Not a picture of a healthy economy…
Author: Danny
Interest Rates
Here is an interesting chart I saw today that frames our current interest rate environment from an historical perspective. Interest rates are now as low as they have been in over 226 years! What is also interesting to note is how high rates have been in the past – long-term rates of around 8-10% are not uncommon.
Retirement Without a Plan
The article below describes how most Americans don’t have a plan for their retirement income. Over the years, I have observed this to be true. No one that I’ve met plans to fail, but most certainly fail to plan. Why set a plan for retirement income? Isn’t it OK to put the Social Security check […]
Scary Parallel
Almost everyone recognizes the worst stock market decline as the 1929 crash. It was during that time that the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined approximately 87%. To describe it as a devastating time would be an understatement as The Great Depression was soon ushered in. It has been said that history repeats itself. If that is true, […]
When A Mandate Is Not A Mandate
No doubt, you’ve heard about the Employer Mandate and the Individual Mandate that are a part of Obamacare. Both relate to a requirement for Americans to have health insurance and resulting fines for failure to comply. The Supreme Court, in a case that could have ended Obamacare, ruled that the fines are constitutional. In 2013, […]
Who Said That?
Make your best guess on who said the following, and when… (Scroll down for the answer after you read this paragraph.) “In short, it is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high today and tax revenues are too low and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to […]
Investment Posture vs. Investment Strategy
A reader submitted the following to question to the Minneapolis St. Paul Star Trubune, and was published in 2001… Q: “I will be 61 soon. I am healthy and energetic, but not employed. I have $420,000 in three IRA accounts, down from $800,000 in January 2000. I am with a full-service broker. A money manager […]
The Debt Ceiling, The Market, and You
The Syrian crisis has subsided and now as you know, the current “crisis of the moment” is the fight over a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government which has led to a “government shutdown.” In the coming days the battle over whether to raise the debt ceiling will become a much larger story if […]
What They Should Know, But Don’t
A CNN poll reveals that only 27% of American adults know what the Federal Reserve’s QE program is about. The question used in the poll was in a multiple-choice format, which should have seemingly produced a higher correct response than simply asking respondents to explain QE. Why is this disturbing? Because the majority of Americans […]
Inflection Points
Webster’s defines inflection as a turning or bending away from a course or position of alignment. Take a look at the chart and note two of the previous inflection points in the chart. The first occurred after a 106% increase in the S&P 500 and resulted in a 40% loss. The second occurred after a 101% […]