Irwin Rosen: Scholar And Friend in Field of Psychiatry Dies

By Michael Hooper

Topeka lost a top scholar and a loyal friend in the field of psychiatry on Wednesday when Irwin “Irv” Rosen died at age 93 surrounded by his wife Betty and family.

Rosen came to Topeka to study at the Menninger Clinic in 1952 after receiving his Ph.D., in clinical psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. He graduated from Menninger’s post-doctoral training program and joined the staff and worked about five decades at Menninger, including as director of the Adult Outpatient Department and head of its psychotherapy services.

Roy Menninger, former Menninger president, said Rosen was a unique individual who had a positive outlook.

“He was an unflappably good man, who saw good in almost anything,” Menninger said. In an interview in 2003, Rosen recalled moving to Topeka in the early 1950s and seeing a sign that said, “Welcome to Topeka: Psychiatric Capital of the World.” The Menninger Clinic, Topeka State Hospital and the Veterans Administration Winter Hospital combined to create a mecca for anyone needing treatment or a job in mental health. Topeka State Hospital closed in 1997 and the Menninger Clinic moved to Houston in 2003. The VA continues to operate in Topeka.

Rosen’s colleagues said he helped others with his transformative and inspiring personality. He was a scholar who published into his late 80s. He had a quick wit, a big smile and a warmth that made it comfortable for others to confide in him.

He was very close to the late Irving Sheffel, former administrator of the Menninger Clinic, who died in May 2015, at age 98. At Sheffel’s funeral, Rosen praised his longtime friend’s talent for keeping peace at Menninger and then made fun of Sheffel’s golf game.

Roy Menninger said Rosen had a special talent for entertaining others. Rosen and Jerry Katz performed a song and dance act during an engagement party for Roy and his wife Beverly.

“Irv was marvelously imaginative, curious and creative,” Menninger said. Rosen was also extremely loyal and supportive.

“I was glad to have a friend like that,” Menninger said. “I have so much respect and fondness for him.”

Siebolt Frieswyk, a former Menninger employee, said Rosen had a profoundly influential career at Menninger.

“He transformed generations of students and colleagues with his passion for the theater and tennis and his devotion to professional excellence,” Frieswyk said. “His incredible humor and transformative passion for social justice and the concern for our fellow human beings whose lives he touched with grace and compassion often inspired those who had not grasped their special talent and possibilities. He and Jerry Katz could entertain endlessly, given their immersion in the American musical theater. Irv climbed mountains with his friends in Colorado and inspired us all to heights of excellence and devotion to our shared cause.”

Rosen was saddened to see the end of the Topeka Institute for Psychoanalysis when the Menninger Clinic left for Houston in 2003.

At the time, Rosen wrote, “The way now to perpetuate what we built together is to carry with us internally the place, the people, and what we did here, to re-create what we have learned here and keep it alive, and to practice and teach it afresh in our consulting rooms, our classrooms and our writings. On that premise, our Institute and its parent, The Menninger Clinic, will live in our lives and in the lives of all those patients and students whom we will ever touch.”

Services honoring Rosen will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 12, at Temple Beth Sholom, 4200 S.W. Munson. Burial will follow at Mount Hope Cemetery.

Panic Buying Drives Stock Market to New Highs

A "buying panic" swept through the stock markets today as stocks reached all-time highs, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.55% or 297 points to 19,549; the S&P 500 up 1.32% or 29 points to 2241 and the Nasdaq was up 1.14% to 5393.

Panic buying is the the action of buying large quantities of stock due to sudden fears of a forthcoming price increase. Investors don’t want to be left behind so they are moving billions and billions of dollars into stocks. Several commentators on CNBC described Wednesday's stock surge as a "buying panic."

The S&P 500 is up 7% since the presidential election on Nov. 8. I had predicted the election of Donald Trump would cause the stock markets to contract, but I was wrong. I’m glad I did not sell out when he was elected. Indeed I had just moved all idle cash into the stock market just before the election. I was all in and remain all in.

The businessman Donald Trump -- a true outsider who never before worked in Congress -- has cultivated a belief that he can improve the U.S. economy.

The inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States will take place on Jan. 20, 2017.

Who knows exactly what will happen with the stock market in 2017. By some measures, the general stock markets are over valued now, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the stock market can’t go higher from here.

Eventually panic buying may turn into panic selling. But I’m not selling out. I invest for the long term. 

We’ll see how Donald Trump leads the country. I hope it’s not just the rich getting better, I hope all Americans see growth in household income.

I think some parts of the stock market are way overheated. Some regional bank stocks have gone up tremendously.

