Sunday, September 30, 2018

September 30, 2018, Bob Brinker's Moneytalk ENDING TODAY

September 30, 2018....Bob Brinker is Live on Moneytalk for the Last Time After 32 Years.....

Honeybee says good-bye too, and thanks to each of you! I will miss you all! 

==> The BRT (Blog Research Team) has helped me immensely - too many of you to mention by name.  

==>  I am also grateful to those who have contributed wisdom, humor and education in their comments. 

==> I will always be grateful to Frankj for his fabulous guest-author summaries! Frankj's writing ability is first class all the way. 

==> Extreme gratitude to dRahme who has provided great Audio Clips! 

==> Also thank you to our  humor-writer Jeffchristie, who helped us all prepare for the Moneytalk Final Exam. 

I have considered several options of ways to continue this blog, but have decided that the main purpose of the blog was always to "Keep Bob Brinker Honest on Moneytalk." I have done this for many years, but now he will no longer be broadcasting to millions of listeners, so unless he finds a new way to reach (and sometimes mislead) a huge audience, my job is done. 

I have received hundreds of emails from people who have thanked me for saving them a ton of money by simply pointing out that Bob Brinker cannot time the stock market - and has less than a 50-50 batting average. 

Now I would like to take this opportunity to repeat what I have said many times over the years about Bob Brinker's teaching ability.  

It was in the late 1980's when I first found Bob Brinker's Moneytalk on KGO in San Francisco.  I have always been grateful to Brinker for not only teaching me how to become my own financial manager, but for giving me the courage to untangle myself from the clutches of one of the big brokerage house-sharks. 

Back then,  internet information was not available (to me), so I spent many hours doing research at the San Jose, Ca. main library on weekdays, and carefully listening to Brinker on Saturday and Sunday. 

When Brinker said things like "it's not rocket science," or "anyone can become their own financial manager," I believed him.   But that did not make it easy for me. It took hard work to go down that learning curve.  And it took courage to actually get money moved from Dean Witter - they were determined not to let me go.  However, to the DW broker's dismay,  I prevailed and moved to Charles Schwab. 

So I have always known that Brinker is a good teacher and has taught the basics of investing to millions of listeners.

 I also know firsthand that Brinker has a lot of  ugly skeletons in his closet. My blog work over the years will always be available for those who want to investigate those skeletons, but I will not cover that territory today.

FRANKJ'S SUMARY OF MONEYTALK'S LAST  GUEST AUTHOR:

Bob’s final guest in the third hour today, this 30th day of September 2018 was Alan Blinder, former member of the Fed and professor at Princeton.  He published a book about 5 years ago, “When the Music Stopped,” a recounting of the 2008 meltdown.  His latest book, “Advice and Dissent, Why America Suffers When Economics and Politics Collide,” was the topic of his last visit in May of 2018 which was his fifth appearance as a guest. 
Maybe it is fitting that he is on as a final guest once more.  He and Bob seem to get along like a couple who know each other well enough to finish each other’s sentences. 

The interview started off with Bob asking if Prof. Blinder was surprised by anything that happened since “When the Music Stopped” was published.  The professor took a little swipe at the present administration saying he expected a full on pushback against the Dodd-Frank legislation that passed after the meltdown.  He said he was pleasantly surprised that this did not take place and that only minor adjustments occurred. 
What the guest termed as “silly” mortgage lending practices have gone away.  Dodd Frank will not prevent those from occurring in the future but it will be more difficult.  
Turning to the Bear Stearns meltdown in early 2008, Bob asked why didn’t the Fed see this coming?  Prof. Blinder said the Fed did not realize the web of derivatives that existed, nor their size,  and did not realize what effect the Lehman Bros. bankruptcy would have on markets.  
There was a brief discussion of two Fed chairs.  It is Alan’s opinion that Ben Bernanke left after 8 years because he was tired.  The present Fed chair, Jerome Powell is communicating more and introducing more transparency, which Alan approves of.  The guest thinks a Fed funds rate of 3% is about neutral and as the Fed closes in on this rate in the future, there will be a “rip-roaring” debate over whether to go above it.  
Bob posited that Gross Domestic Product growth should equal population growth plus productivity growth.  Both are less than 1% now, yet GDP is about 4% … what gives?   They chewed on this bone a while and no real conclusions were reached but the guest pointed out that productivity growth has always been hard to measure but long term it has been about 2.3%.
The first caller was Andre from Berkeley, CA who wanted to know with a debt of $23 trillion, what happens when interest rates normalize?  The guest said about 35% of that is just what is owed by one government agency to another.   The rest is publicly held.  If  interest rates increase, interest payments (which must be made) will squeeze out other spending.  Then we will need to print more money and the result will be inflation.  
Colin from Arroyo Grande, CA wanted to know if there are still toxic instruments out there like there were in 2008.  The answer was yes, there still are some but not nearly to the extent there were in 2008.  
What does Alan Blinder worry about these days?  He worries that the markets have become too complacent about a trade war.  They used to react to each new piece of news but now they don’t.  He also worries that the Fed will “overshoot” and the result will be inflation.  Bob asked why didn’t the Treasury issue 40 to 50 year bonds when the interest rates were so low.  Prof. Blinder said he would have done it but speculated that the Treasury didn’t want to try to guess what interest rates would do in the future.  
Bob bid adieu to Prof. Blinder at 3:49 then came back a few minutes later and mentioned the reports coming out this week.  
He then spent a few minutes thanking a number of people who helped in his radio career.  Here they are and please excuse any misspellings:  Jean Strauss, Maurice Tunic, John McConnell, Jeff Rich, Mickey (Nicky?) Luckoff, Ravi Chandron, Angel Bordone, Bob Mack.  
Bob Brinker announced this would be his last live program and that he planned to concentrate on the newsletter.  The radio show will continue through October with the Best of MoneyTalk. 
Bob signed off with “May the odds be ever in your favor.” 
I guess since I’m writing this I get to add a personal note of my own.  Honeybee was very gracious to let me contribute all these years.  It was never a chore for me – I enjoyed doing the summaries and sending them on.  I appreciate that visitors to the blog sometimes said “thanks,” and that they enjoyed the summaries.   And Honeybee ALWAYS said thank you.  
Bob Brinker introduced us to the phrase “The Land of Critical Mass,” as being the place where alarm clocks are no longer needed.   And he often referred to the Starship MoneyTalk.  If I could change that to “The Planet Critical Mass,” then this analogy makes more sense:  Bob provided many of us with the ignition and lift-off we needed to reach the Planet of Critical Mass in our own Starships.  
He also gave us the navigational tools to avoid the asteroids that can severely damage your Starship:  high-fee funds, non-publicly traded REITs, expensive annuities, discretionary brokerage accounts, too-good-to-be-true fixed income investments and other shark attacks.
Frankj
Honey here: Thank you Frankj!  Your  contributions have been invaluable to making this blog educational and interesting! 

LINKS TO THE COMPLETE BODY OF MY BOB BRINKER MONEYTALK SUMMARIES AND COMMENTARY: 

 (2007) Honey's Bob Brinker Beehive Buzz ARCHIVED (Note: This was taken over by Kirk Lindstrom, so beware of clicking on all ads on that blog.)

(2008-2011) Honey's Bob Brinker Beehive Buzz2 ARCHIVED (Note: This was taken over by Kirk Lindstrom, so beware of clicking on all ads on the blog.)

(2012 to 2018) Honey's Bob Brinker Beehive Buzz3 (Note:  this blog belongs completely to Honey Bee and ad visits are appreciated.)



194 comments:

Sounddogs.com said...

Sad day, I will miss listening to Bob on Sunday.

Unknown said...

Bob will be missed and was missed every day he didn't host the show!

Chris in ATL said...

Are we sure its live? He did not give out the phone number during the opening segment.

Herbert Jay S. said...

I hope he's well since this is kind of sudden...his loyal listeners get no warning after more than three decasdes?

Bluce said...

