help illustrate the fact that more people are struggling to make their auto loan payments: Americans are prioritizing their phone bill over the car, reports Bloomberg.

“Payment priority of cell phones is higher than personal and auto loans and similar to or slightly lower than that of mortgage,” Ram Ahluwalia, the chief executive officer of PeerIQ, a New York-based provider of data and analytics for the consumer lending sector, said in an interview. “Now with Lyft and Uber, you can access transportation via cell phone. The car no longer is a central asset. Technological change is driving shifts in consumer behavior.”

I think the point here is valid. But it’s not because the car is “no longer” a central asset. Millions of people need to get around for work and errands every day. Instead of this being a sign that record amounts for loan terms, loan amounts, and 90-day delinquent borrowers, Bloomberg frames this around a sign of opportunity for investors to consider purchasing securities backed by phone bills.

(Jalopnik.com)

Budgeting Insights

(Bits&Pieces.us)

Well Done, Sec, Well Done

MOVE OVER, ONION

The SEC is dipping their toes into the world of satire releasing a website pitching HoweyCoins, a fictional cryptocurrency, with the intention of informing investors of the risk of scams.

The site, which was launched this week during CoinDesk’s Consensus 2018 conference, even includes a nine-page satirical whitepaper. Eventually, if one does choose to invest (read: you are a moron), users are redirected to the real SEC website where they can find further information on cryptocurrency ICO scams.

Jay Clayton, SEC Chairman, issued a statement earlier this year informing investors about the protections being put in place. Of course, no one listened to his advice about the Nigerian prince scam of our generation.

Water Cooler Talking Point: “When the SEC is going out of its way to make jokes about how to protect yourself from an unregulated security, you know you’ve gotten yourself into some potentially shady sh*t.”

(BroBible.com)

The Triangle Of Successful Failures

In this piece for Forbes, Podesto explains the three obstacles that prevent potential entrepreneurs from breaking out on their own. The first obstruction isn’t physical or financial. It’s a mindset.

“There is no perfect time to quit your job and start a company,” Podesto explains. “The fact is, no business can be 100% prepared for what’s to come.”

Podesto speaks from experience. He struggled internally with finding “the best time” and continuously asked himself questions about the amount of money he needed in savings and how far along his side business should be before committing to it full time.

His advice is to always keep an open mind about the business and be ever-evolving in the services provided to customers.

“Don’t get too attached to any one idea and don’t be afraid of change. Every great entrepreneur is able to roll with the changes and adapt to meet the needs of their customers.”

The second biggest obstacle, in Podesto’s estimation, is overplanning. “The secret to starting a business is to plan less and do more,” Podesto warns. “The best way to become an expert at something is to practice. No amount of planning or preparation will ever come close to real life experiences.”

Finally, Podesto warns, anyone starting a business should be ready to weather the storm of unpredictability and more than a few failures. In other words, get ready to eat shit for a while.

“When I first started my company, things were not glamorous by any means,” Podesto admits. “I took a $70,000 pay cut, I moved four times in one year, I worked 80-plus hour weeks, my business partner quit, I acquired $40,000 in debt, and I changed the game plan over 20 times. You simply can’t plan for these sorts of events. Change is bound to happen. The best way to find out what works is to find out what doesn’t work.”

The CEO is glad he took a leap of faith and wouldn’t change anything about his journey and ends with this advice about starting a business.

“The best way to grow and develop a business is not to research and plan. It is to do and fail.”

(BroBible.com)

A Good Read

10 Of The Most Common Money Mistakes That Keep Even Smart People From Achieving Wealth

2. You don’t realize that every dollar spends the same.

“Money is money. A dollar set aside for retirement or education is not more sacred than a dollar from your savings account or travel fund. And don’t let where you store that money (whether in a savings account or an easily accessible wallet) change how quick you are to spend it. When you view each dollar as equal to every other, you’re less likely to spend money recklessly, and, conversely, you’re not too tight-fisted to a point that you miss out on big wins or opportunities.”

3. You diversify before you optimize.

“You don’t need to change your entire lifestyle in a day. Instead, come up with a tweak that will help you get closer to achieving a specific money goal or mastering a specific aspect of your finances, and incorporate it into your routine. So if you’re having trouble saving for your next vacation, experiment with tools like automatic withdrawal to make saving money toward your next travel destination super easy.”

4. You’re an opportunist instead of a strategist.

“Set one specific measurable outcome (i.e., paying down your student loans). Create a flexible plan of attack using the resources available to you … Stick your plan, say yes to opportunities that serve your goal, and don’t get distracted by anything else.”

Complete list (BroBible.com)

I Wonder What The Second Most Common Denomination Is

Only one-third of all $100 bills are actually inside the United States.

(Bits&Pieces.us)

The Irony

(Bits&Pieces.us)

This Is Worth Keeping An Eye On

Deutsche Bank will add a familiar name to it’s Supervisory Board: John Thain. You may remember John as the man who led Merrill Lynch to financial ruin.

(BroBible.com)

I Believe This, Even Without Seeing The Numbers

The Ford F-150 Franchise Is Reportedly Worth More Than Ford Itself

1st Gear: The Ford F-150 Franchise Is Worth More Than Ford Itself, Analyst Says

Ford’s recent financial woes have been causing concern among investors, but in his report yesterday, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas cranked up The Blue Oval’s valuation for the first time in two years, in part, because of the strength of Ford’s mighty but undervalued F-150. Good news for Ford and its much-coveted standing with investors.

The Detroit News quotes the report, writing:

“We see Ford as an out-of-favor self-help story with room to surprise the market with cost-savings and profit-repositioning potential,” Jonas wrote. “At its current depressed valuation level, the value of its commercial franchise (F-Series) represents a larger percentage of its firm value than any other OEM under our global coverage.

The study itself, which you can read here, quantifies the F-150 franchise’s value, stating:

We [at Morgan Stanley] estimate the F150 franchise to be worth 135% of the market cap of Ford.

But of course, the F-150 isn’t the only reason why Jonas raised Ford’s earnings forecast by the largest amount in five years. Part of the move also has to do with CEO Jim Hackett’s restructuring efforts and cost cutting like FoMoCo’s planned $14 billion reduction in materials and engineering expenses, with the news site writing:

But certain moves like potentially restructuring segments of the company and redeploying funds could “halt years of underperformance,” he wrote. Ford has said it will move money around to shift the company’s focus away from car production and make more SUVs.

Jonas’s report says that Ford “isn’t out of the woods yet,” and recommends reducing nameplates and leaving “loss-making regions” as potential actions that could crank up the stock price.

(Jalopnik.com)

I'm Going To Take A Serious Look Into This

The Rally Rd App Lets You Invest In Collector Cars As Stocks, An Asset That Outperforms Gold 

Rally Rd is an app that lets you get in on this type of investing without having to purchase an entire collector’s car. Each car within the Rally Rd portfolio is divided up into 2,000 shares and investors can purchase shares in every car. 

The goal behind Rally Rd is to help investors diversify their portfolios and in this goal, I think they’re certainly achieving. I can’t imagine that there are too many young investors like myself out there who are considering investing heavily in collector’s cars. It’s just not an asset that is on many millennial’s radars. But I certainly dig the idea of being able to buy shares in these cars instead of having to purchase the entire vehicle and be tasked with having to take care of the car myself.

(BroBible.com)