Daily Archives: November 25, 2021

The Parallels Between Bitcoins Principles And How To Be Idle – Bitcoin Magazine

Posted: November 25, 2021 at 12:42 pm

Many Bitcoiners have highlighted parallels between some of Bitcoins ideals and the book first published in 1997, The Sovereign Individual. To take you in an altogether different direction, Ill draw attention to a relatively unknown and gentler text, which Ive noticed also contains a number of parallels to the Bitcoin world. This is How To Be Idle, written by Tom Hodgkinson, who also edits the Idler magazine.

Written in 2004, it predates Bitcoin. But it extols libertarian virtues in the same ways many Bitcoiners do today, such as extolling the virtues of freedom from debt, freedom from consumer culture and excessive consumption, and freedom from the wage slavery which can result from such.

Firstly, lets establish some neutral ground on the definitions front, and define the word idle as simply inactive. Many would use the word idle as a straight swap for lazy, which has negative connotations, but as well see throughout this article, its not quite that simple. Hodgkinson is aware of the many ways modern day society preys on idleness, and looks to fight back, often offering historical precedent.

Whilst How To Be Idle isnt directly concerned with economic policy or money, there are persistent themes that are symptomatic of the age we live in which Bitcoiners especially will recognise. Lets dive into some of the main ones.

Why do we work? The book is forthright at asking the reader to evaluate the status quo. To quote the text:

The idea of the job as the answer to all woes, individual and social, is one of the most pernicious myths of modern society. It is promoted by politicians, parents, newspaper moralists and leaders of industry, on the left and on the right: paradise they say, is full employment.

It is a myth convenient to the rich that it is your patriotic duty to work hard. The book quotes the late British journalist and writer Jeffrey Bernard ... as if there was something romantic and glorious about hard work ... If there was something romantic about it, the Duke of Westminster would be digging his own f*cking garden, wouldnt he?

Ahem no punches pulled there then! But there is a subtext here that most Bitcoiners will recognise, with implicit references to Keynesian economics and resulting policies which dominate our lives. In the 21st century the lot for the average working person doesnt necessarily appear to be getting easier, as aptly shown by WTFhappenedin1971.com. It generally requires two household incomes to support a family, rather than one a generation or two ago. Home prices are sky high. Though mortgage rates are low, the path for the young to own a property is to take out huge debt in the form of a mortgage.

Society is led, naturally, into a lifetime of work. And due to the pressures of inflation, if youre standing still, youre going backwards.

Technology should increase the quality of our lives and make them easier, but it often doesnt feel like this is happening. To quote the book ... technology has been a complete disaster when it comes to lightening the load. Labour saving devices have not saved any labour.

Over to Bitcoin. As Jeff Booth covers in the book The Price Of Tomorrow, technology is gradually replacing labour in many areas and the greatest changes are still ahead of us. All else being equal, this brings enhanced productivity, but our economic system requires endless debt, Gross Domestic Product growth and inflation to function, and ends up fighting against the tide and negating the benefits for the majority.

Generating inflation via quantitative easing and other measures deepens socioeconomic divides and centralises power. The question we should be asking is how to share the spoils of technological advancement more equally. One answer is Bitcoin.

Many of the books 24 chapters (each for a notional hour of the day) are devoted to extolling the virtues of what are, at heart, simple pleasures. Most of these concern the use of our time the most precious commodity we have, and the need to claim it back for ourselves.

Some examples include, having a lie in! More examples from the book would be: celebrating the art of enjoying a leisurely lunch; fishing; drinking tea; Ttaking naps; smoking; the ramble and the lost art of the flaneur (meaning a pedestrian walking the streets for nothing more but for pleasure and to pass the time) As well as recognizing and acquiescing to our innate love of a party, of music, and dancing.

Admittedly, the smoking chapter might feel dated to some, 17 years on, but its consistent with the libertarian ethos throughout. Personally Ive always liked the observation that smoking is the only pursuit one can indulge in where you can simultaneously be doing something and yet be doing nothing.

The idler enjoys earthly pleasures ... Talking, sharing ideas with friends old and new, this is the lifeblood of the loafer. And so the book identifies another simple, life-enhancing pleasure.

Moreover, Hodgkinson notes, this is a facet in which humans thrive:

ideas emerge in conversation and are embellished, improved, contradicted or torn about by the assembled company...

... Ones ideas are developed, modified. They are taken down from the museum shelf, dusted and put on view. And their true worth is revealed: the diamond turns out to be a piece of glass, the dusty stone a rare fossil.

The world of Bitcoin is nothing if not an endless conversation, an open discussion being played out in meet-ups, Twitter, Reddit and so on. The passage above reminded me of a tweet sent by Preston Pysh to Steve Hanke:

Your idler believes in both the power of dreams, and in contemplating the moon and the stars. To quote the book Stars ... have inspired our philosophers and poets to dream of better worlds on Earth Freedom is out there, somewhere, glittering, almost visible, but just out of our reach.

However, the text points to our use of language in society to demonstrate the negative use of terms that befit your average idler, and nowhere is this more on display than in the chapters entitled The Moon And The Stars and A Waking Dream.

We generally disapprove of dreamers or star gazers in todays society. Dont believe me? Consider the negative connotation with which we use the following terms:head in the clouds, starry eyed, lunatic, on another planet, away with the fairies; yet it is praiseworthy to be considered anchored, down to earth, or grounded.

The notorious idler Oscar Wilde neatly inverted these sentiments with the following famous quote:

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

Bitcoin? It embodies a vision of a better world, but the vision takes work, and its up there in the stars for sure. A friend of mine was contemplating bitcoin and said to me last year I dont get it. Its either worth a million dollars a coin, or nothing. Ultimately, he has rejected it as he cant compute the world where the bitcoin price has come from nothing barely a decade ago, to one, as Michael Saylor views it, where ... its going up forever, Laura.

Its much more than just potential price appreciation though. As outlined by the likes of Alex Gladstein and Tomer Strolight, its a vision of a better future. A global sound money aiding the unbanked, decreasing our collective time preference, and helping the billions of people currently living under authoritarian regimes.

Getting back to Hodgkinson in How To Be Idle, he states that Real dreams are about seeing things that others miss. If you have your head in the clouds, you can see the world more clearly.

There is an entire chapter devoted to riot. Am I stretching this connection to Bitcoin too far? Lets consider a dictionary definition of the word: a wild or turbulent disturbance created by a large number of people.

