Global Deadbeat? . . . Not Quite Yet.

Allegedly, the United States will soon run out of money. Unless Congress quickly votes to increase the amount of debt we are authorized to issue (aka the “debt ceiling”), our country will soon be a very large global deadbeat. The largest global deadbeat in the history of the globe. We say “allegedly,” because every time…

It’s a Wonderful Life

A year ago today, the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates to fight inflation. And since then, the Fed has raised rates eight times (a total of 4.5%). Prior to this, we were in an environment where rates were held artificially low. And it was a wild world. Just like in 2008, when people were…

The Obvious is Hardly Ever Obvious

The most interesting technology grabbing headlines over the past couple of months is called ChatGPT. It is essentially a Google search on steroids. You can ask it anything and it will provide an answer, even answering in the style of your choosing (Southern drawl, Shakespearean prose, biblical, etc.). It can write poetry, solve math problems,…

Back to Basics

This past year was the most difficult investment year in a long, long time. During previous bad markets, there were typically other asset classes (bonds?) that offset the decline in stock prices. For example, during the sub-prime mortgage crisis of late 2007 through early 2009, the stock market declined 55%, but there were other asset…

The Inevitable Crypto Scam

It now appears that the great Red Wave didn’t quite materialize during the mid-term elections. (We fondly recall the days when election results were almost always announced the following day.) And although Republicans now have a House majority, the Senate is still somewhat undecided. With a run-off election in Georgia yet to come, the Democrats…