In my last blog you saw my grandson. Above is my father William Jackson Williams II (1916 to 1974). Their personalities are different because of their economic differences and the circumstances given to them by life. His father was a product of the Cherokee nation and the violent hatred of European Americans. My grandson is a product of Jamaican culture in an American environment.
William Jackson Williams II was a product of the Great Depression of the 1930s. Willie as they called him, Black mother came from Alabama. His family fled Texas because of the killing of his Cherokee grandfather by the KKK at a very early age in Houston. He grew up hearing the stories of his Cherokee ancestors that was forced from their homes at gun point by the US Army to march to Oklahoma in the “Trail of Tears.” His father died when he was only 12 years old. He watched people lose their savings when banks folded in the 1920s and 1930s. That was before the days of FDIC.
Because of these events he grew up not knowing how to enjoy things that most of us take advantage of. With him it was spend the money before it goes away. But he would make comments about the market when he heard something on the news.
My father was not a believer in investing in Stocks and Bonds. If it was not a US Savings Bond then he wanted nothing to do with it. In the 1960s, my family would gather around the TV after dinner to watch Walter Cronkite on the CBS Evening News. I noticed when Walter talked about “the big props holding up the economy,” my father would get scared. When Walter talked about record earnings of some company, my father would say, “If I had money I would buy stock in that company.” This taught me that what people say about companies and the market affect people, in turn affect the market.
Over the years, I found that when the economy is doing well, companies can’t find enough unskilled workers, or families start impulsive spending, this talk makes the stock market go up. When more and more people are evicted from their homes or apartments, when more people are falling off the unemployment rolls, or more layoffs become the talk of the town, people sell stocks and that is when the stock market is in serious trouble.
I have learned to use people as my “bell weather” for when to buy or sell stocks. My supervisor has mutual funds in his retirement program. He came into work every morning complaining about how much he lost the day before. I did nothing until he told me that he sold all his retirement mutual funds. On TV the CEO of Ford said in a Congressional Hearing that they did not need bailout money. That is when I bought Ford Stock at $6.34 per share. I sold half my holdings in Ford 21 months later at $12.45 per share. The other half I will sell when people start talking negative again about Ford or the stock market.
You might ask where did I put the money from my sell of Ford Stock? You guessed it! I placed most of the money in the Discount Bond Market, mostly in VENEZUELA REPUBLIC NOTES 8.500% 10/08/2014, a B2/BB- Rated bond. The purchase price was $880 per bond.
I still have half my Ford Stock. I took out 97.37% cash out of my Ford Stock Investment. I placed that money in Venezuela Republic bonds that will make $460 per $1,000 bond in 4 years. In the end, I will still have Ford Stock and cash from this maturing bond issue. This is all due to the words of the CEO of Ford and my supervisor.
Interest rates will start going up soon because the Federal Reserve is printing money and putting it into the economy. The dollar will go down and commodity, food, and finish goods prices will go up. Interest rates on bonds will also go up and bond prices will go down. That means in the future, I can buy more bonds at a lower price getting higher interest rates. I keep the bonds to maturity so I do not have to worry about bond prices when I sell. That is because I rarely sell. My bonds mature at par or $1,000 each.
My half Jamaican grandson will grow up knowing all about Stocks and Bonds. He will participate in the Darnell L Williams Foundation, investing money for his descendents. If you look at both people, you will find out that my grandson has part of my father's face. If my father and my grandson would have a conversation about how to handle money, they will not be able to understand each other because their way of life will be so different. My father has the ways of half Cherokee and Black while my grandson is developing the ways of being half American and Jamaican. Both had or will have the background of a Great Depression. However, they will be completely different.
William Jackson Williams II was a product of the Great Depression of the 1930s. Willie as they called him, Black mother came from Alabama. His family fled Texas because of the killing of his Cherokee grandfather by the KKK at a very early age in Houston. He grew up hearing the stories of his Cherokee ancestors that was forced from their homes at gun point by the US Army to march to Oklahoma in the “Trail of Tears.” His father died when he was only 12 years old. He watched people lose their savings when banks folded in the 1920s and 1930s. That was before the days of FDIC.
Because of these events he grew up not knowing how to enjoy things that most of us take advantage of. With him it was spend the money before it goes away. But he would make comments about the market when he heard something on the news.
My father was not a believer in investing in Stocks and Bonds. If it was not a US Savings Bond then he wanted nothing to do with it. In the 1960s, my family would gather around the TV after dinner to watch Walter Cronkite on the CBS Evening News. I noticed when Walter talked about “the big props holding up the economy,” my father would get scared. When Walter talked about record earnings of some company, my father would say, “If I had money I would buy stock in that company.” This taught me that what people say about companies and the market affect people, in turn affect the market.
Over the years, I found that when the economy is doing well, companies can’t find enough unskilled workers, or families start impulsive spending, this talk makes the stock market go up. When more and more people are evicted from their homes or apartments, when more people are falling off the unemployment rolls, or more layoffs become the talk of the town, people sell stocks and that is when the stock market is in serious trouble.
I have learned to use people as my “bell weather” for when to buy or sell stocks. My supervisor has mutual funds in his retirement program. He came into work every morning complaining about how much he lost the day before. I did nothing until he told me that he sold all his retirement mutual funds. On TV the CEO of Ford said in a Congressional Hearing that they did not need bailout money. That is when I bought Ford Stock at $6.34 per share. I sold half my holdings in Ford 21 months later at $12.45 per share. The other half I will sell when people start talking negative again about Ford or the stock market.
You might ask where did I put the money from my sell of Ford Stock? You guessed it! I placed most of the money in the Discount Bond Market, mostly in VENEZUELA REPUBLIC NOTES 8.500% 10/08/2014, a B2/BB- Rated bond. The purchase price was $880 per bond.
I still have half my Ford Stock. I took out 97.37% cash out of my Ford Stock Investment. I placed that money in Venezuela Republic bonds that will make $460 per $1,000 bond in 4 years. In the end, I will still have Ford Stock and cash from this maturing bond issue. This is all due to the words of the CEO of Ford and my supervisor.
Interest rates will start going up soon because the Federal Reserve is printing money and putting it into the economy. The dollar will go down and commodity, food, and finish goods prices will go up. Interest rates on bonds will also go up and bond prices will go down. That means in the future, I can buy more bonds at a lower price getting higher interest rates. I keep the bonds to maturity so I do not have to worry about bond prices when I sell. That is because I rarely sell. My bonds mature at par or $1,000 each.
My half Jamaican grandson will grow up knowing all about Stocks and Bonds. He will participate in the Darnell L Williams Foundation, investing money for his descendents. If you look at both people, you will find out that my grandson has part of my father's face. If my father and my grandson would have a conversation about how to handle money, they will not be able to understand each other because their way of life will be so different. My father has the ways of half Cherokee and Black while my grandson is developing the ways of being half American and Jamaican. Both had or will have the background of a Great Depression. However, they will be completely different.
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