Korea promised to pay its refiners to keep pump prices down. Pakistan capped LPG without paying anyone, and the gas went under the counter.
If your government capped one price, would you rather pay in taxes or in shortages? And which price would it be?
Today's Idea: Darden (DRI), $213.29. About 19.0x the midpoint of its fiscal 2027 EPS guidance. Labor is its biggest cost. Risks: soft Olive Garden traffic, a reversible bulletin.
freemarketsreport.com/a-judg…
Every time spreads have been this tight, they widened violently. 2007. 2019. No one rang a bell then either. $JOJO is the bell.
Learn more about the ATAC Credit Rotation ETF $JOJO at atacfunds.com/jojo/
Lead-Lag Publishing, LLC is not an affiliate of Tidal/Toroso or ACA/Foreside.
Michael A. Gayed, CFA retweeted
10 years ago I was making $135k/year traveling the country as a factory designer. I owned a townhouse and an old jeep.
Then I entered a covenant with God.
“Dear God, I will start a Christian engineering company”
Then, the greatest adventure of my life began. Contracts, guerilla warfare engineering, 4 kids, dream beach house, bizarre private equity exit, HELOC on beach house, family surf shack in Central America, launching 4 new companies, recruiting world class leaders, paying distributions, executives on pay freeze, got our first patent, got 30 more patents, every industry award out there, national TV, new friends on 𝕏, learned standup paddle boarding, learned tennis, family mission trips, partnered with the largest industrial suppliers on earth, technology development in 5 industry verticals, got invited to write official US tariffs, 4 non-profit boards, got a Cybertruck, won USDOT driverless city grant, built a corporate HQ, deployed an ERP, obtained a 3 year PCOAB audit, wrote the national hygiene policy on covid, started buying majority of my clothes at Costco, entered litigation, won litigation, got customers I’ve never met, got employees I’ve never met, opened offices across multiple states, still work from my attic (it’s a nice attic), got a Herman miller chair, traveled the world, had 6 years with zero resignations, funded orphanages, funded hungry children, funded missionaries, funded homeless rescue, gotten shacked in 12’ waves, mastered the Komodo grill. All of it, in Jesus’ name.
That’s the shortlist. Most of it is in my book.
Walking with Jesus is not easy. Not if you’re living out the great commission.
But I cannot imagine living life another way. I cannot imagine chasing another promotion to get to VP or C-suite of a company with another guy’s name on it. I cannot imagine coming home and telling my wife about the “mood” of my boss.
I cannot imagine what my faith would be like, had it not been tested.
God gave me abundance, and I acted biblically.
God took it all away, and I acted biblically.
And l’ve made mistakes. Big mistakes. And my team has stood by me. And with God’s help, we fixed it.
Through the success, failure, and conflict, I’ve done my very best to be transparent and optimistic. To be a leader. To be pragmatic. To work harder than anyone else out there. To take Bible sized risk.
Whatever your work is, bring Jesus into it. Live a life of integrity. Love your wife. Play with your kids.
🥢🙏❤️
If you’re a builder, build a biz and raise your capital from a bank.
Can attest to Molson’s point. I’ve raised ~$10M of capital my entire life (65,000 lb vehicles don’t fund themselves). I find it’s easier to build a $10M business, get to $10M EBITDA, get to $10M free cash flow.
Then, random people work your network to get on your calendar and beg to throw $20M at you. Magic.
Then, use your building skills to figure out if you want OPM (other people’s money) and what you’d do with it.
@jimbelosic is the poster boy for this.
But, before you take anyone’s money, tell them exactly what you’ll do with it and what you won’t do. Words like “pro-rata rights” and “information rights” go right out the window. Bring it up once and you’re blocked from my outlook and iPhone.
You want to invest in @ChangRobotics? You better be on board with slinging the Gospel while building the most advanced robotics systems on earth. You better be on board with employees and customers being regarded as more important than investors. You better be on board with promoting women through pregnancy. You better be on board with tithing 10% of free cash flow as the least we can do. You don’t have to be on board with prayer, but expect us to teach you. You better be on board with engineers leading a company and not a financially engineered company. You better be on board with data privacy. You better be onboard with going LOOOONG on CR and America 🇺🇸.
Are YOU worried about your portfolio? WE are here to work as unto the Lord and glorify Jesus through building factories other countries could only dream about. We do that, and the portfolio will take care of itself. We are under covenant with God, you will be under covenant with us. You still want in?
Okay, now you can have a 30 minute meeting.
-your neighborhood engineer
I'm giving away 50 free digital review copies of The Price of a Quiet Yen to readers who want to read it and share an honest take.
No review required. Details here:
leadlagreport.com/quiet-yen-…
ALT Cover of The Price of a Quiet Yen by Michael A. Gayed, CFA
Markets don't correct all at once. Equities go first. Then credit follows. That's always the sequence. $JOJO is designed to rotate before the crowd figures it out.
Learn more about the ATAC Credit Rotation ETF $JOJO at atacfunds.com/jojo/
Lead-Lag Publishing, LLC is not an affiliate of Tidal/Toroso or ACA/Foreside.
Keep your portfolio in step with policy trends. The Free Markets ETF ($FMKT) identifies companies likely to win from deregulation.
Learn more about $FMKT at freemarketsetf.com.
The subadvisors, Point Bridge, SYKON, and Tactical Rotation Management, use various screening tools to help identify companies that fit the Fund's investment strategy. Positions are determined by what stocks the investment committee believes likely benefit the most from deregulation.
Lead-Lag Publishing, LLC is not an affiliate of Tidal/Toroso, Tactical Rotation Management, LLC, SYKON Capital, Point Bridge Capital, LLC or ACA/Foreside.
Since 1988 a server who rolled silverware for 19% of a shift was a tipped employee. At 21%, depending on the year, the wage changed. The Labor Department just ended that coin toss.
freemarketsreport.com/a-judg…
ALT Data card: federal tipped cash wage 2.13 dollars an hour, maximum tip credit 5.12 dollars an hour, Darden labor 32.2 percent of sales in fiscal first quarter 2027
Starting in 30 minutes: Lead-Lag Live with Jay Hatfield. Q&A is open. Join here: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi…
Sponsored by Infrastructure Capital Advisors.
When utilities outperform the S&P 500, it's a warning. Defensive sectors leading means risk appetite is fading. $JOJO reads that and acts. Passive funds can't.
Learn more about the ATAC Credit Rotation ETF $JOJO at atacfunds.com/jojo/
Lead-Lag Publishing, LLC is not an affiliate of Tidal/Toroso or ACA/Foreside.
Live in 90 minutes. Jay Hatfield on markets and the economy, with your questions taken live. Reserve your spot: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi…
Sponsored by Infrastructure Capital Advisors.
Before 1978, Washington set airline fares.
Median round-trip fare in 1980: $414.
In 2005: $256.
Both in 2005 dollars, per the GAO. Down 38%. Trips over 1,500 miles fell 52%.
No committee planned that. Competition did.
ALT Data card: U.S. median round-trip airfare fell from $414 in 1980 to $256 in 2005 in 2005 dollars, per GAO; trips over 1,500 miles fell 52%.
I launched $JOJO right before the worst bond bear market in a generation. The timing was brutal. But the thesis never changed. The opportunity is now.
View standardized performance and learn more about the ATAC Credit Rotation ETF $JOJO at atacfunds.com/jojo/
Lead-Lag Publishing, LLC is not an affiliate of Tidal/Toroso or ACA/Foreside.