Exciting Times for Boring Stuff - Talk about an oxymoronic headline! Why is it that cash, bonds, treasury bills, and CD’s are getting more attention today than they’ve garnered over the past 15-years? It’s because those fixed income investments, or instruments, are now paying upwards of 5% interest! The last time banks were paying this much interest on savings deposits was …
10 Year-end Planning Ideas - With all the uncertainty in the markets, a negative political environment, a sour international outlook, and the ever present attack of inflation eroding your purchasing power, I thought it would be a good time to focus on the things we can control. Being proactive almost always has its advantages and I wanted to offer a …
Inclement Weather and Finance - Dark clouds, brutal gusts of wind, white caps, flash floods, and pelting rain…it’s all in a day on the lake. This particular year however, it’s been occurring a lot more frequently on the Colorado River that runs right through the Mojave Desert. And our little escape to the lake, is right in the middle of …
Percentage vs. Dollars vs. Points…How do you measure up? - Is there something that frustrates you to no end every time you hear it? There is for me. I get frustrated when radio and media commentators report on stock market indexes. You know the three favorites: The Dow, The S&P 500, and the NASDAQ. What do they report? They tell you how many points up …Percentage vs. Dollars vs. Points…How do you measure up? Read More »
One Day Up, Next Day Down…Trying to Find a Direction - Today was a bad day in the market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,164 points, which is 3.6%. The Nasdaq Composite index dropped 4.7%. These are some of the biggest daily drops since June of 2020. By contrast, the Dow surged 2.8%, while the Nasdaq rose 3.2% only 14-days ago, on May 4th. To …One Day Up, Next Day Down…Trying to Find a Direction Read More »
Inverted Yield Curve + Inflation = Stay the Course - Recently the yield curve inverted for the first time since August 2019 (which means that long-term interest rates have dropped below short-term rates). Why do we pay attention to this? Because this inversion suggests that investors believe the near-term economy and markets to be riskier than the long-term. This recent inversion in the yield curve …Inverted Yield Curve + Inflation = Stay the Course Read More »
Keeping up March Madness…into April - I probably don’t need to restate the impact that current global events and economic policy changes are causing. I’m also certain that not only have you been receiving non-stop coverage from your own news outlets, but you’ve been feeling the effects of these economic changes in your pocket book as well. It is at these …
Take Action or Don’t; It’s Your Choice - On a personal level, I am a planner. On a professional level, I am a Certified Financial Planner. I prepare (and plan) for what I believe is coming, monitor the situation as a participant, and have a contingency plan to fall back upon if my primary objective(s) cannot be accomplished. To some, I over think, …
Ronald Wayne vs. My Daughter - Without immediately searching the name “Ronald Wayne,” do you know who he is or what he did? Most people haven’t a clue, and that’s for a good reason. He isn’t rich, he isn’t an actor, and he’s probably not a family member of yours. So, who is Ronald Wayne? Ronald Wayne is a co-founder of …