Hodgkinson notes Paradoxically, idlers are given to riot. Our rulers tend to use relentless drudgery to create oppressing, grinding bureaucracies which stifle us with boredom. Every now and again brute force is wheeled out. The idlers modus operandi, on the other hand, is to sit around talking and thinking for months, and then to act with impetuosity, with rapid and violent diligence, with a visible outburst of passion, a rising.

Ultimately, sadly, Hodgkinson questions the ultimate impact of most of these actions throughout history on society, and concludes at the end of this chapter that perhaps the only sane thing to do is to create ones own paradise: One might conclude sadly that a better place to effect change is in oneself and in ones own immediate surroundings.

This for me contained shades of the famous quote by Friedrich Hayek in 1983 which many bitcoiners cite: We cant take it [money] violently out of the hands of government. All we can do is by some sly, roundabout way introduce something they cant stop.

Separate to the above themes, there is a good narrative for bitcoin as the perfect savings vehicle for your archetypal idler. I have heard gold in the past described as a non-investment. It sits out of the financial system. It yields nothing. It just is. And yet it has more than matched many stock markets in terms of overall returns over a 50-year period (evidenced by link below).

Nowadays, bitcoin is surely the ultimate non-investment, surpassing gold easily in its monetary properties. And its a match made in heaven for idlers. Physically, it comprises nothing. It yields nothing. It costs nothing to hold. It costs near nothing to acquire (and it will only get cheaper Jack Mallers is wholly right about the race to zero fees in this respect). And yet what has been the best investment over the last decade? Simply buying and holding bitcoin.

To do nothing at all is the most difficult thing in the world, the most difficult and the most intellectual. -Oscar Wilde, The Critic As Artist, on HODLING Bitcoin

As a frustrated value investor, it maddens me that we currently drive every individual now to be their own fund manager, being pushed out on the risk curve to try and juggle investments and keep pace with monetary debasement. Under a bitcoin standard, this becomes much simpler. A bitcoin holding naturally retains purchasing power as a fixed percentage of the overall supply, by doing ... nothing.

How about altcoins, I hear you say? What would your self-respecting idler make of air drops, yield farming, atomic swaps, gas, rehypothecation, staking..?

I think you know the answer. I can only revert to the wisdom of Albert Einstein at this moment:

Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler. - Albert Einstein

Its Bitcoin.

Fast-forward from 2004 to the present day, and its unclear whether the ongoing Idler magazine, as still edited by Tom Hodgkinson, has yet recognised the alliance of bitcoin and idlers. I could only find a single disappointing Idler article published in 2018 by Andrew Smart:The Liberating Promise Of Bitcoin Is A Fantasy.

However, Dominic Frisby is a friend of the Idler magazine and also a Bitcoiner, so perhaps there is hope. In any case, let me put out an open message to Tom Hodgkinson. Hes probably got his feet up somewhere on a chaise longue, having a nap. He certainly doesnt waste his time on Twitter. But if anyone knows him, given the chance Id happily write an article for the Idlerto reach out to all those aspiring idlers worldwide and highlight the benefits of Bitcoin.

For Bitcoiners and idlers are natural bedfellows. And for anyone to have the best chance of pursuing some of the laudable ideals outlined in How To Be Idle (at least without having a huge inheritance), they need access to the soundest money to preserve the value of their precious time.

Bitcoin and idlers were made for each other, given that bitcoin is the ultimate idle investment. Moreover, idlers are in control of their time, the most precious commodity we all have. Do not mistake this as just laziness its that in exercising this control over time, they do not automatically prize work over leisure, consumption over non-consumption, activity over inactivity.

For inactivity can be hugely valuable. They think, they dream. They talk, they scheme, they plot.

They riot.

And what is Bitcoin if not an idea? Speech? A dream? And ultimately, the most peaceful and potentially largest riot the world has ever seen?

Please read the book, and let me know your thoughts!

This is a guest post by BitcoinActuary. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.

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Researchers to hear textile workers’ views of working in fashion industry – De Montfort University

Posted: at 12:42 pm

Garment workers in Leicester are being sought to take part in a study to understand what can be done to improve their lives and working conditions.

Researchers from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) and the Rights Lab based at University of Nottingham, are hoping that their findings will help to make changes in the industry.

The study was commissioned by the new Leicester Garment and Textiles Workers Trust, which has been given 1m by fast fashion retailer Boohoo to spend on improvements.

Garment workers can take part in the study through a 30-minute anonymous questionnaire, available from Sharma Womens Centre in Leicester or Hope for Justice this week. Everyone will receive a supermarket voucher for taking part.

Participants will be asked about their experiences working in the garment sector good and bad and if they have ideas around how peoples working lives can be improved.

Findings from the survey will be used to make recommendations to the Leicester Garment and Textile Workers Trust. The study will also examine other actions businesses, government agencies, NGOs and communities can undertake to improve the lives of garment workers.

Dr Alison Gardner, Rights Lab Associate Director (Communities and Society Programme) and Nottingham Research Fellow in Slavery-Free Communities, is leading the project. She said: This study will provide a holistic overview of the current situation in Leicester with an emphasis on workers perspectives. We are pooling all of the insights and experiences from across the community to identify realistic, evidence-based solutions that local partners can work on together.

Co-researcher Professor Dave Walsh, Professor in Criminal Investigation at DMU, said: It is vital that the community are involved in helping provide solutions to the problem of labour exploitation in the garment industry in Leicester so that the rights of workers are respected where, for example, they receive a fair wage for the work they do.

Khudeja Amer-Sharif, CEO of Shama Womens Centre, said: Shama has a 35-year history of empowering thousands of women in Leicester, many of whom have gained machinist skills in our purpose-built industrial unit; helping them gain work in the garment industry.

More importantly we are committed to ensuring that women seeking work in the garment industry are armed with the knowledge of their employment rights and the confidence to seek help when needed.

I believe this research will be key in identifying the barriers that many of these women face and inform workable solutions to address some of the ethical issues facing the garment industry."

Paul McAnulty, UK & Europe Programme Director at the charity Hope for Justice, which has a Community Engagement Hub in the East Midlands, said: We have been helping people to empower themselves and others to freedom, and we are proud to be working alongside the partners on this project. Together, we want to ensure that the true nature of exploitation in Leicesters textile industry is understood.