Sounddogs: Yup. I've been listening to him since 1990, and it was a sad day when he quit the Saturday show some years ago, now it is truly "the end of an era."

As I noted a few days ago, "Nothing is forever."

Unknown said...

The loss of Brinker won't be felt immediately. There is a lot to do Sunday afternoons this time of year (ie football). But come Super Bowl Sunday and the rest of next Spring and Summer, its really gonna hit home hard.

burt said...

He announced this was it?

Fernie said...

It's shaping up to be a shill fest, from the get-go.

Roger said...

I toast you, salute!

joe tong said...

If today's BB last show, he didn't mention it at the beginning of the program.

Most likely, last hour or 10 minutes of the program.

It was all downhill last few 8-10 years with more re-runs...it was time to retire or be forced out.

Chris in ATL said...

Phone number just given out at the beginning of the second half hour.

Anonymous said...

Bob must have met critical mass. It is nice that he will have extra time on Sundays to be with the young sprouts. I have listened to Bob for over half of my life! I felt empty on Saturdays for a long time when he reduced down to only Sunday. Bye old friend and advisor. Thank you! Respectfully, Tamela (KCMO 20 years & WMT/WHO 11 years)

frankj said...

My guess is he'll say something in the third hour and those who get through on the phone might have been told not to bring it up .. the end of the program, that is. And, yeah, the calls will run heavy to ones that praise his past advice and how it benefited them.

Lisasf said...

Well is sounds like bobs exit, thank you mr brinker for help over the years. Repeats not good, but have a good retiremeny

Jay said...

Cumulus Media probably wouldn’t renew his contract because he couldn’t find the time to show up for work 4 times a month. Jay

Johnny Ross said...

Here he goes blowing his own horn a bit. Oh well, that's Bob being Bob. Sounds like he's trying to do a good final show before he tears down the phone booth studio in the garage. Gotta make room for a new Prius.

For JESTER: Friends often debate which car we'd want as depicted in the movie. I always take the Charger even with its missing hubcaps. Friends always take the Mustang even with its one-legger rear axle.

Sounds like Bob is getting melancholy, choking up a bit and teary eyed.

burt said...

I wonder how those that paid for "On Demand" feel?

pedalpower said...

Caller just mentioned BB's "going away" but BB didn't acknowledge it. He has been doing some reminiscing about books on his reading list etc., but nothing from him, yet, about this being his last broadcast. Seems like he's holding off till towards the end of the program to spring the retirement news. Perhaps he will spring a "last" guest on us.

Robert said...

Hard to Imagine a Sunday without Bob. I've been listening to Bob since 1987. I credit him with building a portfolio of over $1,300,000.00 on an annual income not more than $50,000 per year. I hope only the best for Bob and his family in retirement! He deserves it.

Josie said...

I'm noticing that Bob is neither confirming nor denying that this is his last show. Hmmmmm.

Dan Kuhl said...

I would like to thank Bob for encouraging me to save for retirement.

Unknown said...

The Talk of Connecticut WDRC-AM 1360 boots up quick and easy on the interweb. Thanks for the heads-up. Ironically, used to listen to "DRC AM" broadcasts for low-fi music while growing up near Hartford during the 70's. But I'm happy to be in NorCal now!

Anonymous said...

Honey Bee, In addition, I appreciate you for providing a hive for us to buzz in. Tamela

Robert said...

I'VE been listening to Bob since 1987. I can't imagine a Sunday without Bob. I credit Bob with helping me build a portfolio of over $1300,000.00 on an annual income that never exceeded $40,000.00. Thanks for all the investment advise over the years and I wish you and your family the best in your retirement.

Qmavam said...

I've been a Brinker listener since the early 90s, (need to crawl through the attic to check paperwork, it could have been earlier).
I also subscribe to the Marketimer, but haven't followed his portfolio advice for a long time. I found it to be to much mail, that that was before online paperwork. I moved almost everything to VTSAX.
I did get out on his call in 2000, sold all my Mutual Funds, but I also bought into QQQ when he said, and sold out after a substantial loss. (I did invest more than he suggested) I'm still writing that off, a little each year, almost done!
I thank him very much for getting me into VTSAX and to just keep saving, I have reached 'The Land of Critical Mass'
I used to go into work just before 3pm on Saturday and Sunday, it was just me, my radio and my work bench. I was learning from him and getting work done earning money. (doing VCR repair back in those days).
I still try to listen every Sunday, but it does get frustrating when he misses a point
that he should have commented on or, goes off on the wrong tangent.
I still have a disagreement with him about Roth Conversions, I know they are not for everyone (high earners)
but for many, they are a great tax saver over the long term. I sent him a personal letter detailing the math and other advantages Roth Conversion advantages, he didn't respond and continued with his, "why give up that money now" line. There is a good reason, it's called tax!
I will miss him.

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...
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David said...

.


Is there another Financial Show that is worthy of our time airing these days? Please advise, hope there is someone.


.

Stinky said...

I’ve listened to Brinker off and on over the years. I thought his advice was pretty sharp early on.

But he’s been slipping for years, playing unannounced reruns instead of “guest hosts” and being pretty snarky with callers who had a different point of view. He also is very anti-Trump, to the point of being openly hostile to the President.

I think he’s ending his program about 5 years after its shelf life expired.

Pig said...


These shills are make me puke my guts out. Geesh, whatta bunch of sniveling whining wimps. Go buy some candles and make a shrine in front of the charlatan's picture already you whimpering fools. Tell me again how many of your are zillionaires and frequent this blog on Sunday afternoons while you count your money.

Such ridiculous nonsense. Brinkershill would be so proud of you clowns.

Good riddance.

Unknown said...

Thanks to HoneyBee for the write-ups all these years.

I used to enjoy Brinker's monologues and market comments but gave up
in 2003 after finding better ways to get my financial information.

I do give Brinker credit with his "you are your best financial advisor".
(paraphrasing).

Ghost of Bob said...

I've been reading this blog for years just to hear from Gabe. Gabe, where are you going to post about your amazing racehorses ? I need to know how they do every week or I lose sleep. Also, is the market in the toilet this week ? How will I be able to follow the market trends and status without your imput. How is your Apple stock doing today ? Am I the only one who appreciates you ? Anyone ?

To Honeybee, I have really enjoyed your Blog, thank you.

To Brinker, I learned alot from you both good and bad. The most important thing was I learned that almost everyone can be their own financial manager. I have read the books on your recommended reading list which have really helped my understanding of the market.

I lost half of my life savings in the QQQ call. I was fortunate that it was early in my career and I take all of the responsibility. That loss motivated me to learn about the stock market, and with what I've learned I have come back and done well. I learned that nobody including Bob can ever time the market. You might get lucky once or twice but nobody can consistently time it.

How ironic that Bob Brinker taught me that I shouldn't trust or listen to Bob Brinker or others like him.

Brinker made money by acting like his show was a public service announcement intended to help the public ( a free education ) but was really a 3 hour infomercial designed to get people to subscribe and line his pockets with money.

I am the Ghost of Bob



Honeybee said...

.
Pig...All the multi, multi, millionaires that started with nothing when Brinker came on the air, do get a little revolting. LOL!

But notice Brinker is dangling a new carrot to keep selling his newsletter - saying he might change his mind about being bullish on the stock market. LOL!!! He'll make a few more $million from people who are having withdrawal from Moneytalk who still believe he can time the stock market.

He's also selling books - but strangely Bob Jr. hasn't run any ads yet today.

Wonder what's up with that? Could he be the new writer for Marketimer?

Robert said...

I don't agree with your assessment of Bob. He has and always will be top notch!

House Doc said...

Tough listening today, I have not tuned in for awhile and now I remember why. Lots of kissing the ring and maybe something else!

Ben said...

I've been listening to Bob since 1987 when I was just out of college and starting my career. He was saying things in those early years I had never heard anywhere else, and his talk about critical mass just intrigued and inspired me to action through my 401-K. 30+ years later my wife and I have reached a comfortable critical mass to the extent I never dreamed possible, and are happily retired since last year. I know it was listening to Bob in those early years that got us on our way.

