To claim that the election of Donald Trump as President-Elect of the United States was a surprise is an understatement! Not only were pundits and polls proven wrong, the financial markets reacted violently, and at odds with the consensus opinion. At the heart of the stock and bond market’s reaction is the as yet… Read more »
Time is our allotment on Earth. Everyone has time, but none of us knows how much time we have left. In that way time is a weird commodity. We have a variety of tools and celebrations to measure its passing from clocks and watches to seasonal celebrations and birthdays. There are courses we can take… Read more »
I know that it is still early to make a prediction on the outcome for this year’s presidential election. We have only had one of three scheduled debates. The polls seem to be tightening within the margin of error. Any misstep can tank the election for one of the candidates. Well here it goes. My… Read more »
We had a conversation with one of our clients last week. It centered on her job, and the fact that she had just been diagnosed with a progressive illness. Although she will be receiving a disability pension, and her job is admittedly adversely affecting her quality of life, she is reluctant to leave her position…. Read more »
Great Britain’s momentous vote to leave the European Union caught everybody by surprise, and I mean everybody! Let this be a lesson to the market timers and soothsayers who claim clairvoyance. The markets are usually pretty savvy about moving before the news but they got caught flat footed on this one. The pollsters as well… Read more »
Stock markets have a well deserved reputation for their ability to see through current events and to predict what the economy will be doing 3-6 months into the future. This unique ability can often be confounding to investors who are firmly rooted in the present. Although its predictive ability is not absolute, it tends to… Read more »
Most of us are familiar with the saying, “opposites attract.” While this phrase tends to be associated with affairs of the heart, attempting to explain seemingly incompatible compatibilities, we appear to have the converse occurring of late in the realms of finance, consumerism and politics. In the field of finance, the Federal Reserve has… Read more »
As the presidential primary season lurches toward the finish line, we would like to offer some observations about what we have learned, and perhaps more importantly, what we may be able to expect in the general election. What was most striking to me was the disconnect between what the politicians were selling, and what the… Read more »
ISIS is at it again, claiming responsibility for terror attacks in Brussels, the European Union’s capital, hitting the airport as well as the train station, killing 31 innocent victims and injuring another 270. This attack comes on the heels of a deadly terror attack four months ago in Paris, which is less than 200 miles… Read more »