Posted on Wednesday 24th November 2021

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For Thanksgiving, some answers on the meaning of life – Frederick News Post

Posted: at 12:42 pm

Its Thanksgiving, and whatever your manner of celebration, chances are that youll enjoy some time off from work. If, like most of us, youre gathering with family and friends, you might even pause to consider what exactly gives meaning to your life.

And just in time for the long weekend, Pew Research Center is out with a survey of 19,000 people in 17 developed countries on exactly that question. Respondents were given 17 possible sources of meaning and asked to rank them. Whats remarkable is how consistent the answers are but also how the U.S. is different.

Family dominated. In 14 of the 17 countries, family ranked first; in another it was tied for first. In the other two, family ranked third. Nearly everywhere, occupation or material well-being occupied the second spot. And although friends made the top five in 13 of the surveyed countries, the U.S. was one of two countries where friends ranked second. Families and friends: the people who sit around the Thanksgiving table.

The U.S. was also unique in being the only developed economy where religious faith made the top five sources of meaning. Nowhere else did faith make even the top 10. The nations degree of religious belief continues to distinguish us from other developed countries a truth many seem to find disagreeable, but which some of us consider valuable and important.

All of which brings us back to work: the thing Thanksgiving gives most of us time off from. We dont know how many people like their jobs. In the U.S., job satisfaction is as high as 85 percent in some surveys, and under 50 percent in others. A recent survey by Goodhire found Generation Z to be most unhappy with their jobs. (Its not clear how greatly that last result is influenced by pandemic conditions.)

But whether or not were happy with our work, in the Pew survey, occupation ranked as the fourth-most important source of meaning in the U.S., just behind material well-being, for which work is the typical source, unless you inherit wealth (or become well-off through some less savory means).

This being Thanksgiving season, however, perhaps we should all be giving thanks for the existence of work itself.

Seriously.

The historian Jan Lucassen, in his splendid new volume The Story of Work, reminds us that although slavery has been a dominant form of labor throughout history and in every culture, where labor has been freer, workers for millennia have taken pride in a job well done. For many, it seems, work was a source of meaning in life long before we set about the conscious search for meaning in life.

Its common these days for even well-salaried professionals to complain about the drudgery of work, but Lucassen suggests that weve never had it so good. Even as enslavement faded as a source of labor worldwide, wage-work was harsh: Around 1830, earning a living in Britain required, on average, more than 300 11-hour days, or 3,300 hours net per year. True, the early hunter-gatherers worked less than many of todays professionals do an estimated 8 hours a day for men and 10 hours a day for women but they also had a life expectancy of perhaps 30 years, not least because their existence was ravaged by predators and disease.

The 19th-century utopians imagined that by now the human race, buoyed by mechanization, would lead lives of leisure, but that fantasy still lies somewhere in the misty future. Like other theorists, Lucassen points to the rising standard of living: Some people work hard because they like their work but others work hard to live up to the standard. He quotes an unemployed English miner from the 1960s: Frankly, I hate work. Of course, I could also say with equal truth that I love work.

Is our problem, then, that we like too many nice things? Turns out, the desire for nice things also isnt new. Lucassen points to evidence, for example, that already in the eighth or ninth centuries B.C., the development of tools was hastened by the desire to cut and polish precious stones.

Yet leisure does matter, and relatively speaking, we enjoy a lot of it. The rise of free labor, alongside improving technology and a burgeoning welfare state, has led to lives where we start our careers later (all that schooling first), work fewer hours (difficult to believe but true), and generally have the option, at some point, of deciding to lay down the burden of work and enjoy our relatively extended life spans.

Thats more time for family and friends the things that give life meaning than at any time in recorded history. And if thats not reason enough to enjoy a happy Thanksgiving, I dont know what is.

Stephen L. Carter is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is a professor of law at Yale University and was a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. His novels include The Emperor of Ocean Park, and his latest nonfiction book is Invisible: The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down Americas Most Powerful Mobster.

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Like most of the fashion industry, there’s a blind spot in Country Road’s ethical focus – The Conversation AU

Posted: at 12:42 pm

Amid the catwalk shows and millinery workshops, a key theme of this years Melbourne Fashion Week was sustainablity, offering designers with strong ethical foundations an opportunity to join our runways, or opening up dialogue on sustainability into our talks program.

Events during the week included industry representatives discussing shifting the status quo and moving beyond greenwashing.

On the panel at the latter event was Eloise Bishop, head of sustainability at Country Road Group, one of Australias largest specialty fashion retailers. Meanwhile workers from the company were on strike, chaining themselves together and staging other protests outside Country Road stores in pursuit of better wages and working conditions.

Among the complaints of these workers, mostly women from the companys distribution warehouse in Melbournes west, was being paid an average of A$23 an hour, compared to about A$30 for workers doing similar work at the Pacific Brands warehouse across the road.

On Monday the workers returned to work after reaching an agreement with the company that includes improved job security, union recognition and a 13.3% pay rise over four years. Thats about an extra $3 an hour.

While this has brought the strike to a celebratory end, questions remain. How could a company so highly regarded for its commitment to sustainability have provoked staff to strike for almost a fortnight?

Country Road Group is a subsidiary of South Africas Woolworths Holdings Ltd (which also owns David Jones). The companys clothing brands include Country Road, Witchery, Trenery, Politix and Mimco. Despite the pandemic, in the past fiscal year Country Road Groups sales grew by 13.5% to A$1.05 billion.

The company is considered by many an industry leader on ethics and sustainability. The 2021 Ethical Fashion Guide compiled by Baptist World Aid, for example, awarded it an overall A grade. It did well on four of five rating criteria, scoring an A+ on its policies and governance, A+ for trading and risk, A for supplier relationships and human rights monitoring, and another A for environmental sustainability.

On worker empowerment, however, it scored just a C.

These results suggest the company has a blind spot in addressing concerns about labour conditions in its supply chain.

In part because of the disparities between how the fashion industry markets its products and the way workers are treated, the global fashion industry is a notorious example of exploitation engendered by opaque supply chains.

Questions about ethics become divided across asymmetrical lines: the global North as fashion consumer and the global South as fashion producer.

Read more: Why the fashion industry keeps failing to fix labour exploitation

Attempts to bring greater transparency and accountability to these supply chains include Australias Modern Slavery Act. This requires large companies to submit an annual statement to a public registry outlining efforts to identify and eliminate the risk of exploitative labour practices.

Country Road Groups 2020 Modern Slavery statement states the company is committed to upholding the highest social, ethical and environmental standards in its supply chains.