I empathize with those critical of Bob in his handling of the dot com bust and his non-handling of the 2008 bust, and on the frequent undisclosed canned shows in recent years, but all in all, I have to give a lot of credit to Bob for the right advice at the right time for me 30+ years ago. I'll miss him.

Duke, Amarillo said...

Wait, Bob, the guy who inherited the high-flying stocks such as Amazon two years ago will have a big capital gains tax liability upon sale despite the date-of-death cost basis reset because... wait for it... the stock market has GONE UP alot these past two years. Trust me, I'm experiencing the same blessed "problem".

Makes a person try to figure a way to avoid income for a few years to keep the capital gains in the zero percent tax bracket. It ain't easy while other assets keep generating.

Unknown said...

Bob just said, special announcement coming up at the end of the third hour!

Robert said...

Thank you for all of your good work over the years Honey Bee. I stopped listening to Bob about 10 years ago. I couldn’t take his incessant repeating sentences twice, no real investment advice, and all of the reruns without notification. I guess this site will be obsolete after Bob’s last show is transcribed. thank you again, Honey Bee.

Jimbo said...

Bob's special guest is: Bob! BAHAHAHAHA!!! Get it? He's been on the show so infrequently lately that he qualifies as a guest, in accordance with the strict National Broadcasters Association and Radio Engineers union agreement.

Joe H. said...

I was thinking that too. Just hope this isn’t health related.

rjb112 said...

We seem to have three Roberts posting on this blog:

"Robert said...
I don't agree with your assessment of Bob. He has and always will be top notch!

September 30, 2018 at 2:51 PM"
++++++
"Robert said...
Thank you for all of your good work over the years Honey Bee. I stopped listening to Bob about 10 years ago"
++++++

I did not post either of those two.....

Robert

Chris in ATL said...

I've got my fingers crossed in the hope that the final guest will be the late, great Bill Flanagan.

Livingroom said...

Thanks very much, Honey Bee, for your great blog. I will miss the intelligence and snarkiness. Thanks also to FrankJ and dRahme!

Bluce said...

Chris: It won't be the late great Bill Flanagan. He is here with me, helping me polish off a bottle of Old Grandad.

Unknown said...

Bob,

Thank you so much for your common sense investing advice. I have been listening to you for 15-20 years and you have really helped me and my family. Thank you!!!!

I am glad you will still publish your newsletter. You do a good job on analysis of economic cycles, and glad I can still get that.

I wish your good health and happiness!

Joe Fowler

Anonymous said...

I'm not a fan of Trump, so I haven't felt welcome in this forum. I lost money on the QQQ deal and canceled my MarketTimer subscription as a result. However, Bob's simple rules for investing were easy for me to follow. I did deviate over the years, but I still credit Bob with my reaching critical mass. Thanks Bob!

Per Wikipedia...

After more than 32 years of hosting syndicated "MoneyTalk," Bob Brinker has decided to step away from radio. He'll continue to write and publish Marketimer, his investment newsletter, and says it's time for him to "take his weekends back and enjoy Sundays with his family." His last show will be September 30th, 2018.

Unknown said...

Less than 30 minutes to the big announcement!

Unknown said...

Bob,

Thank you so much for your common sense investing advice. I have been listening to you for 15-20 years and you have really helped me and my family. Thank you!!!!

I am glad you will still publish your newsletter. You do a good job on analysis of economic cycles, and glad I can still get that.

I wish your good health and happiness!

Joe Fowler

Unknown said...

Does Bob really "write" the MoneyTalk newsletter?
Most of it doesn't change from month to month.

Honeybee said...

.
I have been a little lenient on publishing comments with no name from anonymous.

But it just seems to grow so it ends right now at 3:37pm PDT.

Livingroom said...

Jill on Money, a possibility.

KC said...

I'm really surprised that Bob did not sell the rights to the weekly Moneytalk show and bring in a replacement. Seems like it would be worth millions to some up and coming financial person willing to take it over. But just to shut down the operation and walk away? Very odd.

KC

rjb112 said...

Bluce said...
Chris: It won't be the late great Bill Flanagan. He is here with me, helping me polish off a bottle of Old Grandad.

LOL Bluce....!


Robert

Gopher said...

I agree with the poster is it surprising Brinker hasn't been mentoring a successor the last couple years to take over. Then I've read here about gambling. But from prior shows it doesn't sound like Bob is a big gambler even though he lives in Vegas. It sounds like he is more a baseball watcher/ golfer.

pedalpower said...

I too lost on the QQQ recommendation. I also felt badly when BB recommended selling the Ginnie Maes - which I did. In retrospect that may have also been a mistake. However, I did start a serious investment program shortly after 1986 and made critical mass a few years ago - in time for retirement. BB did give me confidence to do my own investment management. Thanks BB.

Unknown said...

Wonder how long Bob will spend saying goodbye?

Honeybee said...

.
IMO, no one can replace Bob Brinker. He is unique.

And the purpose of Moneytalk has always been to sell Marketimer, Moneytalk on demand, books on website, BobJrs newsletter, and other goods on the website.

No other host would do that for him.

Unknown said...

If you ever hear Cramer recommend vanguard total stock market, SELL!!!!

Alan said...

Thanks Honey Bee for the informative blog. I found it a few years ago and try to read it every week.

And thanks to Brinker. I've listened off and on since the late eighties and the investing principles I learned from him got me started investing in my retirement. In critical mass now in my late fifties thanks to my parents who recently passed who also listened to Brinker from the start.

Jack said...

Hahahahha What a JOKE!! It took him 37 years to finally tell the listening audenice that the program will be the best of. Good riddance I say!!

BWV said...

Wow, I will miss this broadcast.

Anonymous said...

John from SF said:

I was hoping for a surprise interview with our honeybee as a grand finale...

Mr. D said...

Damned few people can successfully and well broadcast at the age of 77 plus, Bob did . I could never detect a deterioration in his voice, delivery and mental sharpness over all of his career. To be truthful, there are a truckload of radio host bomb throwers and liars who should have been put out to pasture years, if not decades ago.
Thanks for the free education and entertainment, Mr. Brinker.
Happy Trails to You!

sage.griot said...

Farewell Bob. Thanks for all the sage advice over these many years.

Anonymous said...

Justa Workingstiff sez,

Haven't listened to Brinker in years... Seems like around 2000 or 2001 he had a forum on his website that was totally censored and any disparaging remarks were scrubbed. That was enough for me. Surprised he lasted this long. Good riddance. Hope the door doesn't hit him on the way out.

Qmavam said...

Hi Honey,
Can you check the 2000 call on the market, what ever it was, I sold everything.
Then on the QQQ buy I think it was 30% and I went for 50% of my holdings.
So I lost a lot of money, but not as much as I would have if I had never sold the markey on his call.
So he made a good call on the market, and got back in to early with QQQ.
But I was ahead because I got out 100% and only back in with 50%. I don't recall
at what price I sold QQQ.
Thanks

milt said...

just remember the things we've learned from this guy the basics and for god sakes no annuity !!! this site should become a shrine to the guy that let the common man understand investing !!! no b.s. i don't agree the show was all about the news letter he had enough money long ago he's like buffet and bogle he loves money is part of it but i refuse to buy in that it was only about selling news letters that's so cynical!!! i've made a lot of money following brinker more than anyone else on the radio

Pig said...

Matrix Revolutions ending - Is it over?

Is It Over?

Stinky said...

Did anyone count the number of times that Brinker mentioned Marketimer today? Seemed like an above average count.

And Brinker finally mentioned “best of” shows today. Who says that pigs can’t fly?

billy batts said...

all i can say is next sunday my calendar is wide open!!! 1st time in 20 yrs

Glen said...

I learned a lot from Bob's show, particularly when I started out investing. He got me pointed in the right direction when I was putting my savings into CDs. I appreciate Bob doing the show, and I will miss Moneytalk.

Glen

Honeybee said...

.
Lamont Cranston.... The year 2000 was the last time that Brinker raised cash!!!

