No Confidence

It’s the end of an era – the Taylor Swift “Eras” Tour, that is. The 21-month global extravaganza ended earlier this month in Vancouver, British Columbia. While “Swifties” across the globe are going to miss seeing the superstar on stage, the local economies where she performed might miss her even more. Swift’s tour was a…

Trumped Again

It wasn’t necessarily a surprise that Donald Trump became the 47th president of the United States. As late as Election Day afternoon, the race was considered by most to be “too close to call.” It was a surprise, though, that it was a landslide victory, with Trump garnishing 312 Electoral College votes, and almost 75…

The First Cut

It’s always been hazardous to be president of the United States, or even being a candidate campaigning to be president. Seems like there is always someone somewhere who wants to bring you harm, no matter your party affiliation. The 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy (just five years after his brother was assassinated) brought that…

Market Mayhem, Monopoly, and Missing Jobs

During the first three trading days of this month, the stock market made a lot of noise. Weeks of lackluster economic data culminated in a pair of worrisome job reports that sparked a two-day selloff. On the third day, gasoline was poured onto the fire. Something called the “unwinding of the yen carry trade” (the…