But commitment to ethics is arguably easier when the problem of labour rights is far away and things like modern slavery statements (which rely on third party auditing) can help to conceal unethical practices. What happens when the issue is on our doorstep?

Read more: At last, Australia has a Modern Slavery Act. Here's what you'll need to know

We often think about the concept of a living wage in relation to garment workers overseas. But these warehouse workers told their union representatives they could not afford to live on the wages paid by Country Road Group, much less clothe themselves or their children in the very garments they pick and pack at the warehouse.

According to industry body the Australian Fashion Council, 77% of the 489,000 workers employed in Australias fashion and textile industrys workforce are female. This makes fair pay and conditions in the industry an important driver of womens economic advancement. Industrial action is about more than money; it is about respect and recognition.

Responsibility for change in the fashion industry is frequently feminised. Women are not only the primary workforce; they are at the front lines of sustainable action, consumer activism and labour rights movements. It was a proposed strike by members of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union in New York in 1909 that led to the establishment of International Womens Day.

The move towards sustainability and ethical production in the fashion industry is necessary. But if action does not extend to the realities of all workers across the supply chain, the rhetoric is empty.

Note: co-author Lauren Kate Kelly is a researcher with the United Workers Union, which covers Country Road warehouse employees.

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Former PCC appointed new chair of the GLAA – Police Professional

Posted: at 12:42 pm

Former PCC appointed new chair of the GLAA

Former police and crime commissioner (PCC) Julia Mulligan has been confirmed as the new chair of the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA).

Nov 24, 2021

By Paul Jacques

She takes over from Margaret Beels, who has stood down after more than ten years in the role, both for the GLAA and its predecessor the Gangmasters Licensing Authority.

Ms Mulligan was the PCC for North Yorkshire, before taking on dual governance in the region as one of the countrys first police, fire and crime commissioners in 2018, subsequently sitting on the national Fire Standards Board.

She was a director of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners for six years. During that time she chaired the Police Reform and Transformation Board, set up by the Home Secretary to lead the transformation of policing across England and Wales.

Ms Mulligan held three national portfolios Victims, Rural Affairs and Integrity and Transparency, working closely with the then Independent Police Complaints Commission and the Independent Office for Police Conduct on reform of the police complaints system.

She has been a member of the advisory panel to the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner since January 2019, chair of the Independent Domestic Abuse Service since January 2020 and the chair of the Police Advisory Board for England and Wales since April 2021.

Ms Mulligan said: Im delighted to be appointed chair of the GLAA. Protecting vulnerable workers from exploitation is something I am hugely passionate about and I look forward to helping play my part in being able to do that, supporting the dedicated team at the GLAA.

Ms Mulligan, who has been a non-executive director on the board of the GLAA since May 2020, was the Governments preferred candidate for post.

Her position was confirmed following a pre-appointment hearing with the Home Affairs Select Committee earlier this month.

The committee said on the basis of the evidence provided by Ms Mulligan at this hearing, we have concluded that she is a suitable person for the post.

Ms Mulligan will be responsible to the Home Secretary in delivering the strategic objectives, governance and performance of the GLAA.

The GLAA is responsible for protecting vulnerable and exploited workers. It investigates reports of worker exploitation and illegal activity, including human trafficking, forced labour and offences under minimum wage or employment agency legislation.

The GLAA licensing scheme regulates businesses that provide workers to the fresh produce supply chain and horticulture industry, to make sure they meet the employment standards required by law.

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Yahoo!, Sports Illustrated Reporting Dave Aranda Is About To Get $Paid … To Stay at Baylor – Our Daily Bears

Posted: at 12:41 pm

Yahoo!s Pete Thamel, formerly of Sports Illustrated, tweeted the following this morning in response to SE365s tweet about a video interview that Aranda did with Joel Klatt. That was convoluted, but its worth the watch.

I want to be clear about somethingI dont really have sources and never have. Ive not actively sought to cultivate them, and we here at ODB, basically as a matter of practice, do not want to break news. We have from time to time, but the standard for what I would consider confirmed enough to be reportable is so high that it would take a lot.

That being said, sometimes people reach out to tell a few of us things, and this fits with those things, which can be generally stated as follows: 1) Aranda interviewed at LSU and then turned down whatever offer he gave them, 2) the new football ops center will have Arandas fingerprints all over it and is a major selling point for keeping him in Waco, 3) there will be an extension, and it will be sizable, particularly if Aranda wins the Big 12 this year and a major bowl, and 4) insane NFL guarantees aside, Baylor does not lose coaches it wants to keep, and it was never going to go quietly into the night on a guy that seems to fit here so well.

Now, does this mean its a done deal that Aranda is staying? Of course not. Things change. No matter how much you love your coach, remember that their profession is one of mercenaries. Until the ink is dry on that extension and the terms are announced, I wont feel really good about anything. But I feel pretty good right now, and I think you should, too.

Besides, its Thanksgiving! Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

UPDATE: Ross Dellenger of SINow has also weighed in to confirm.

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Binance CEO: We don’t need to convince Warren Buffett to invest in crypto – Yahoo Finance

Posted: at 12:40 pm

Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao says it's totally OK if billionaire investors like Warren Buffett don't get into the cryptocurrency space, it's not for everyone.

In fact, Zhao thinks the Berkshire Hathaway CEO would be wise not to get involved.

"I wouldn't convince him to invest in crypto. I think it's not necessary that everybody has to invest in crypto," Zhao said on Yahoo Finance Live. "My mom doesn't use the internet that much and that's fine. The internet is fine. My mom is fine. So I basically think it's a free world. We don't have to convince everybody to use crypto, it's only for the people that want to use crypto."

Zhao praised Buffett's investing skills after reading a book about the Oracle of Omaha, "Warren Buffett: Inside the Ultimate Money Mind."

"I recently just stumbled upon it, and it's a great book, actually," he said. Buffett "has many investment theses that are timeless. And that still applies to crypto. It's just that he's not personally interested in crypto."

Even though Buffett isn't too keen on crypto, Zhao said he thinks they have similar investing strategies.

"He likes to hold a small number of stocks that he knows well. And he doesn't want to diversify over across hundreds of stocks. And that's very similar to my personal mentality. I only hold BMB and BTC. I don't diversify myself across different crypto assets," Zhao said.

He added that Buffett "is at a different stage in his life where I think the learnings, the philosophies, the teachings are valuable to the world. He is super successful which I respect a lot. We don't need to get him into crypto. He used a flip phone based on a couple years ago. I get worried if he uses crypto, he may not have the necessary skills or the knowledge on how to keep his own crypto safe."