He raised 65% cash in 2000, and left the rest to ride that bear down.

Then he advised both conservative and aggressive investors to put up to 50% of that 65% cash raised into an immediate buy on QQQ at $83 - QQQ then lost about 75% of its value.

However, Brinker never accounted for that lost QQQ money in his portfolio performance record - neither did Mark Hulbert.

Anonymous said...

I've listened since near the beginning. I appreciate the advise and basics and have been a subscriber, on and off, for the past 10 years. His advise in the earlier years was much better and more useful. The past 5-10 years seemed like he was more directed to current investors and didn't seem as tailored to newbies.

I was in debt when I started listening in my 30s and retired 3 years ago with critical mass at 61.

I found his politics leaking in and becoming more liberal and anti conservative in past few years to the point that I was about to stop listening.

DollarBill said...

With the sunset of MoneyTalk, I will be listening to Dave Simons who has been hosting "Dollars and Sense" for over 20 years on KMOX (St. Louis). Dave is on Sunday afternoons from 3-5pm Central Time unless he is pre-empted by sports programming.
https://stlouis.cbslocal.com/personality/dave-simons/

Anonymous said...

Thanks Honey. Best wishes to Brinker. I will stay close to Brian Wesbury’s blog on First Trust. Solid guy.

Pavlov’s Cat

Gopher said...

Good final show. Emotional ending. Too bad he didn't announce his departure a couple months ago. That way we could've really savored the last few shows. Instead the run up to the ending feels so incomplete. It's like boom...it's over.

BearDown said...

I am relieved that I no longer have to balance listening to MoneyTalk with watching my beloved Chicago Bears and Cubs.
Many Thanks for the Ride, HoneyBee and Bobby B.

Bobnotbrinker said...

Stinky said...

I’ve listened to Brinker off and on over the years. I thought his advice was pretty sharp early on.
But he’s been slipping for years, playing unannounced reruns instead of “guest hosts” and being pretty snarky with callers who had a different point of view. He also is very anti-Trump, to the point of being openly hostile to the President.
I think he’s ending his program about 5 years after its shelf life expired.



----------------


Yeah...What Stinky said...100% factual and tied up with a nice binky bow!

alpaca said...

Right or wrong he always kept me thinking and learning and for that I am very very appreciative. I wish him a happy retirement.

Gopher said...

He said this was the final LIVE show. Wonder if they try to freshen up this last month with at least new opening monologues. Or will they be pure reruns.

tfb said...

Caveat, I did not listen to Da Brink today, and I doubt I have heard him fro over an hour this year?

As they say, never trust a con-ma. For over 30 years Brinker has run on the most successful cons of all time; it really is amazing. He somehow paid for, or conjoled enough sycophants to shill for him that he was able to build a fortune off of it. Brinker truly was the Sylvia Browne of the investment world.
I have done radio on and off for years and years, given the format of Brinker’s show I can assure you the actual prep time is minimal, whatever the real reason, I am very show this exit is not Da Brink’s choice.

I sincerely doubt Brinker will be actively writing. My personal opinion is, he is in an accelerating stage of cognitive decline; I have though that for some time (around 3-4 years). It is a sad reality, but as someone who has laid 7 relatives to rest who had dementia, the warning signs seem there(once again I will say, this is sad, horrific and not something I would wish on anyone).

What I think will happen is Brinker Jr will take over the reins and use articles published under his father’s name as a way to market the newsletter. We already know the duplicitous-duo have already done this with the fixed income rag that is currently being published.

We know Brinker Jr is simply a washed out IT guy who likely does not have current marketable skills and even if he did the salary for even skilled It worker is no where near what he can earn by initiating daddy-warbucks. Plus actually entering the workforce at Jr’s age would be a huge impediment on his lifestyle.

I think it is safe to assume this is all engineered to keep the gravy train rolling a few miles longer. I suspect every article that is allegedly written by Bob Brinker Sr. will in fact be written in part on in total by Jr. and simply a marketing ploy.

So the con will go on, in the hands of a new generation.

tfb

Unknown said...

They have only been playing the first hour on WBAP (Dallas). I thought BB seemed rather upbeat. I did catch the last hour on the Internet. It's kind of sad and I will really miss this blog. It's a great group of people here.

p.s. I really miss Larry Kudlow on Saturday, who went on to bigger and better things.

There be an endless string of programs pushing vitamins, pills and annuities now.

MK said...

So that's it, eh? Time to mothball the old starship. No more parties in the Sunday ballroom on the main deck; just individual vessels navigating lone trajectories through the financial space/time continuum. We each will have to pilot our own vessels from hereon on out. Then again many of us have been doing that for a while anyway with Bob Brinker to at least partially credit for our flight training.

Thank you Honey Bee, FrankJ, dRhame and others for this blog. You taught me how full of you-know-what Brinker is even though he is also right about a lot of things.

This comes at about the right time for me. I started the journey towards critical mass a bit late in the game but still have a decent shot at the title. I have been an On Demand listener for about 2 years. But I'm at a point where there isn't much more I can learn from Brinker. I think his repetition is burned into my memory bank. All these financial advice guys have only so much they can teach you before it's time to move on. I'll decide later if I'm going to renew my Marketimer subscription. I like it for the analysis of the economic indicators but if I can get the information elsewhere I may.

One thing Brinker did right was to reinforce the investing wisdom of John Bogle. Bogle teaches that there are only 4 things an investor can control: time, cost, risks and rewards. Manage those well and you will likely have a good outcome.

Brinker also advocated investing in one's self by way of getting educated in marketable knowledge and skills. That is incredibly important to investing success since it allows one to save more money.

A couple of things I learned distinctly from Brinker are how interest rates affect bond fund returns and to consider if pension fund payouts are indexed to inflation when considering taking a lump sum payout from a pension fund.

I'm currently information gathering to see if trading might be something I could supplement my long term investing with. I've been reading Richard Ney's stuff and looking at Anton Kreil's stuff.

Oh, yes. . .regarding Trump's trade war with China. I recommend people take a look at Peter Navarro the White House National Trade Director speaking at the Hudson Institute on all the ways China has been ripping us off to build themselves up. It's on YouTube. Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEHPfMrpHp0&t=6s

God bless. Retirement is a transition to eternal life. Get to know Jesus because the returns are eternal.

kenp11 said...

I am surprised Brinker Junior did not take over the radio show. Must be too expensive

Honeybee said...

.
tfb...I didn't add my thanks to you to the front page, but here it is:

Thank you for always making me feel like a "special" woman, and making me smile when I sometimes needed it a lot. :)

Jim said...

I can't remember when I found this blog but I enjoyed all the Brinker discussion over the years. I wish you good luck and good health.

tfb said...

Hottiebee,

You are among the most alluring woman on the planet, any man knows that.

Love,

tfb

SuziePie said...

Thanks Honeybee for this blog: It has been much more fun to listen to Mr Brinker and read your blog simultaneously. I learned so much here! Mr Brinker was not perfect, but he brought us all together to listen, comment, and spark some discussion. Thanks for wonderful summaries Frankj, and I hope that you find another endeavour to keep your writing skills polished. Happy investing to all!

-SuziePie

Fed Up said...

and so it goes...the final wimper, lost in the passing echo of the truth that only the faithful cannot hear:... QQQ... QQQ...QQQ...

rasputin said...

ras here -Thanks, Honey.

Stinky said...

Honeybee,

While your decision to close down the blog is not surprising, it is still a sad day for me and for (hundreds) (thousands) (tens or hundreds of thousands) of others who follow this blog.

I found your blog in about 2014. Since that time, you have impressed me so much with your class, your respect for the opinions of others, your good nature and spirit. Most of all, you have an encyclopedic knowledge of "all things Brinker" that you freely shared for the benefit of all. You have been constantly in search of the truth.

Your blog will be missed. Best wishes to you.

Your humble servant,

Stinky

Louise warthmore, Pittsfield said...

