Football is backkkkkkk! Ok maybe not quite, but I’m writing this while watching the NFL draft, loving it. I’ll certainly be ready when fall comes around. Not that I’m anxious about it yet, I do look forward to the summer but you know what I mean don’t you? Quick question…are any of you members of Audible? If so, anything to recommend for my next “reading” ?:)

That being said, here are some good readings

General Readings

-AP Twitter account hacked sends markets lower @ TheVerge
-Is the 60/40 asset allocation strategy dead? @ MarketWatch
-Should Bloomberg be afraid of Twitter? @ Fortune

Dividend/Passive Income Readings

-17 dividend stocks to look out for @ TheDividendGuyBlog
-Opportunity costs for dividend investors @ DividendGrowthInvestor

Tech Stock Readings

-Terrific discussion on pricing of ecosystems (FB, AAPL, GOOGL, etc) @ AboveTheCrowd
-Netflix (NFLX) now bigger than HBO? @ QZ
-Amazon’s app store doing very well @ TechCrunch
-Future of tv according to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings @ PaidContent

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I’m very excited about having a first “warm” weekend! It’s about time right? I know that for some of you, it’s never an issue.. but believe me, I’m thrilled. Even better, today, the NFL schedule was released for next year, I’m trying to find games that I could potentially attend… hoping to see at least one this year:) Are any of you planning to go see a game? If so, which one?

General Readings

-Obama’s chained CPI explained @ DarwinsMoney
-Most $100 bills live outside the US @ NPR

Dividend/Passive Income Readings

-Portfolio update Q1 @ TheDividendGuyBlog
-Dividend investing or index investing @ DividendStockAnalysis
-Energy Transfer MLP Update @ DividendMonk

Tech Stock Readings

-Microsoft (MSFT) can’t keep up in a mobile world @ WSJ
-Full Specs for the Google glasses @ TechCrunch
-Google’s Bufferbox…it starts in San Francisco @ TechCrunch
-The truth about Google Fiber @ PCMag
-Yahoo comes out with earnings @ TheNextWeb

Interesting turn of events in the last few weeks.  After making a case that Google was making a big mistake in trying to go after same-day shipping and that it should focus on areas where it would have an edge (retail stores and Google Fiber),  Google announced it was moving on to Austin, Texas as its second Fiber city. Then, yesterday, Google announced it would also be offering its service in Provo, Utah. Just to recap, Google Fiber offers the following options:

-$300 installation fee only for 7 years of free 5mb internet
-$70/month for 1GB internet connection (which ranks at the very top of Netflix’ ISP rankings)
-$120/month for 1GB internet connection and HDTV cable

I don’t know about you (actually I do), but this is not even comparable to what I’m getting from my current ISP. Because of that, Google Fiber was able to secure huge market share in its first market (Kansas City) and looks likely to do the same in Austin and Provo.

Fiber Was Deemed An Experience

At first, Google Fiber was explained as a way for Google to show consumers and cable companies what was possible.  It has clearly worked, scared off cable companies but ultimately they seem to be too old and have too much infrastructure to adapt so far.

So The Experiment Expands

Google’s recent announcements send a very important signal in my opinion. It would not be moving to other markets if it could not see this as a potentially profitable business. Of course, it probably needs to enter these markets slowly and carefully because the market share is key here. But what if Google is thinking about expanding Fiber into many other cities. What would this mean to Google? And for cable companies? I’ve heard the idea that Google could/should spin off that business but I don’t agree. The synergies are too important to risk having the companies work apart.

I always talk about owning the “ecosystem” and in a way, Google Fiber is the ultimate ecosystem play. 

Cable Companies Must Be Trembling

Imagine a competitor offering a service that is multiple times better than your offering at a lesser price, with a brand (Google) that is loved.  Companies like Comcast and Time Warner must be having daily meetings about trying to compete with Fiber… I’m guessing their best hope is that Google does not start speeding up its expansion. Can you imagine if Google Fiber arrived in a few bigger cities? The best part for Google of course is the fact that no one seems capable of offering something even close to Google Fiber’s offer (for many different reasons including those huge data centers, etc).