Buffett has been a vocal critic of crypto, famously calling it "rat poison" in a 2018 interview. Buffett's righthand man Charlie Munger called bitcoin "disgusting and contrary to the interests of civilization" at Berkshire's annual meeting earlier this year.

Story continues

While Zhao praised Buffett's investing acumen, he had sharper words for another member of the billionaire club.

"Well, I don't intend to be sassy on Twitter... In his tweet he said I am shady," said Zhao on Yahoo Finance Live, when asked about a recent Twitter exchange with Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Binance suspended dogecoin withdrawals on Nov. 11 due to a glitch during a network update. Musk a long-time proponent of dogecoin tweeted Tuesday morning that the Binance suspension looked "shady."

Added Zhao, "I am not aggressive by nature, but not submissive or cowardly when it comes to defending our business. I view defending Binance as my job and the crypto industry as my life's mission."

Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.

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New unemployment claims fall to 52-year low: Here are the best and worst states for jobs – Yahoo Finance

Posted: at 12:40 pm

The number of Americans applying for first-time jobless claims reached the lowest level since November 1969, with the number of filings dropping to 199,000.

Improvements in the labor market have been broad-based, with the weekly rate of those rendered newly unemployed falling precipitously across the country since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

As usual, the Labor Department's latest weekly report included a breakdown of the states and territories with the highest and lowest insured unemployment rates, or the ratio of people claiming jobless benefits divided by the overall size of the labor force. For a number of states, this key labor market metric improved to its best level in two years, showing an even smaller proportion of their populations were claiming jobless benefits than before the coronavirus outbreak.

"I don't even think you can call it an economic recovery anymore," Chris Rupkey, chief economist for FWDBONDS, told Yahoo Finance Live. "Remember the best economy in 50 years late in 2019? Well, we're way, way, way above that right now. I dont even think you can call this a reopening of the economy after the pandemic were miles and miles ahead of the fourth quarter of 2019.

South Dakota was the state with the lowest insured unemployment rate. As of the week ended Nov. 6, the state's rate was at 0.2% on a seasonally unadjusted basis. The last time this figure was below that level was in October 2019.

The national average insured unemployment rate was at 1.3% for the same week, or the lowest since December 2019. At its worst pandemic-era point in May 2020, during widespread lockdowns and layoffs, the insured unemployment rate peaked at 15.9% nationally.

Other states also posted insured unemployment rates well below the national average. Alabama's insured unemployment rate for the week ended Nov. 6 came in at 0.3%, or the lowest on record for the state based on data spanning back to the 1980s. Nebraska's rate also came in at 0.3% for the period, marking a two-year low.

Five states Kansas, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Utah and Virginia posted insured unemployment rates of 0.4% for the start of November, also representing a marked improvement from their pandemic-era highs.

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A little less than half of U.S. states and territories or 19 in total posted insured unemployment rates at or above the national average at the start of the month. Of these, the Virgin Islands saw the highest rate at 3.0%, which marked a slight uptick from the prior week's 2.2% rate. Still, this was well below its pandemic-era peak of nearly 18% in June 2020.

Meanwhile, Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C., and Alaska each posted insured unemployment rates of 2.7%, tying for the second-highest rates in the nation, based on the latest data. California followed close behind with an insured unemployment rate of 2.6%. Many of the states posting persistently elevated insured unemployment rates have been those that rely heavily on tourism and their service economies, given the ongoing recovery still taking place in these industries after the outbreak.

"Workers remain in high demand in a labor market where payrolls and the civilian labor force remain well below pre-pandemic levels," wrote Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist for High Frequency Economics, in a note Wednesday morning. "Developments on the health front remain a risk that may weigh on labor supply, but we expect workers to gradually return to the labor market, as the cushion from savings diminishes, supporting job growth over coming months."

Emily McCormick is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @emily_mcck

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Poll: As winter COVID surge begins, 74 percent of Americans say their lives have returned to ‘normal’ – Yahoo News

Posted: at 12:40 pm

Even though the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage on, nearly three-quarters of Americans (74 percent) now say their lives have returned to normal, according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll.

Its a number that underscores both the progress made possible by safe and effective vaccines and the challenges ahead as the holidays approach and yet another winter wave gets underway in the United States.

The survey of 1,696 adults, which was conducted from Nov. 17 to 19, found that only 15 percent say that things never stopped being normal for them a reminder of just how profoundly the virus has disrupted American life.

Yet as the U.S. pandemic enters its 21st month, most Americans now characterize their own lives as either "very normal" (21 percent) or "somewhat normal" (53 percent), considering the impact of COVID-19.

People enter a COVID-19 testing site in February in Seattle. (David Ryder/Getty Images)

Far fewer say their lives are either not very normal (19 percent) or not normal at all (7 percent).

After falling nationally for more than a month, COVID-19 cases are surging again in places with cooler weather that were spared the worst of the initial Delta spike in the U.S., which hit undervaccinated Southern states hardest this summer. Hospitalizations, up 6 percent nationwide over the last two weeks, are beginning to rise, too.

In that light, a return to normal may seem premature and for many, it very well could be. A full 70 percent of unvaccinated Americans, for instance the people who continue to account for nearly all COVID hospitalizations and deaths describe their own lives as normal, and about a quarter of them say their lives are very normal (25 percent) or never stopped being normal to begin with (27 percent). Thats more than the number of vaccinated Americans who say the same (19 percent and 8 percent, respectively).

Likewise, nearly two-thirds of unvaccinated Americans (65 percent) now say that COVID poses either a small threat (31 percent) or no threat (34 percent) to them personally, and just 42 percent of unvaccinated Americans compared to 63 percent of fully vaccinated Americans say they wear a mask in public always or most of the time.

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This suggests that in many cases, the people with the least protection against COVID are also the ones being the least careful about it a dynamic that could make the coming winter wave more difficult and deadly than it needs to be.

At the same time, however, its important to note that 71 percent of U.S. adults have been fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and for them, returning to normal was both the point and the promise of getting vaccinated in the first place.

The poll shows that promise is being fulfilled, as vaccinated Americans learn to live with COVID.