Now wait a minute, Ms. Bee, let's not do something too hasty here. I'm suggesting that you should keep this blog's comments section a-workin' because there's still plenty of things to discuss.

For example, we could debate some of the data presented in the "newsletter" because our investing decisions are supposed to be "data driven". Oh darn, that was Chair Janet who was data driven. My bad.

But we really could discuss the data because it's all freely available from the federal agencies who collect it, so it wouldn't be a copywrite ripoff or anything since it's public knowledge.

Case in point, in the last newsletter (not saying whose, and I subscribe to more than one)it was stated that housing starts in July were 0.9% higher. Oh really? I thought I'd heard that it was closer to 0.8%. See? There's room for plenty of debate there.

Same holds true for the recommended list of mutual funds. We could discuss it and it would seem innocuous if I told a buddy of a recommended fund on "the list" and he partook of its juices. That doesn't feel like a copyright rip. In fact, I thought that's what recommendations are for, to spread the word.

As an aside, have you noticed there's always a Wisconsin connection to the stock-picker funds on the list? First it was Dick Strong at Strong Funds, now it's Akre (probably Strong in the shadows) and Osterweis.

What's up with that? Did he, as a young college student and sports announcer, travel with his alma mater's basketball team to UMad (aka University of Wisconsin- Madison Campus) and attend a REALLY good frat party at that notoriously liberal party school? Maybe he met Dick and Buzz there.

Anyway, let me stress vociferously that this forum should remain open for business in its usual manner, nothing more nothing less, in order to conduit the concerns of millions of Americans regarding the financial uncertainties of the human experience.

For that, I am certain, you will be rewarded with treasures and accolades far surpassing anything witnessed heretofore.

David said...

Bob was there for me at the beginning of my working class career. I learned so much and was able to retire recently with over a million. Hadn’t listened in years on account of his absences, politics, repetitiveness, etc. Plus, like others have said, the wealth of info on the internet. But I thank him and wish him a happy retirement. Also, thanks Honey, I was a weekly lurker and learned a lot from this blog. Good luck to you!

Gopher said...

Brinker was the last of a generation that goes back to Bruce Williams/Talknet. When talk radio was more to entertain/inform/educate than to rile people up pushing an agenda.

I suspect Brinker Jr. doesn't have the skills to take over. Hosting a radio show is tough, it takes a special person. You not only have to have the knowledge base, but be able to articulate it in way that will not bore the listener. It takes a lot of practice. You don't just jump in and start hosting a national program.

Dapper Dan said...

Before you close out, does anyone have audio clips for first two hours of final show? On demand is gone already so can't retrieve them,
Thanx,
Dan

Dapper Dan said...

Any captured audio for first two hours today --- on Demand gone from website

Bobnotbrinker said...

Honeybee,

Many thanks to you, the Blog Research Team and all of the other posters here for many, many years of insight, education, camaraderie and a good dose of laughter - much more than any one person deserves!

Best of luck to all!

Oh...and Honeybee - I will be expecting to see your name on a future CA General Election Ballot!

Best regards,

Bobnotbrinker (FKA Jerrod Clarkson)

Unknown said...

I have been following this blog for over 8 years and have enjoyed the commentary. I also followed bob for many years and learned a lot. I now follow Paul Merriman who is a great teacher and give real choices for do it yourself investors. His website paulmerriman.com and all his advise is free on the website. I wish Bob well and hope anyone on this blog can use this information to continue educating themselves.



Dave Morow

Ronn said...

Really hurtin' right now. Was still hoping Brinker would announce the last show would be SB Sunday 2019, so let's really enjoy the final three month Starship voyage together. After 32 years, the ending seemed so abrupt.

Irishcajun said...

Honey Bee,

Thank you for all your work on this and all you have done to help so many.

May God Bless you in all you do going forward.

Thank you also to Frank J, and the others that helped you over the years. This Blog was an asset to me, and many others.

Peace,

Irishcajun

Macroman said...

Thanks Honeybee and Frankj for providing this very informative blog.

Ronn said...

BTW, no MoneyTalk 'final exam' today. Guess he decided to take it easy on the class.

NickC said...

Cramer always recommended the Vanguard Total Stock Market; even saying most of his personal fortune is in it, he even put his father in it- on his radio show on WOR, NYC, which predated his TV show by several years.

Big thanks to Bob and Honey.

Daddy Paul said...

"May the odds be ever in your favor" Bob Brinker
Bob is quite old. I suspect he has health issues. Bob took a lot of heat for missing the 2007 to 2009 bear as well as his infamous QQQ call in late 2000. He hit spot on in 2000 with his sell signal and 2003 with his buy. He also made himself famous with his on the Radio call in late may 2000. I am still studying the late May call in 2000 although I think I figured out how he did it. .

Thank you Honey!!!!!

Honeybee said...

.
Dapper Dan and all,

As they say, timing is everything. And because this was so sudden, our dRahme is vacationing in Oregon this week.

He kindly let me know ahead of time, but when he did, neither of us had any idea this would be the last Moneytalk.

tfb said...

Over at the Boglehead forum they are engaging in revisionist history regarding Da BRink, my favorite thus far is this gem:

I began listening in the late 90s. He made a call I believe in early 2000 to pull away from equities and go to bonds. I followed his advice and did quite well. Later in that year he advised " scalping profits from a bear market" where he said to invest in certain funds for a short period. I did this and again hit the jackpot. After doing this I've not pursued market timing again so I really just got lucky.

That is hilarious. First of all Bob never did a total sell there it was a two step to 65% cash allocation. Second he never said move to bonds. Thirdly there was no profitable short term trade; the writer is likely referencing the disastrous QQQ trade, which likely means the entire post is a fabrication.

tfb

Anonymous said...

Thx for hosting the blog, HB! I started listening to MT on WLS when I was at work on Saturdays and Sundays in Chicago in 1991.It was a great show then, and I really learned a lot and looked forward to listening at work. BB taught me a lot, and I'm grateful for that. I just finished listening to MTOD; it was hard for Bob to finish the program. He started to choke up at the end. I'll miss the show and this blog. Just like anything in life, MT had a great run with plenty of ups and downs. But overall, I learned a lot and appreciated Bob's knowledge, advice, and skills hosting the program. Thx for making a difference, BB! It was a good ride...

Big Paulie said...

there is gonna be a lot of annuity salesman partying this week !!!! i don't think i can face cnbc or fox bus. plus i can't take hearing one more time about my fading memory being saved by goldfish do do ... i'm taking all my money out of the market and buying a camper and move to lake tahoe and hunt B.B. down on the golf course and offer my service as a free caddy well maybe NOT

Unknown said...

Thank you Honeybee and Frankj for consistently publishing the high quality program summaries over the years.

P

Unknown said...

Thank You Honeybee for my Monday morning report!
Good Luck going forward...

David said...

I had it all set up to record...until a baseball game preempted. It was not to be.

El Dorado Steve said...

Guess this is it. I get myself signed under for the blog, and he calls it quits.

Thanks for your help in signing me up, Honey Bee. More, later.

Anonymous said...

Hi, I would like to put forth my own experience with Bob Brinker and Moneytalk .

Naturally , I cannot know how any of the other long time Moneytalk listeners and investors in the Marketimer have done . I can only speak for myself. Had I not been with the Marketimer all these years and had tried to do it myself without ANY outlook for the S & P 500 going forward , I wouldn't have near as much as I have now.
His market timing has been very good as far as I am concerned. So, I choose not to join any of the ranks of the sour grapes crowd IF , there are any.

Also, I did enjoy the ' Beehive Buzz '
Rick E. or maybe it was RickE

Lobo said...

Strange getting up Monday morning and knowing there is no Brinker to listen to this weekend. Hasn't hit me yet. Probably won't until Sunday at 4pm EDT. I might tune in anyway just to see what my local station airs in his place and/or if they carry a rerun will there at least be a fresh opening monologue or are these final shows completely recycled material.

Anonymous said...

Honeybee,
Thank you for all of your work with the blog and keeping BB's feet to the fire. Best of luck to you in your future endeavors!

