In talking with a client this week about the market’s closure for Labor Day, the question was said in passing – “is the market always closed on National Holidays?” This is a question I’ve never answered here, so let’s take care of that today! As is often the case, the question doesn’t have a straightforward […]

The biggest market event this past week was the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium last Friday, August 20th, 2024. At that meeting, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell spoke and provided the first definitive commentary that clearly signaled interest rate cuts are imminent. Powell made note of the consistent summer of slowing inflation (after some bumpier readings […]

I came across an article in the Wall Street Journal earlier this year by Jason Zweig. In it, he discussed a strategy to help investors remain grounded in uncertain times. The strategy was based on the work of Hal Hershfield, a psychologist at the University of California, Los Angeles. Hal advocates that envisioning how you […]

While there has been talk of interest rate cuts for virtually all of 2024, it seems as though we may be fast approaching that prediction becoming a reality. This has clients rightfully asking what actions they should take regarding cash liquidity in the coming months. Let’s take a look The challenge facings my clients, and […]

If you’ve been a loyal reader of the Friday Five, you will be all too able to name the “star of the show” when it has come to economic data over the past several years. You guessed it – inflation! Yet after this week’s two inflation prints (discussed in more detail below), I think it’s […]

As interest rates fell last week (and with talk of Fed rate cuts coming in September), I talked with two clients about real estate related questions this week. Let’s take a look at these important topics Selling a Home Without a doubt, lower mortgage rates spark increased home buying (and selling) activity. As rates come […]

So much for a quiet end to summer. Markets had other plans. Starting after last Friday’s job report, markets took a sharp turn downward and reached levels of volatility only seen twice before (during the global financial crisis and COVID). While we currently sit just down ~1% in most equity indexes (as of Thursday afternoon), […]

Before I dive into this week’s post, I want you to remember of an important fact. We’ve been here before and come out the other side. What proof do I have? I’m about to re-post an article I wrote on March 9, 2020. Over four years ago, we were in a similar spot, albeit one […]

Below is an excerpt from Warren Buffett’s letter to shareholders in 1987- reminding us how to handle market fluctuations. Almost 40 years later, the advice still holds. Ben Graham, my friend and teacher, long ago described the mental attitude toward market fluctuations that I believe to be most conducive to investment success. He said that […]

During each Federal Reserve rate decision meetings of 2024, I have been immediately transported back to my childhood. In these flashbacks, I am sitting in the backset of a station wagon, wedged between my sister, our cocker spaniel Clover, and some luggage, asking (repeatedly) “are we there yet?” And regardless of if we were within […]