Asked why your life is back to normal again, 57 percent of Americans which represents nearly everyone who says their lives stopped being normal because of COVID-19 but now say things have returned to normal again mention vaccines. Given the chance to select from a series of reasons all that apply, 38 percent of respondents cited the reason as being I am vaccinated, 8 percent cited the children in my life are vaccinated, 21 percent cited the seniors in my life are vaccinated and 13 percent cited I got a booster shot.

Strollers in New York City enjoy a warm evening in February. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Asked on a follow-up question to name the single most important reason why their own lives are back to normal, 30 percent of Americans choose some aspect of vaccine availability far more than choose cases are low in my community (4 percent); businesses are fully reopened in my community (7 percent); I no longer have to wear a mask in public (5 percent); I know I can get a life-saving treatment if COVID makes me sick (3 percent); schools are open again (3 percent); or Ive already had COVID (4 percent).

As a result, behavior has changed dramatically over the past year including a near doubling in reports of unmasked gatherings. In October 2020, 26 percent of registered voters said they "remove[d] their mask outdoorswith people who aren't members of [their] immediate family" every day or more than once a week; today, 50 percent of registered voters say they do.

Back then, 19 percent of registered voters also said they "removed their mask indoors with people who aren't members of [their] immediate family" every day or more than once a week; today, 38 percent of registered voters say they do.

Similarly, the number of registered voters who now say they eat indoors at a restaurant (31 percent) and work unmasked in close proximity to others (32 percent) at least once a week is nearly twice as high as last October (17 percent and 18 percent, respectively).

And while only 30 percent of registered voters said they were planning to gather indoors with family and friends last Thanksgiving, 57 percent now say thats how theyre planning to celebrate this year.

As the hypercontagious Delta variant continues to spread across the Northeast and Upper Midwest and as protection from the initial vaccine doses wears off somewhat its reasonable to wonder (and worry) what effect increased indoor, unmasked gatherings will have on COVID rates this holiday season. Just one-third (34 percent) of fully vaccinated Americans say theyve already received a booster; less than half of seniors (49 percent) say the same. Along with lack of caution among the unvaccinated, waning immunity could exacerbate the U.S. winter wave.

A waiter serves food to customers dining indoors at Langer's Deli in Los Angeles in August. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

Yet even as they restore some semblance of normalcy in their own lives, most Americans (55 percent) continue to wear masks in public most or all of the time, and even more (71 percent) say no when asked if the pandemic is over in the U.S. Only 16 percent say yes.

Most Americans also think the pandemic will get worse (44 percent) or stay the same (39 percent) this fall and winter; just 16 percent think it will get better. Asked how long they envision wearing a mask after theyre no longer required, just 29 percent of Americans say never; the rest say whenever Im in public anywhere (19 percent); whenever Im in public, but just indoor spaces (24 percent); or only during flu/COVID/cold season (13 percent).

How to reconcile the return to normalcy with continued caution and even pessimism about the pandemic itself? Increasingly, Americans are learning to "live with" COVID by distinguishing between the risks to themselves and the risks to others.

Asked whether the pandemic is "over as it pertains to your own life" as opposed to whether its "over in the U.S." twice as many Americans (32 percent) say yes. And while 41 percent of Americans now describe COVID-19 as posing at least some threat to them personally, more say it still poses at least some threat to "others in your life" (52 percent) or to "America as a whole" (69 percent).

The partisan polarization that has plagued the United States response to COVID persists even here. Among those who voted for former President Donald Trump in the last election, 61 percent say the pandemic is over as it pertains to their own lives, versus just 16 percent of those who voted for President Biden. Likewise, 83 percent of Trump voters say COVID poses no threat or a small threat to them personally; 74 percent say it poses no threat or a small threat to others in their lives; and 62 percent say it poses no threat or a small threat to the United States as a whole.

President Biden discusses the authorization of COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 5-11, at the White House campus earlier in November. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

In contrast, the vast majority of Biden voters say COVID poses a big threat or some threat to the country as a whole (97 percent) or to others in their lives (72 percent), even as far fewer (55 percent) say the same about the personal threat posed by the virus.

That goes a long way toward explaining why 77 percent of Democrats wear a mask most of the time in public, compared to just 31 percent of Republicans despite the fact that similar numbers of Democrats (76 percent) and Republicans (82 percent) describe their own lives as normal.

Just 58 percent of Republicans say they have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, compared to 85 percent of Democrats, while only 32 percent of Republicans say they have already received a booster (13 percent) or would get one if available (19 percent), compared to 73 percent of Democrats (32 percent already received, 41 percent would get one if available).

As for the 26 percent of all Americans who say their lives are still not normal, they remain deeply divided over what the future holds. More say that they cannot envision life ever being normal again after COVID (9 percent) or that theyre not sure (9 percent) than say that they can envision a return to normalcy (8 percent).

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The Yahoo News survey was conducted by YouGov using a nationally representative sample of 1,696 U.S. adults interviewed online from Nov. 17 to 19, 2021. This sample was weighted according to gender, age, race and education, based on the American Community Survey, conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, as well as on 2020 presidential vote (or non-vote) and voter registration status. Respondents were selected from YouGovs opt-in panel to be representative of all U.S. adults. The margin of error is approximately 2.6 percent.

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Where to Invest in 2022 – Yahoo Finance

Posted: at 12:40 pm

worker and car among huge stacks of money under year 2022 Illustration by Delphine Lee

The U.S. stock market continues to astound with its resiliency, overcoming obstacle after obstacle like a gold-medal track star clearing hurdles. Pandemic? No longer much of a problem. The highest inflation since the '90s? Not a deal breaker. Record-high stock prices? We'll pay up and buy every dip that comes along, no matter how minuscule.

The S&P 500 index logged 64 new highs in 2021 (as of early November), the second-highest annual total in index history. Since our January 2021 outlook a year ago, the broad market benchmark has returned 35.8%, including dividends. We said at the time to expect low-double-digit returns, but that if we were off, it would be because we were too conservative. At midyear, the upper end of bullish 2021 price targets for the S&P 500 among Wall Street strategists reached the 4,600 mark. On Nov. 5 (the date for prices, returns and other data in this article), the index closed at 4,698.

Will the juggernaut continue in 2022?

Our answer is a qualified yes. It has proved to be a mistake to underestimate corporate America, and the market enjoys some strong fundamental underpinnings. But the old challenges remain, and new ones have surfaced.

So, once again, we encourage investors to moderate their expectations. You can only reopen an economy once (fingers crossed), and we are likely at or past peaks for growth rates in the economy and corporate profits.