I am thankful to BB for the buy call in February a few years ago, I put allot of money into the market then and did very well since. If BB reads this, thank you for many years of entertainment and education, and I wish you continued success!

Steve in Harrisburg.

Lobo said...

I'd like to see what the ratings numbers look like but Brinker and his audience might have just aged out of the demographic advertisers are looking for. Seems like 90% of his calls were people either at or nearing retirement. And with a lot of his affiliates on AM, it was going to be hard to attract a younger audience. How many young people listen to or even know what AM is?

Charlie B said...

I have also been a fan of Bob’s. Early on it was always a must to listen to him on the weekends. He had great investing ideas and great phone call advise and interaction.
But like all program timing models, I thnk it first came apart with his QQQ call. Then was hit or miss. Though he had a great call Feb 2016 again.

Thanks to Honey for the excellent blog which pointed out the good work Bob did but also the slight of hand stuff that Bob did so with carifying his calls.

Best to Bob and his family. I did learn a lot from him.

Kenny said...

We don't know the arrangement he had with Cumulus. Was he brokeraging the show or were newsletter spots subject to a different deal? Either way, obvious, the true returns from doing show were in peddling newsletter. So, explanation of leaving is dubious...it'll be a slow death of Marketimer if he can't promote it on media to a dazzled following. That plus the two or three live shows a month may mean he was just coasting out his contract, knowing the hammer was about to fall. I'd guess it was not his choice.

RetireEarlyLifestyle.com said...

Thanks HoneyBee for your efforts. I travel the globe and found it refreshing to be able to get a real and honest update from his weekly show. I was a stock broker/ branch manager in the 80's in Aptos, Ca. when I first heard Brinker and he planted the seed in my mind about no-load funds. Soon I realized the dis-service I was doing for my clients. This propelled me to retire early and use my "fun tickets' to travel to unique and unusual locations, always watching the markets looking for opportunities.

Thanks again,
Regards,
Billy
RetireEarlyLifestyle.com

Lobo said...

Any Brinker clone radio programs out there that I can now turn to? Preferably something that is widely distributed on terrestrial radio, politically neutral and discusses current events and finances. And not an infomercial that is going to spend an hour pushing annuities or gold/silver.

I doubt I am gonna shell out for MT unless he adds a weekly podcast to it. Hard to know if he is actually still writing it, or someone else is and BB is just rubber stamping and putting his name on it.

Anonymous said...

Hi Honey.
Hope all is well. Good luck in the future.
Gretta Ford

Tim Dolan said...

Thanks much for doing this. Regards, Tim Dolan.

Tim Dolan said...

Thanks much to all of you folks. Thanks Honey. Regards, Tim Dolan...

frankj said...

Lobo: Check out Jill on Money. Just do a search, you'll find the show. She isn't selling anything and spends a fair amount of time with callers to help them solve their problems.

kenp11 said...

Thanks HB. Maybe you can blog on the MarketTimer newsletter

Frankj fan said...

Yes Mr. Frankj, your last paragraph summed it up well. As much as I love a snipe hunt with Mr. Brinker the prey, he really did alert us to the big pitfalls and shark attacks that are ever present.

Thanks for your great guest summaries as well.

tfb said...

Any Brinker clone radio programs out there that I can now turn to? Preferably something that is widely distributed on terrestrial radio, politically neutral and discusses current events and finances.

Although he is another liberal, Ric Edelman's show seems superior to Brinker's show in every regard. And while I find Edelman's personality obnoxious (as I did Brinker’s) I also believe he has a superior command of financial topics and, get this, he seems to have the personal integrity Brinker totally lacks.

Let me put it this way, what did Brinker ever do for anyone other than himself? On the other hand Edelman has been instrumental in lobbying congressmen for changes that benefit consumers, has put a great deal of effort into social security reform, and was responsible for the creation of the XT index for which he receives no compensation. To me, those things matter.

In summary though I have personality conflicts with Ric Edelman I find him intelligent, informed, and actively engaged in the world around him. I find his overall integrity is refreshing.

As I said I think Edelman is another damn liberal. But he difference to me is, he is a liberal who is actively engaged in trying to shape things in a dignified manner and expends his own talent and resource on causes he deems worthy. I find that both admirable and commendable.

That being said, I have only listened to Edelman a handful of times. I simply prefer to keep my own financial counsel. However I did read his book about the future and highly recommend it.

My opinion,

tfb

Unknown said...

Thanks so much honey bee .... you are the best.

Honeybee said...

.
Of course, Bob Brinker believes that only the closing numbers count, but here we are again with the market nipping at all-time-highs. WhooHoo!

From Fox Business:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit an all-time intraday high on Tuesday, boosted by Boeing, Caterpillar, 3M, Intel and Apple. If the Dow closes up more than 92.29 points, it will set a new record.

MK said...

tfb, I agree that overall Edelmen gives sound investing advice. One can get education from him inexpensively by way of listening to his radio show, reading his books and attending his seminars. I once looked into having his firm manage my retirement account but found his fees to be too steep for my liking. He charges an annual percentage fee based on how much your account is worth. The fee starts at 2% and even for accounts worth 1 million he charges 1%. That doesn't include fund expense ratios although he does use low cost funds. So, yes, I would rather manage my own money and save on the fees.

Okay, one thing I don't necessarily agree with Edelmen about is how much diversification he engages in. His model portfolios contain 18 or 19 different asset classes each. I think it's debatable that is necessary although I don't think it is certifiably harmful.

Since I mentioned portfolios with many asset classes, people might want to check out Craig Israelson's 7twelve Portfolio. You can find him on YouTube.

Sail on MIke said...

Brinker was one data point for me. I listened to the show at times but have not heard it on the air for probably 15 years. It was too slow paced for me to put the time into it.

I subscribed for a few years and then reviewed his newsletters at a local library for years. I haven't seen one in probably 10 years.

I rarely followed Brinkers advice to a T. I did in the 2000 move to cash. I believe he said there is a low likelihood the market will go up more than 5% more and a high likelihood it will go down 20% or more. That made so much sense to me. I went 100% money market and that one piece of advice saved me hundreds of thousands. I did do some of the QQQ but not the extent he recommended. So I lost some there. On balance I have gained way more than I lost by using my Brinker data-points and things I learned from him.

I am 62 and retired over a year ago. I live in the PNW, have salt water water front, no mortgage and have monthly income from 6 sources equivalent to what our take home was when my wife and I were working. There are 2 more major income sources starting in the future as well. I give Brinker a fair amount of credit for my current circumstances.

gabe said...

Unbelievable! Bob's departure. Recently back from a 3 month vacation. Hopefully all is well with all.

Decided to cash in one of my pensions and took Bob's instructions. $782K received. Not too bad.....as Bob might say.

Market doing well. Stable doing exceptionally well with the added breeding feature. Son is doing a real good job.

Want to thank Bob Brinker for all of his help dating back to 1981. Will miss this site. Thank you HB for the site.

Gabe.

birdbrain said...

All things must end.

Bob Brinker is to be commended for his service providing sensible advice to his listeners (index funds, no loads, shark alerts, educating yourself, etc.) We all know his shortcomings in market timing. I've given him some grief here about his early switch to short duration bond funds, ironically his best advice may have been recommending long bonds, zero coupon in particular, during the 80s as interest rates fell from their 20% peak.

Kudos also for the way he left the radio stage. Rather than announcing his retirement will happen at year end or some future date to allow for fanfare, he simply closed his show thanking those who helped him in broadcasting and stating his decision to step away from the airwaves. Classy move.

Thanks to Honey for providing this forum over the years. Good luck to all the Beehive Buzz alumni.

Anonymous said...

I think it was a forced retirement due to low ratings. I was listening though! I'll miss it!

Thanks HB and FrankJ for the blog. I know it was a lot of work. I think you did a great job!

StoxNBondz

Bobnotbrinker said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
tfb said...