Equity Bancshares (EQBK) is up 35% since the Nov. 8 election. Equity Bancshares, Inc. is a bank holding company with headquarters in Wichita, Kan. Its Equity Bank provides financial services primarily to businesses, business owners and individuals through a network of 34 full-service branches in Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri, including the Wichita, Kansas City, and Topeka metropolitan areas.

Stock in Capitol Federal Financial (CFFN) is up 14% since the presidential election. Capitol Federal is a Topeka-based bank with a focus on lending to single-family home owners.

United Way of Greater Topeka Suffers $1.3 Million Operating Loss in 2014

United Way of Greater Topeka has suffered operating losses in recent years.

United Way's total revenues have fallen from $6.9 million in 2013 to $5.6 million in 2014. The organization suffered an operating loss of -$1.3 million in 2014, according to its Form 990 tax return.

There is a 2015 Form 990, but it only runs for a half year; nevertheless, the organization had posted a $1 million loss in the first six months of 2015, according to its tax returns at guidestar.com

The Topeka Capital-Journal reported that United Way of Greater Topeka's top executives resigned effective immediately. Miriam Krehbiel resigned her position as CEO and president, and Kim Ribelin resigned as vice president of resource development, the newspaper reported.

The local United Way's total expense for salaries and benefits was $1,008,406 in 2013. Total expense for wages, salaries, employee benefits grew to $1.18 million in 2014. 

Krehbiel’s total compensation in 2013 was $128,173. That year revenues were $6.9 million, with total expenses of $6.6 million, with a $270,985 net gain (profit).

In 2014, total revenue was $5.6 million, expenses were $6.9 million, with a -$1.3 million loss. Krehbiel's compensation was $129,222. 

In recent years, United Way changed the way it distributes grants. Historically, donors got to choose which charities they want to support. However, in recent years, the organization changed focus to supporting projects to implement change in the community. The top three areas of focus are improving education, financial stability and health care. 

Donors have struggled to understand how this works. I think it’s easier for a donor to say I want to support Girl Scouts, or Housing & Credit Counseling. But now United Way is choosing how to use donor money to support education, financial stability and health care. With the change, it’s difficult to measure whether United Way’s efforts are actually working or making a difference.

The United Way's mission statement on its tax return says: "We create positive, sustainable change in our community. We work to solve issues no single donor, charity or government agency can handle alone. By focusing on education, financial stability, and health, we help more children graduate and get stable jobs, help families become financially stable and improve the overall health of our community."

Oh really? It seems to me there is more work being done in our local schools than in the UW to help more kids graduate from high school. The chamber and Go Topeka are more equipped to create jobs than the UW is. I think Housing & Credit Counseling, local financial advisors and Dave Ramsey programs in our churches do more to help people gain financial stability.

The UW's mission statement seems like a top-down, push-down into our community that doesn't really match the charitable giving style of Topeka.

I've heard plenty of United Way presentations over the years. After the change was made in recent years, I heard a presentation that sounded nebulous. The presenters could hardly make sense of it, let alone the people they were trying to convince.

How To Pay Down Student Debt Fast

College graduates last year entered the workforce with $35,051 in student debt on average.

It is common to meet college graduates with over $75,000 in student loans, even $90,000. They will be paying on these loans for the next 30 years. Many of these students will be approaching 60 when they are debt free. But if their housing costs were reduced, and they made a decent living wage, perhaps they could afford to send extra payments every month to their student loans, thereby reducing the terms by years.

Employers could provide matching student loan debt payments to help employees quickly pay off their debts. Some employers are doing this nationally. Next year, the health insurer Aetna will start matching employees student loan payments, paying up to $2,000 annually with a $10,000 lifetime maximum.

If you have $30,000 in student debt, you could pay it all off in five years with aggressive payments of $579.98 per month (6% interest), according to a loan calculator at bankrate.com. Let’s say during that same five-year period, you automatically invest $420 per month into the Standard & Poors 500 Index every month through a brokerage account at Charles Schwab or TD Ameritrade. If you earn a 10% annual rate of return, you will have $33,214.60 in five years. This five-year plan requires $1,000 per month going into debt service and investments. You may have to work overtime or a second job. In five years, your debt is paid off and you have a substantial investment account. With that substantial savings, you could buy a house, start a family, open a business or go on an extended vacation.

Let's say you have $60,000 in student debt at 6% interest. If you sent $1,159.97 per month to the loan, you would pay it off in five years. To pay off the same loan in 10 years, you would have to pay $666.12 every month. To pay off $60,000 at 6% interest over 30 years, the payment is $359.73. Most people fear they cannot afford to make a payment of $1,159.97 per month, but if you could find a way, you could cut your loan's term from 30 years to five.