Hoping To Find Out More Today

I doubt that Larry Page will give out much about Fiber but I do hope that in tonight’s earnings call, analysts will at least ask about it, what it means, plans for the future, etc.

What are your thoughts on Google Fiber? Do you think it could end up having a significant impact on Google’s long term future?

The Bitcoin story has been fascinating… I honestly could easily defend its value if it crashed closer to $0 or to $1000… it’s just impossible to say! I’d love to hear your thoughts:)

General Readings

-Bitcoin markets under attack @ TechCrunch
-BitCoin visualized @ Visual Capitalist
-How high should income tax rates be? @ Fiscal Times
-Dan Loeb’s investment process @ ReformedBroker
-The Obama budget @ TheAtlantic

Passive Income and Dividend Readings

-What Cyprus banks have in common with US and Canadian banks @ TheDividendGuyBlog
-Cincinnati Financial Corporation (CINF) analysis @ DividendMonk

Tech Stock Readings

-Evernote expansion @ AllThingsD

Most of you know that I’m generally willing to accept somewhat higher taxes. I have however said over and over that there are many MUCH MORE important issues. Spending is one, especially in entitlement programs. Other priorities include finding a better way to reduce health care spending, simplifying the tax code, etc. Despite having some views in common with democrats, I hate the idea that the government should get more involved. It’s less efficient and over time that is what matters most.

Unfortunately… it doesn’t look like we’re going to see the government getting less involved in our things. It’s tempting to blame everything on Obama but the fact is that it’s happening all around the world.

-Higher Income Taxes: In dozens of countries, taxes are rising, especially on the wealthy. think of France’s 75% rate on millionaires or how the US government let Bush tax cuts expire for more the more wealthy among us.

-Bank deposits being taken away: When taxpayers helped fund the bail-out for banks that were too big to fail, many thought it was unfair. The EU proved it felt such action could be justified when it decided to take over part of depositors money in Cyprus.

-Cap On Retirement Accounts?: I find this one shocking. Yes, it’s surprising to see that Romney has accumulated millions of dollars in his retirement account. But how in the world does it make sense for the government to start taxing what is supposed to be tax free? My biggest issue of course is where this ends. Currently, Obama is proposing a $3M cap in those accounts. But once such a cap exists, it could end up coming down and completely changing the been fits of using retirement accounts. That doesn’t sound too fair to me.

-IRS Trying To Tax All Internet Transactions?: This one sounds creepy on many levels. The IRS apparently wants to know exactly what we’re doing online by creating special tracking software. What is going on? More on Yahoo’s article here.

If governments are desperate enough to:

-increase tax rates on what they tax
-start taxing things that it’s not (retirement accounts, etc)
-take money out of your accounts
-probably cut its promised pension payments
-etc…

Then it’s certainly not looking great for those of us working on increasing our net worth isn’t it? Sigh

Sometimes it feels like the media is making a big story out of nothing. I don’t feel that’s the case regarding Cyprus. The EU taking money from depositors is a game changer, no other way to put it. Will this happen again? Impossible to say for sure but this is a dangerous precedent. I sure would feel nervous if I had money in one of those banks.. and I guess no matter where we live, we do have to at least prepare for such a scenario..right?

General Readings

-Extreme early retirement @ DarwinsMoney
-Feels like tax reform will never happen:( @ Politico

Dividend Stock & Passive Income Readings

-Most popular dividend stocks – April 2013 @ DividendStockAnalysis
-The power of the stock market @ TheDividendGuyBlog
-5 engineering dividend stock raising dividends @ DividendMonk

Tech Stock Readings

-Is Google (GOOG) making a critical mistake? @ SeekingAlpha
-A Facebook (FB) phone? @ TechCrunch

Photo credit: National Geography