"We head into the new year with a glass-half-full outlook," says Eric Freedman, chief investment officer at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. "But like most market environments, this one is a mosaic of risks, some forecastable and some not."

For 2022, we expect more-normalized stock market returns. That means something in the high single digits, plus between one and two points in dividends. Think somewhere a bit above 5,050 for the S&P 500, or north of 39,000 for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

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For now, in broad terms, we prefer stocks to bonds and U.S. markets over international offerings, and we like the looks of small companies, value-priced fare and companies that do well when the economy does and can cash in on supercharged consumer spending. Later in the year, in a more temperate post-COVID economy, look to larger-capitalization healthcare and technology names for long-term, stable growth.

Investors will have to pick their spots carefully in 2022 and may not be able to rely on a rising tide lifting all boats either in broad index terms or even within a particular investment style or sector. "It will be a decent year for stocks if you're a stock picker, a more modest year if you're an S&P 500 investor," says Lisa Shalett, chief investment officer at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.

Economic growth, although decelerating from a strong reopening bounce, is expected to remain robust in 2022, with the U.S. leading global developed economies.

The health of the American consumer is a big part of the story, says Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at securities firm Baird. "I'm bullish on the U.S. economy and U.S. stocks," he says. "Our economy is consumer-driven and consumption-based, and we emerged from the recession with consumers in a better position than they've been in long-term memory." Debt in relation to income is down, and debt service is manageable with still low, albeit rising, interest rates, he notes.

The Conference Board, a business and economic research group, forecasts U.S. gross domestic product growth of 3.8% in 2022. That's down from an estimated 5.7% in 2021 but well above the pre-pandemic trendline of 2.2% from 2010 through 2019. Kiplinger's forecast of 4% growth in 2022 is more optimistic than the Conference Board's. By 2023, many economists expect GDP growth to fall back to the 2% to 3% range.

With the economy on solid footing, the Federal Reserve has begun to peel away the crisis measures it instituted when the pandemic first hit. The Fed announced in November that it would start scaling back its massive bond-buying program, a process likely to conclude next summer. The last time the Fed tapered a bond-buying program aimed at shoring up the economy, in 2013 and 2014, the stock market dipped in a so-called "taper tantrum" but recovered nicely.

The central bank will likely start raising rates in the second half of 2022. Kiplinger sees two quarter-point hikes in the Fed's short-term benchmark rate in 2022, with hikes continuing into 2023. Look for the yields of 10-year Treasury notes to reach 2.3% by year-end 2022, up from 1.5% recently.

Rising rates put fixed-income investors in a bind, because bond prices typically move in the opposite direction of rates. You'll do best by venturing beyond plain-vanilla Treasuries.

"Most of our fixed-income picks are what we call non-core," says Shalett, "in areas like bank loans, preferred shares, convertible bonds, select mortgage-backed securities a lot of it is very nontraditional."

Given today's challenges, corporate profits are surprisingly strong, despite the trials of the pandemic, rising production costs, supply chain snafus and labor shortages.

U.S. companies recorded a brilliant third quarter, with an earnings growth rate for companies in the S&P 500 expected to be 41.5% when all the reports are tallied, according to earnings tracker Refinitiv. Nearly 81% of companies beat analysts' estimates in a typical quarter, only 66% do so.

When the books close on 2021, analysts expect profits to be up 49% from 2020 levels. Earnings will come back to earth in 2022, with analysts expecting annual growth more along the lines of 7% to 8%, closer to the long-term historical average. Expect the strongest growth in industrials and energy stocks, plus the consumer discretionary sector (companies that make or provide nonessential goods or services).

For investors worried that a stock market at all-time highs is too pricey, the strong earnings support should allay some fears. The market "melt-up" in 2021 (the opposite of a meltdown) has been led by a melt-up in earnings rather than by the inflating price-earnings ratios that drove stocks in 2020, notes economist and market strategist Ed Yardeni.

"An earnings-led bull market is much better than a P/E-led bull market; it's less prone to sell-offs because it is supported by fundamentally strong earnings," he says. The S&P 500's P/E has drifted down from a high of more than 23 to just over 21 recently, even as the index keeps climbing.

"That tells you how great earnings growth has been," says Tony DeSpirito, chief investment officer of U.S. Fundamental Equities at investment giant BlackRock. "That's been kind of lost on people."

Perhaps the biggest risk facing the market this year is one with a long reputation as a bull-crusher: inflation. Inflation erodes the value of financial assets and ushers in higher interest rates as central bankers try to tamp it down.

In October, inflation measured by the consumer price index was up 6.2% from a year earlier, the highest annual rate since November 1990. It marked the sixth straight month above 5%. Kiplinger expects inflation to hit 6.6% by year-end 2021 before falling back to 2.8% by the end of 2022 above the 2% average rate of the past decade.

"Inflation is in the air, and it risks becoming a market issue, an economic issue and a political issue," says Katie Nixon, chief investment officer at Northern Trust Wealth Management.

The run-up in prices is a result of surging demand from consumers with plenty of savings to spend colliding with stubbornly persistent supply-chain bottlenecks. It's exacerbated by labor shortages putting upward pressure on wages, as younger workers remain slow to return to the post-COVID workforce or change to better-paying gigs while an increasing number of older workers opt out for good.

Some of that will resolve with the end of the pandemic or our acceptance of living with it. Nixon is confident that inflation will ultimately revert to the low-level "stuckflation," as she calls it, that characterized the pre-COVID era. But longer-term demographic trends and a movement toward deglobalized trade and supply chains "may coalesce in an extended period of steadily rising prices," conclude Conference Board economists.

Keep an eye on corporate profit margins in 2022; they'll be a key measure of how companies are coping with rising costs. For now, solid economic and earnings growth seem the most likely model for the near future, says Yardeni. A darker scenario would play out if price hikes and wage increases were to start to feed off of each other in a wage-price spiral reminiscent of the 1970s, especially if economic and earnings growth rates are pinched by continuing parts and labor shortages.

"I hate to say it, but 'stagflation' is a relevant word here, says Yardeni. He currently assigns a 65% probability to a growthy, "roaring '20s" scenario and only a 35% probability to the stagflation story.

The first order of business in 2022 is to protect your portfolio from inflation, if you haven't already. If you bought Treasury inflation-protected securities early in 2021, congratulations, you're ahead of the curve.

Now, TIPS are "massively expensive," says Morgan Stanley's Shalett. "We're sellers of TIPS." One alternative: Series I savings bonds, paying a rate of 7.12% through April 2022.