It is cheaper to live in Topeka than many other places around the world. If Topeka can market itself as better living for less expense, many people would consider staying here or moving to Topeka from another community. Topeka has to market itself as a dynamic place to live and work, with affordable housing and support for cycling, organic foods, craft beer, music, entertainment and the arts.

Don’t be a slave to a student loan for the rest of your life. Instead, work hard, live cheap, and use discretionary income to pay down debt quickly and save money. You will get ahead faster in life without debt. With no debt, your world gets larger because you can afford to do more than just slave away for the bankers.

Why Berkshire Hathaway Stock Is Going Higher

Berkshire Hathaway trades like a financial, but should be considered a congolomerate.
The company gets most of its earnings from its non-financial businesses.
The stock has 17% upside if the market realizes it's erred in valuing the company.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/4023712-berkshire-hathaway-stock-going-higher

Kansas Trader Profits From Day Trading In Union Pacific Stock

http://seekingalpha.com/article/4020401-experiment-day-trading

My Experiment With Day Trading

Nov 07, 2016, 6:52 AM ETUnion Pacific Corporation (UNP) Stock

Michael Hooper

962 FollowersI made four day trades with Union Pacific yielding $811.83.

• I made four day trades with Union Pacific yielding $811.83.
• Union Pacific's bottom is around $88 per share.
• Jesse Livermore loved trading UNP.

I have been a long-term investor for 23 years. I stayed away from day trading because of its higher risk/reward potential. I was conservative, I bought solid companies like Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) (BRK.B), Union Pacific (UNP) and Church & Dwight (CHD) and held on through good times and bad times. I was rewarded for being patient.

However, I have always been intrigued by day trading after reading an article about a trader in The Omaha World-Herald by my friend Jim Rasmussen. The story, published in the 1990s, focused on a rock musician who played in bands at night and worked as a day trader during the day. The trader made and lost thousands, but generally made money. At one point, he was up over $60,000 and decided to cash out and pay off his mortgage.

Photo by Michael Hooper

I spent several months studying trading techniques. I talked to my broker about the requirements at Charles Schwab. I was told I need a minimum $25,000 in my account to do day trading.

After Union Pacific's third quarter earnings came out, the stock fell from $93 per share to $88 per share. I've owned UNP for many years and know the company well. I like the stock because I feel the downside is minimal at this point. The company is strong financially and its volumes have improved in recent weeks. I feel there is a bottom around $88 per share.

In the third quarter, UNP offset the loss of coal volumes with gains in productivity and pricing. Union Pacific's total traffic was down 2% in Week 43 with 171,009 carloadings. This beats trends early in the year when Union Pacific volumes were falling 9% to 10%. Farmers raised another big crop this year. Grain volumes were up 20% for Union Pacific in Week 43, up 21% fourth quarter to date and up 10% year to date, to 301,108 carloads.

The Big Trade

On Oct. 31, I decided to buy 4,000 UNP shares at $88.6582 per share. I am looking for $0.07 to $0.09 profit per share. Nine cents would yield $360.00 profit. When I placed my first trade, my heart started racing; I was filled with fear and excitement. The stock immediately fell and I was down $900. Yikes. I held on. The stock returned to the $88.60s and then ran into the $88.70s and I sold at $88.7448, for a profit of $320.76 after commissions.

I did a similar trade three more times this week, always in the morning, when there are a lot of bulls and bears chasing this stock. The stock moves quickly up and down. I have to stay in front of the trade or I will lose. I avoided trades late in the day in case there was not enough time for the stock to move. I made $94.36 on my second trade. I made $334.35 on my third trade.

The range in Union Pacific is staggering. In the first hour of trading Friday, the stock opened at $88.70 but quickly fell to $88.38, then reversed course and climbed all the way to $89.23 before pulling back. All I need is $0.09, and I'm good. I bought 4,000 shares at $88.78 and then quickly sold at $88.802. I made $62.36 after commissions. I should have held on a little longer.

Each time, I held the stock less than 20 minutes, sometimes only a few minutes.

I made a total of $811.83 in profit. I will have to pay taxes on short-term gains, which will likely be around 30%, which would reduce my profit to around $568.28.

What's interesting is that while I did these trades four times in five days, these trades could have been duplicated multiple times each day. My first trade could have been duplicated three times in the same day, I only participated in the trade once that day. My friend Chris Wright, a Topeka businessman, said the real challenge for any investor is holding onto a profit. Too often we quickly gamble it away. So after each profitable trade, I walked away. I had no losing trades, although I was prepared to sell out and cut my losses to -$1,000 if I had to.

Jesse Livermore, the famous trader behind the book, "Reminiscences of a Stock Operator," also traded heavily in Union Pacific in the early 1900s, he bought and sold thousands of shares of UNP. He was actually alive and working when The Chicago Cubs won the World Series in 1908. Livermore gambled big and became a millionaire but lost his fortune near the end of his life. I don't want to become the next Jesse Livermore, no way.

