US companies measured by the Standard and Poor’s (S&P 500) have had about a 16% increase in their earnings, yet prices are about the same as they were a year ago. Hard to believe right? Many US Businesses are performing at an exceptional level. Companies have innovated to grow their top line sales by approximately […]
hyperbole – hy-PUR-bə-lee – an exaggeration to create emphasis or effect. Washington’s latest legislation – the one extending the payroll tax cut for 2 months – could be one of the worst pieces of legislation ever passed. Republicans supported the bill thinking they would lose votes if they didn’t support something. Democrats got their payroll […]
Watch what people do not what they say. Sales for the full first weekend of holiday shopping – Thursday through Sunday – are up 16.4% versus a year ago according to the National Retail Federation. The American economy is not going to fall off a cliff – consumers are showing the way.
I believe there is a “pendulum effect” in so many areas of our world. Some may call it “a lemming effect”, but pendulum sounds so much better. Let’s consider “pendulum effects”: Think about the Pendulum Effect in today’s ability to finance a home. It seems as though it was just a couple years ago when […]
I find it insightful to pay attention to some of the greatest investors of all time – Warren Buffett. Many of our clients know what fans of Mr. Buffett’s investment prowess. We have differing view of some of his other views – but that is for another day. Clearly he is one of the best […]
A Balanced Budget by definition: Income = Spending If your Budget has a running deficit there are only three possible solutions to turn that into a Balanced Budget: 1. Reduce your spending 2. Raise your income 3. A combination of 1 and 2 Logically we know that you cannot decrease a deficit by borrowing more. […]
It is interesting to watch investor and advisors go through the market cycles and gyrations. Often we get derailed by feelings – mistaking them as “facts”. It is important to notice the difference between the two and how we are influenced by feelings versus facts. Let’s take a look: Facts: The economy (GDP) is growing […]
Everyone knows housing is still weak. Everyone knows jobs are growing, but not fast enough to seriously lower the unemployment rate, which stands at 9.1%. Everyone also knows real GDP has expanded for nine consecutive quarters, at an average annual rate of 2.5%. No one is satisfied with this; but it is a recovery, not a […]
AI raises an important question, especially for any business that offers advice: What can technology do, and what can it never truly replace? I believe technology can provide information, but a good advisor provides understanding.