My limited and uncorroborated finding is Brinker was forced off due to FCC or FTC complaints over, drum roll, not having a disclaimer that portions of the show were rebroadcast. That explains why it was such a quick cut-off and the stations are going to run post reruns for the next month. If this is true, someone had a lot of egg on their face for not policing this show as they should have.

As I said, uncorroborated statements made by a couple of people in the industry who may (or may not) know. But if true, it is fitting end for America's most trusted financial advisor - LOL/

Mad as HELL! said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Stinky said...

tfb,

It would be incredible if there was an FCC complaint that caused Brinker to call it quits abruptly.

Do you have any supporting information? Or it it just idle (and / or wishful) speculation?

I’m sure that our friends on M* would be interested in this development, if true.

tfb said...

Stinky,

Since I use to do (5th rate)radio I still know a few program mangers, a few, moved up the food chain over the ensuing decades. I asked one from a large station that carries Brinker's syndicated show to inquire. That was the feedback he got back, but how accurate that is, I have no idea.

However a different source told me Brinker's numbers had dropped when I inquire a month ago. However he was a program director from a 4th rate station vs the one above which is a major.

Of course the two comments are no mutually exclusive.

tfb

Stinky said...

Honeybee,

Given tfb’s comment above, I’d really appreciate it if you would keep your site open for new comments until the dust has settled from this coming Sunday’s Brinker-fest.

If Brinker suddenly starts identifying his rerun shows as “best of”, after not doing that for several years, that is notable. There may not be any connection between the abrupt cessation of live shows and the addition of a disclaimer on recorded shows, but there is a greater than zero chance that there is a connection.

I can’t listen to the Brinker-fest this weekend. But i expect that some of your thousands of devoted followers will, and hopefully they can let the Honeybee community know through this blog if the rerun was announced.

I’m sure that the Brinker-bots on M* would be interested to know if the leopard (Brinker) suddenly has changed his spots. Insults will be hurled at anyone who dares question on M* the mighty Oz’s motivations - but it would be very interesting behavior if he does announce that the show is a rerun.

Honeybee, please provide this forum for a little bit longer.

Your humble servant,

Stinky

Trees said...

Thanks HB and Frank for your hard work! Always interesting comments.

Bob Brinker was interesting, but to slow for my attention span. Very nice to find HB and Frank's summary notes.

Anonymous said...

HB,

Thanks for the blog as I stopped listening live years ago...........wasted afternoons......... but love your summaries.

I only called Bob once the weekend before Hillary won the NY Senate race...............think he gave me like 8 to 10 minutes..................he was not in her camp! I think I won him over or at least he was then neutral.

Jeff

Honeybee said...

.
Hi Stinky....Okay, I will leave comments open at least through Sunday.

Partly because of your nice request, and partly because of the spam that I have gotten over the past few days from "anonymous."

I so enjoy deleting them, knowing that he sits at his computer, logs in, and carefully writes and sends them - all for nothing. LOL!

Occasionally, I will check one out and I am struck by the obvious mental illness of this person. Very sad and pathetic person (s).

Ron said...

Over the years he sometimes mentioned the need to be prepared for the MoneyTalk final exam. Since we never got that exam leads me to believe the finale was rushed and not planned in advance. I wonder if his contract had a non compete clause for a certain period of time before he can do something else in broadcasting.

Lone Star said...

Honeybee,

Thanks for providing us with this blog over the years. Always looked forward to reading it on Monday mornings. Wish there was some way to keep it open. I sense there will be some big financial stories in the near future: the end of this ten year bull market (S&P has never been up tens years in a row) and the end of the 40 year bull market in bonds which is occurring.

Like a lot of others, I did learn a lot from B.B. in the early days, avoided sharks selling real estate partnerships and annuities, bought no load mutual funds from a Valley Forge, PA company (remember when he wouldn’t say the name?) and profited from his dot com call. The 2008 debacle exposed BB as someone with an outdated timing model (or maybe as the man behind the curtain) and delayed my retirement by a few years but was still able to reach critical mass at age 52.

Without the blog, I might be forced to read the M* forums which don’t have quite the personality that this site does. :(

Thanks again,

Lone Star

Mad as HELL ! said...

Mad as HELL! said...

Honeybee - Impostor Message Please DELETE:



"Thanks for the update Gabe. Also, thanks for your many contributions here. You'll be missed buddy!"
October 2, 2018 at 5:52 PM

El Dorado Steve said...

(continued). I remember he got real upset with a caller in 2000 (I have cassette recordings of his shows, going back to 1998) when the caller kept mentioning one his fund-picks in the newsletter. I am QUOTING: Bob: "You want to quit saying the name of the fund?" (harshly asked!). Caller: "Ok."
Bob: "Yeah, I'd appreciate it." I looked at the radio, and mumbled "What's the problem, Bob?" He always used to discuss his funds. Over the ensuing 18 years, he never really discussed specifics that were in the newsletter...on the radio show, again. Except to brag about the great 'buys' of 6/2010, 9/2011, and 2/2016. Never the disasters. Still never heard an excuse for not getting out in late 2007.

Irwin in Skokie said...

Will not be "tax season" if we can't hear Barbara Weltman talking to BB. Hope there is a "reunion" show on her blogs

frankj said...

Irwin, you're right. Will miss Barbara and Charles Ellis, Charlie Maxwell(energy), Roger Lowenstein, David L. Scott (Wall Street Words), Steve Forbes, Micheline Maynard (auto industry), John Hofmeister(energy) and Joseph Hurley (saving for college.

Long Time Lurker said...

Long time lurker here. I just wanted to thank TFB for his postings over the years. Many of his posts were very substantial and caused me to think. Others were hilariously funny. I always enjoyed his posts and his flirtation with Honeybee. And many thanks to Honeybee.

ronn said...

I will also miss John Zogby as he would have been on here in the next few weeks.

frankj said...

Zogby was an interesting guest too.

JR2018 said...

And so the end has come for MoneyTalk. I learned so much in the early years and would tape record the Saturday+Sunday segments to listen to them throughout the week. I thank Bob Brinker for the start of my financial education which is bearing fruit today. However, I stopped listening to the show about 5 years ago when it started to become political and lacking in learning opportunities. Instead, I would read through Honey Bee's detailed blog about the weekly show. I can only say thank you for the amount of time she (and others) spent providing the radio show summaries and background information. A true service to so many. God bless.

Ronn said...

I would doubt FCC would force Brinker off the air because of not announcing reruns. If anything, wouldn't they go after Westwood One? And probably in the form of a fine.

Daddy Paul said...

Questions I would love to ask Brinker.

What made you interested in timing the market?

What factors do you input into your model?

How did you miss the 2007 to 2009 bear? Did you learn any lessons?

Can I see your market timing model. I tried to copy it in 2000. I believe I am close.

If anyone cares my guess is IF Bob were on this weekend he might be advising this is a good time to add money to the market.

Unknown said...

I have enjoyed the insight from your blog and wish there was some way to keep everything you have said so I could refer back to it. Bob Brinker was a good teacher as you said.

Honeybee said...

.
Hi Unknown and all....I will not be removing anything from my blog. So you can either do a search for various topics, or simply read back through my summaries for various dates.

In the right column, at the bottom, there is a search window that you can use that focuses only on this blog.

It works fairly well, and if you don't find what you are looking for at first, try again with slightly different wording.

JC in CT said...

Thanks for your diligence over the years, and to everyone who contributed.
Perhaps you can keep the blog going for us to discuss the Markettimer newsletter ?

Best of luck whatever you decide to do.

JC in CT

Bobnotbrinker said...

Honeybee,

Thanks again to you and the entire BRT. (By the way, I never did receive my check - LOL!)

Is there a definite date set for discontinuing the blog? I hope you will keep it running at least through Sunday, 10/7/18. You might be surprised at how many new posts you receive, even though binky will be featuring reruns.

Anyway, I hope the very best for you, the BRT, and the folks who participated in the lively discussions here.

Bobnotbrinker (AKA Jerrod Clarkson, AKA JC)

Pete Paradigm said...