But his trading observations are useful. "It takes a man a long time to learn all the lessons of all his mistakes. They say there are two sides to everything. But there is only one side to the stock market; and it is not the bull side or the bear side, but the right side," says page 36 of "Reminiscences of a Stock Operator."

Day trading is extremely stressful and not for the weak at heart. The best trader is a master of Intellect/Emotion, meaning the trader operates with a set of rules that works for him or her and sticks by them, regardless of emotion. I have a loss limit of $1,000. If a trade goes south, I will sell out and cut my losses. I think it is best to focus on one stock that you know very well. You understand the company, you can predict its earnings and you know when it is overvalued or undervalued.

I think it is possible to incorporate day trading into part of a much larger portfolio strategy, but I wouldn't recommend day trading for most investors. My default strategy is to remain invested in my core holdings of stocks, bonds and ETFs. I am overweight the S&P 500 because its performance beats most money managers. When I see a core holding like Union Pacific fall into a trading range, I might consider a possible day trade. If the market is ripe for a good trade, I will do it. But if conditions look sour, I'm staying away.

I like Schwab's StreetSmart Edge technology because it shows all the bids and asks with some market depth. This helps me get a feel for where the trades are going. When I place a trade I watch it like a hawk. I will not leave my desk until it is done. If the stock is volatile, it is possible to enter and exit my trades in less than 10 minutes. There is a lot of volatility in the market because of the presidential election. And volatility is good for traders.

How To Retire at Age 30

By Michael Hooper

When I was in my 20s, I paid off $2,200 in credit card debt and saved up $5,000. I quit my newspaper job, moved to Europe and retired. I lived cheap for a long time in Greece. This was a life-changing experience for me. Now 53, I look back at my diary from 1990 with amazement and wonder at all the places and people I met in Europe. I did not have a real job for six months, although I did work part-time at a hotel in Athens.

Michael Hooper in Santorini, Greece, 1990

Today, youth face much greater challenges. I only had $6,000 in debt from college loans when I graduated in December 1987, and my monthly payment was just $55.00. Today, students are graduating with astronomical levels of debt. Many youth will be paying student loans for the rest of their lives. If you have $30,000 in student debt, you could pay it all off in five years with aggressive payments of $566.14 per month (5% interest).

Let’s say during that same five-year period, you save $433 per month, and you automatically invest the money into the S&P 500 every month through a brokerage account at Charles Schwab or TD Ameritrade. At a 10% annual rate of return, you will have $34,113 in five years.

Let’s say you start doing this plan immediately after college at age 25. This five-year plan requires $1,000 per month going into debt service/investments. You may have to work overtime or a second job. By age 30, you are debt free and have a substantial investment account.

You move to one of the best cheapest places to live, like Thailand or Vietnam or Argentina, where you only have to spend $300-$400 per month for an apartment. You live cheap, you make your money last a long time.

I met several people who lived many years on their savings. When I was in Greece, I met a 32-year-old chemist from Chicago who had saved enough money for two years of travel. I lived six months on $5,000 in 1990. I could have stayed working at the hotel in Athens, and extended my trip, but I wanted to return to America for a regional reporting job. Plus I was broke and tired of living like a vagabond and missed my friends and family in the states. I had been sleeping on park benches in Barcelona.

Americans will have to sacrifice to live below their take-home income. But this can be a good thing. It's cheaper to cook food at home than to eat out. And the food at home is probably better for you. I know a poor man who is extremely healthy because he lives on rice and beans and rides his bicycle daily and works in his garden. Steady incomes don’t necessarily translate into healthy living. Two thirds of Americans are overweight.

Dreamers who are serious about retiring early must live cheap. They work hard at their jobs.  They take a sandwich with them to work and snack on popcorn. At the end of each day, they cook a good meal for themselves. Their passions don’t cost much. A walk through the park with the dog, a stroll through the garden, a trip to the library -- all these cost nothing, no money spent, yet you might witness a glowing sunset or find a great movie to borrow from the library.

Why did I retire at age 26? To see the world, to experience new cultures, new people, new ways of thinking and living. I wanted to be like Hemingway and Fitzgerald, I wanted to live overseas and look back at America. I wrote several short stories that revealed in me some truth about who I was and what I was doing with my life. I went to Europe to suck out all the knowledge and wisdom of thousands and thousands of years of civilization. I did not want to look back on my 20s and 30s and say I did not live.

I discovered a secret for better living in that special experience. To live each day like an adventure, like I’m going on a special trip, to see a new place, to carry on a new conversation, to go somewhere I had never been before, with people I never knew, and to cherish and love my family, my friends and my home.