I’ve written quite a bit about interest rates in recent years. They have an inextricable impact on financial asset prices, so it’s always instructive to pay attention to what is happening to rates – both in the US and abroad. Interest rates have risen relatively drastically in July and August across the yield curve (ie: […]

One of the most important economic releases for August came out today (Thursday August 10th) – the July CPI report – revealing the latest inflation dynamics at play in the United States. August has been a challenging month for investors, as markets have reversed their upside trendlines sharply in the first several trading days of […]

August is typically a challenging month for stocks and that is proving to be true yet again this year (at least as of August 2nd while I’m writing this note). We did get relatively tame data regarding inflation and jobs earlier in the week and another jobs report will hit the wires shortly before this […]

Let’s travel back in time. Friends is the top TV show. All for You by Janet Jackson is the top song. AOL has 28 million users and AOL.com is the top website. George W Bush is president. Flip phones and Blackberries dominate the cell phone market. Gas is $1.46 per gallon. It’s early 2001. A […]

I was reviewing a weekly newsletter this week (yes, I read several others beyond the Friday Five!) when this headline caught my eye. It was sourced from this recent CNBC article on what adults in the US believe they will need to retire Notice anything alarming about this summary graphic? Pretty much everything in the […]

After a slow holiday week, markets have resumed normal operating speed this week and thankfully, the momentum has been positive. The upward moves are largely due to signs of disinflation. The two inflation reports for June released this week did their part to reassure investors that it remains possible the US can attain a soft […]

Every year, I pick a one-word theme for the upcoming year. It is a fun exercise to kick off a near year and it also helps serve as a good reminder as the days tick by of what I want to prioritize and how I want to spend my time. My word for 2023 was […]

I subscribe to a few research services. I always value other people’s ideas and thoughts on the market and these services do a great job of challenging my thinking and presenting new perspectives. One research firm I am particularly impressed by- FS Insight – does an excellent job of simplifying the market into digestible ideas […]

Stay the course. How many times have I given that message to clients (and myself), both in these weekly posts and in general conversation? Thousands of times I am sure! And a large majority of those have come in the past three years as all investors have been thru a lifetime’s worth of challenges. Truth […]

It’s been a relatively quiet week in the markets (finally!). With a return to action next week (an inflation print and a meeting of the Federal Reserve), I thought this was a great chance to write about a non-investment topic this week…habits. A few weeks back, I was reading James Clear’s weekly 3-2-1 email and […]