iShares Core S&P 500

On Tuesday, April 14, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its PPI (Producer Price Index) figures for February. The PPI gained 0.2% in March.

Berkshire Hathaway has doubled its earnings and balance sheet potential since the financial crisis of 2007.

Major mutual funds prefer Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) over private equity firms and asset managers like Blackstone (BX) and BlackRock (BLK).

TJX Companies (TJX) has a very efficient internally developed inventory management system that helps the company ensure the proper flow of merchandise.

The majority of investors believe bonds are safer than stocks. The main reason is that bonds pay regular interest.

Beer is the dominant category in the alcoholic beverage industry with a 47.8% market share of the gross supplier revenue figures for 2014.

In an economic study, the American Beverage Licensees estimated the economic impact of the alcoholic beverage industry in 2014 to be more than $245 billion.

Marketing initiatives at Home Depot include Pro Xtra. This program exclusively targets professional customers.

Japan looks cheap compared to other developed markets. Japanese stock valuations can be justified if the “three arrows” are used prudently.

Job creation isn’t matching population growth. The population growth has been dipping over the last two decades. Currently, it’s 0.7% per year.

Job creation and GDP growth go hand-in-hand. The job markets and the economy tend to move in a similar pattern.

The North Face became VFC’s first brand to achieve $2 billion in sales in 2013. Timberland revenues are expected to come in at ~$1.7 billion in 2014.

The US Department of the Treasury auctioned 13-week, or three-month, Treasury bills (BIL) (MINT), or T-bills, worth $24 billion on January 12.

VFC manufactures ~27% of its products in facilities operated by the company. The company owns 28 manufacturing facilities.

The CAGR for equity for the last 20 years is 7.8%. Equities outperformed investment-grade corporate bonds. Equities are the best performing asset class.

According to Jeffrey Lacker, two fundamental factors contribute to GDP growth in the long term—population growth and real GDP per worker.

Although the manufacturing process is outsourced, Coach tries to keep a grip on the manufacturing process from design to production.

Dr Pepper Snapple implemented its rapid continuous improvement (or RCI) in 2011 to simplify processes and address distribution and the availability gap.

The calculation of a bond ETF’s underlying value is going to be less precise than a stock ETF’s underlying value.

LULU’s global store count was estimated at 289 at the end of 3Q15. Stores are company-owned, with most located in the US (201) and Canada (57).

Slow growth in personal consumption expenditure may affect growth. Currently, personal consumer expenditure is $12 trillion. This is ~70% of the GDP.

The employment situation is the primary monthly indicator of aggregate economic activity because it encompasses all major sectors of the economy.