Because of their growth potential, stocks are a good long-term hedge against inflation especially if you zero in on companies with pricing power. They can either control costs to keep profit margins plump or pass on price increases because of strong demand for their products.

Companies with a Buy rating from BofA Securities that sport growing sales, healthy margins and expanding market share include farm equipment firm Deere & Co. (DE, $355), streaming giant Netflix (NFLX, $646), chipmaker Qualcomm (QCOM, $163) and Prologis (PLD, $147), a real estate investment trust (REIT) that is also a member of the Kiplinger ESG 20, the list of our favorite stocks and funds with an environmental, social and governance focus. Investment firm Capital Group notes that Netflix has raised subscription rates in the U.S. four times since 2014 while maintaining robust subscriber growth.

Firms with low labor costs are also a good bet. According to Goldman Sachs, healthcare distributor AmerisourceBergen (ABC, $128) rings up an average of $9.6 million in sales per employee. For context, the median S&P 500 company can chalk up $400,000 in revenues per worker.

As hypersonic stock-price returns start to trail off, dividends will be a more important contributor to total returns in 2022 and beyond. "We see dividend preservation and growth as the single most important criteria for stock selection, which could potentially be the difference between a flat-to-negative and a positive return over the next 10 years in the S&P 500," write strategists at BofA Securities. They also make the case that in terms of inflation protection, stocks with growing dividends are in the sweet spot between commodities (all inflation protection, no yield) and bonds (all yield, no inflation protection).

You'll have plenty of dividend payers to choose from. Companies are restoring payouts that were curtailed during the pandemic.

A proposal in Washington to levy a 1% charge on corporate buybacks could sway cash-rich companies to favor dividend payouts, says BlackRock's DeSpirito, who also manages the firm's Equity Dividend Fund. And companies are increasingly responding to investors' thirst for income. "We continue to be in a yield-starved world. Demographically, the need for income is the highest it's ever been," says DeSpirito.

Stocks in the Kiplinger Dividend 15 (the list of our favorite dividend stocks) with a history of rising payouts include pharmaceutical firm AbbVie (ABBV, $117, yield 4.8%) and defense contractor Lockheed Martin (LMT, $340, 3.3%). Stocks that BofA recommends with yields that can stand up to inflation include a number of energy firms, including Chevron (CVX, $115, 4.7%) and Marathon Petroleum (MPC, $66, 3.7%).

Dividend-growth funds worth a look include Vanguard Dividend Growth (VDIGX) and T. Rowe Price Dividend Growth (PRDGX). The latter is available in an exchange-traded version (TDVG, $34).

Like Janus, the ancient Roman god of transitions and dualities, the stock market will be two-sided in 2022, says Freedman, from U.S. Bank.

In the first part of the year through the second or third quarter cyclical stocks, or those most tied to the economy, should dominate, including consumer discretionary stocks, such as leisure and hospitality names, and financials. Small- and mid-cap stocks should shine, says Freedman, as well as stocks with a value orientation.

In the back half of the year, says Freedman, as COVID shifts from "pandemic to endemic" and the economy settles into a steadier but slower growth mode, look for tech and healthcare to lead. Those sectors are supported by long-term trends not easy to reverse, such as the demographics of an aging global population and the search for productivity gains in an increasingly digital economy.

Financials, and banks in particular, should profit from a yield curve that is expected to steepen, with long-term rates rising faster than short-term rates, allowing banks to charge more on loans than what they pay to borrow.

"Banks are our number-one sector preference," says Morgan Stanley's Shalett. The potential savings as banks transition from a branch-oriented business, heavy on employees and real estate, to more of a digital model is not yet reflected in stocks' prices, she says. Consider Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Financials (RYF, $66), an exchange-traded fund that gives as much weight to smaller, regional banks as it does to big money center institutions (it's also a member of the Kiplinger ETF 20).

Gain broad exposure to consumer discretionary companies those providing goods or services that consumers dont have to buy but want to with Vanguard Consumer Discretionary (VCR, $356), but be warned that Tesla (TSLA) and Amazon.com (AMZN) account for one-third of the portfolio.

With a recovery in travel gaining momentum, analysts at investment firm Jefferies say online travel-services firm Booking Holdings (BKNG, $2,619) is "a solid value play." Research firm CFRA is high on air travel, with Strong Buy ratings on Alaska Air (ALK, $59), Delta Air Lines (DAL, $44) and Southwest Airlines (LUV, $52). Among casinos, Jefferies recommends MGM Resorts International (MGM, $50) and Caesars Entertainment (CZR, $106), citing strength in digital gaming and historically high profit margins.

Small-company stocks have taken the market lead and lost it more than once during this recovery.

"They face some unique headwinds emerging from COVID, says Baird's Mayfield. Bigger companies have more workarounds in a COVID-constricted environment, with employees able to work from home or the ability to shift to more e-commerce, whereas many smaller firms are customer-facing and hospitality-focused. "Relative performance has not been what we expect coming out of a recession," says Mayfield. "Small caps have room to play catch-up, and it's likely they'll do so."

For a slug of small caps, try iShares Core S&P Small-Cap (IJR, $120), an ETF 20 pick. Or call in a pro with actively managed T. Rowe Price Small-Cap Value (PRSVX), a member of the Kiplinger 25, the list of our favorite no-load funds.

Tech stocks are likely due for a bout of turbulence as interest rates rise. And after warnings in recent earnings reports from Apple (AAPL) and Amazon.com, we learned that they're not immune from supply-chain woes or rising-wage pressures. But as 2022 rolls on, you might hear tech and healthcare names, instead of utilities and packaged food firms, touted as a new breed of defensive stock.

"Tech is the new staple," says DeSpirito. "It's remarkably resilient." Healthcare stocks can count on stable growth as society ages and requires more medical care, he says. Making the most of a flexible approach, T. Rowe Price Global Technology (PRGTX), a Kip 25 fund, is a good choice.

The boom in semiconductors has legs far beyond today's supply crunch. Research from investment management firm Capital Group notes that chips are used in everything from phones and laptops to refrigerators and ovens (new cars require as many as 100 chips) and are essential to technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing and 5G wireless. Cash in with Fidelity Select Semiconductors Portfolio (FSELX). Our healthcare picks include UnitedHealth Group (UNH, $456) and Kip 25 fund Fidelity Select Health Care (FSPHX).

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Where to Invest in 2022 - Yahoo Finance

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