As my friend, Ken Woodruff often says, There are two seasons in Iowa and places north. Winter and tough sledding. The groundhog saw his shadow, but there is an end soon coming to physical winter. The current bear market, not so soon. More tough sledding, until the fourth quarter would [...]
For decades, commentators on the Federal Reserve Board (the Fed) have referred to the action of raising federal funds interest rates as taking away the punch bowl at the party. After finally arousing from sleep after the inflation fire was already getting out of control, Fed Chair Jerome Powell has [...]
If you give to any favorite charities, you must wonder by year end whether every dollar you give only buys more paper, ink, and postage for more solicitations. I think it is safe to say that the cards and letters are effective. If they were not, they would not send [...]
Would you agree that most investors are glad to see 2022 in the rearview mirror? Even when one obtains better results than the market in a downtrend, the general feeling is still painful. The drop represents real dollars lost from accounts of real people, even if only for a year [...]
I know that many of you reading this column are investors with a long term perspective who generally hold your positions for years. Therefore, today’s message is particularly for you. Since applying technical analysis is definitely not easy or perfect and is labor intensive, keeping stock, bond, or mutual fund [...]
A perceptive client just asked, How is it that a positive jobs report came out last week and the Market proceeded to drop? Great question, I replied. This phenomenon occurs regularly. It is difficult to understand unless one looks at the effects of the news for the intermediate term, months [...]
Thanksgiving is a time where most of us are reminded of the blessings we have been given and focus our attention on those who may be struggling. Recently I wrote that most of our societal ills today stem from our own poor choices including addictions of all kinds. While these [...]
As often stated, much about investing trends can be related to calendar seasons each year. By November 1, an uptrend of indeterminate length usually begins. Since this year’s market highs came on January 4, such a change in trend could not be more welcome! Today, I will focus upon where [...]
I do not know who might have first said it, but I often now remind myself that if a problem can be solved using only money, it is not a big problem. Our problems as a nation at this time in our history are big problems. Unfortunately, money will not [...]
In the 1980 presidential election debates, Ronald Reagan began his famous quip, Well . . . There you go again! Sometimes it seems we cannot learn from our mistakes. Today I will connect some dots of seemingly unrelated ideas and decisions that have made life in these United States more [...]
