"Take it Easy"

"Take it Easy" was a song written by Jackson Browne in 1971 intended to be included in his own debut album but he just couldn't get around to finishing the song. Glen Frey, lead singer for the Eagles and a neighbor of Browne offered to finish the lyrics if he could record the song on the Eagles album. The rest is history. The song was released in 1972 as the opening track on the Eagles debut album and reached #12 on the Hot 100 chart in July of 1972. What makes the song unique is the banjo accompaniment played by Bernie Leadon. The song is listed as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 that shaped Rock and Roll. There's good news and some not so good news going down in the investing world. The good news is that some things are getting easier. Starting with interest rates; Kevin Warsh was named as the new Chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee today. It is widely viewed that he will accomodate President Trump's demand that interest rates should be cut. In the near term that is a positive for the stock market and maybe a tail wind for the bond market. In the long term, cutting interest rates could reignite inflation which is bad for everyone. Easy money could cause the economy to run too hot in a world where supply chains are already thin due to trade tensions. At this time, there is confusion among analysts as to who will win the race to dominate the market for Artificial Intelligence. Recent market action suggests that the software companies such as Microsoft, SAS, Snowflake, Salesforce, and many others will suffer because AI will make coding so easy a kindergardener could do it. I believe the punishment is overdone because Enterprise Management Software is a very complex product and not easily replicated. Having used an Oracle system in a previous life, I was amazed at the amount of data the system held. I don't hold any of these software names and don't intend to buy until the dust settles. What is now easier to recognize is the probable winners in the AI world. Apple has avoided the massive capital spend that the hyperscalers have shelled out to date. Their wait and see approach has allowed them to pick and choose among AI platforms already developed by others. Apple is sitting on the delivery system for consumer artificial intelligence with a 2.5 billion worldwide installed user base. I still own some Apple and may add to my position. Another easy decision for me is to hang on the my stake in Alphabet, formerly known as Google. Unlike Apple, Google has a pretty decent AI offering on the Android phone which is Gemini. Many pundits believe that Gemini will end up on the Iphone. That saves Apple a ton of money and provides more revenue to Alphabet. It's not like Alphabet doesn't have a shortage of revenue streams because they own Youtube, Youtube tv, Google search, Waymo self driving, Calico life sciences, Android, Google Cloud, and many others. Alphabet has made over 260 acquisitions and has a market cap of 4 trillion dollars. I view their diverse holdings as a positive. Anyone who reads and listens to financial news know of the concept of "Universal Basic Income". This is the idea that when AI replaces the need for humans to work, somehow a check arrives every month {or direct deposit} for living expenses. No one has ever explained just who will send me the money, thats just a detail that need to be worked out in future. Elon Musk has enhanced this notion by calling it "Universal High Income". I like his idea better for obvious reasons. Until this happens, I'll still be looking for bargains in the stock market and other investments but when the U.H.I deposit hits, I plan to "Take it Easy".