One last viewpoint that might answer some questions posed lately-- Bob's "timing model" could not react (or reap a "signal", or whatever coined phrase is tossed around) to the 2007-09 event because the bear was based upon massive credit fears whereas his timing model catalogs historical economic data and examines how the stock market reacted to it.

Sure, he claims to consider "investor sentiment" which he says is a contrarian indicator. So, as the market was fearful and selling like maniacs, his view was bullish. After the bottom, he was right.

Heard him admit it one time to a lady caller, "It was a Black Swan event." That's a defined term on Wall Street.

Bobnotbrinker said...
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Paul said...

Honeybee,

Thank you for all the years. I will miss this blog. It was my weekly, sometimes daily, respite from irrationality. Thanks to all, all, all who have contributed.

Paul (NYSIL)

P.S. It's Sunday again and for the first time in a long time I'm not going to check with Honeybee's website to see if Bob Brinker is live or not. Bittersweet.

Larrien Tejas said...

Bob Brinker's retirement stirs a flood of memories, both good and bad. My late mother always listened to Moneytalk on weekends back in the late 1980's and she encouraged me to do so as well. Listening to BB on MT became a weekend ritual, and I later became a Marketimer subscriber. I had begun investing on my own with limited knowledge, but I began applying what I learned from the program-- particularly about diversification, risk and using no-load mutual funds in our journey to reaching "Critical Mass". After subscribing to his newletter, I followed his portfolio recommendations as closely as possible. Like many posting here, I lost money on the infamous QQQ call and eventual stopped subscribing to Marketimer and listening regularly to the program. I occasionally checked Honeybee's blog for a recap of the shows. All in all, the knowledge gained from Bob Brinker provided a foundation that enabled me to build a substantial nest egg. Thank you Bob, and best wishes!

Honeybee said...

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Thank you Paul (not my son-in-law).

I will miss all of you too - very much!

I have agreed to keep comments open until after the rerun of Moneytalk today, but will close it then.

However, I will leave my email address available, so I can always be reached.

Sometimes, not right away, but will definitely respond to questions if I can be helpful.

Jack said...

Old habits die hard...just sitting here waiting for Brinker!

Jack said...

Sounds like a rerun monologue. I guess it really is over. Is there anywhere to download old MT shows from the 90s and 00s?

I wonder if Brinker will show up anywhere down the line? I think Vegas would be an ideal spot to do a local financial broadcast.

House Doc said...

The Old Bastard doesn't even have a msg about prerecorded show after he quit. Adious to all, I will be in the land of Bogleheads or on the beach. ROLL TIDE

Jack said...

Mmmm, gave out telephone # at the end of the first segment.

Honeybee said...

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House Doc and all....Yes, here we are on the first "best of" Moneytalk that Bob Brinker announced last Sunday would be run for the month of October.

And 15 minutes into the OLD, old, monologue and not one mention of it being reruns, best of or kiss my foot, to listeners.

FYI: Anyone who thinks he respects subscribers more than listeners, is only dreaming!

Honeybee said...

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I can't believe my ears...He just gave out the number TWICE.

Unknown said...

WLS AM Chicago is airing/streaming a replay of a past Moneytalk program today for those suffering from withdrawal pains :-)

Honeybee said...

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Here's the number. I tried twice to see what happened - no answer:

1-800-934-2221

Stinky said...

Honeybee and House Doc,

Thanks for reporting on the Brinker rerun. I guess leopards don’t change their spots - play a rerun and don’t announce it. And announce the phone number to boot!

Maybe I’ll post one more time on the M* thread, giving a postmortem on Brinker’s first show in retirement. I haven’t been insulted by the Brinker-bots for more than a week now, and I’m sure that they miss my truth telling.

Jack said...

Just started 2nd segment with MT plug and phone # again.

jack said...

Definitely a rerun, just plugged MTOD and stated the 10 year TBill rate was 2 7/8%.

Honeybee said...

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LOL Stinky! That sounds like a plan - posting on M* - don't want to go through too many withdrawal pangs at once.

This rerun show is all about selling newsletter today. First call he talked about his "balance portfolio" duration.

I didn't think anything Brinker could do would ever shock me again, but this constant encouraging callers is shocking me to my toes!

Honeybee said...

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Jack....Didn't you hear Brinker say good-bye at the end of Moneytalk last Sunday?

jack said...

Westwood One must have let everyone go. There was no one left on the payroll to chop and slice together old programs.

Plight of the Starship said...

Still advertising Money Talk on Demand after it was discontinued! LOL!

Mike V said...

Doesn't seem like they are going to the trouble of splicing old shows and cutting out the 800# number announcements. I guess they assume all of his listeners know Bob's last show was last week!

Cheers.

Jack said...

Ten year T-Bill closed Friday around 3 1/4% so 2 7/8% being given out shows program is dated.

Jack said...

Ha ha, he just told Margaret from Denver to 'call back' when she got more complete info.

Mr A said...

Wow, the end of an era. I recall hearing Moneytalk for the first time as I drove across South Dakota in 1993. I wish Bob would have given notice of some sort.

Thanks to you, HB, for maintaining this site as a place to offer fact and comment on the program. And good luck to you, Bob! Thanks for the lift.

Unknown said...

Hmmmmmm Bob's giving the number out today 10-7-2018, is he live???

Unknown said...

Today’s re-run show appears to be the August 19, 2018 broadcast.

Will today’s special guest host be Olga Mizrhai, author of the book, “The Gig is Up, Thrive in the Gig Economy”?

Jack said...

Even though it should be announced as a rerun, at least replaying an entire show sounds better than the poorly chopped up, edited reruns of the past.

KC said...

Say it so. Heading into the final hours of the blog. Feels like the Grim Reaper will be the third hour guest on today's re-run. I wish the blog would stay active or find a way we could all come up with another platform to keep the banter going.

If not, thanks to Honey and Frankj for all the efforts over the years. I am sure it is a lot more work than what those of us on the other side of the computer screen can imagine. Excellent work. I have learned so much by listening to Bob and then reading the blog with all of the informative writers. I will be lost not being able to listen to the show while I mow the grass on Sunday's, though the wife will appreciate getting some our quality time back, lol.

So long Starship riders.

KC

Unknown said...

yes appears to be re-run from August 19th

Honeybee said...
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Biker said...

Long time lurker and occasional poster on this blog. I would like to sincerely thank Honeybee, Frankj, and the other contributors to this blog over the years for your fine efforts. It was a high honor to have been once acknowledged as a member of the BRT. Biker

DFW_Mike said...

Bob will be missed and thanks to Bob, the Money Talk show and his guests many are at or on their way to the land of critical mass.
Long time listeners also know much more about the lurking sharks and the sticky fingers that come with their investment assistance.
Lastly since the past few years have been a lot of reruns and fewer BB broadcast hours in some radio markets, many are now looking for other good sources of free, but sound investment information. If anyone has good suggestions please share your recommendations of free investment advise (radio, podcast, etc. and anything that isn't a shark).
Long live Bob Brinker and the fans of Money Talk.

DJ said...

Honey----just found out today, after being gone for awhile, that all was ending. Thank you & Frank so much for all you have done. I too will miss you all. If I'm the last one here, I will now turn out the lights & lock the door...but we will always hear Honey's bells ringing at every holiday for years to come...God bless you all!! dg out!

Honeybee said...

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MESSAGE TO ALL MY WONDERFUL FRIENDS:

I will miss all of you! I feel that since Moneytalk has ended that the most dignified thing I can do now is to end this blog.

I have been asked to continue the blog with focus on Marketimer. Here is the reason why I feel that would not be the right thing to do.

Marketimer is copyrighted material, but Fair Use Laws have always allowed me to post quotes from it as part of a discussion - to clarify and educate.

But I would fully expect Brinker to sic his lawyers on me (via Google) if I ever went outside the Fair Use Laws that Moneytalk provided for me.

So at this time, I will close the comments sections, but will remain available via my email address.

So I wish all fellow passengers on the Starship Moneytalk God's blessings and love....Honey