Small businesses do better when we work together
It’s graduation season, probably many of you are have celebrated with friends and family, or are about to. This past Thursday I got to celebrate a friend graduating from the Independence LEAD program. The LEAD program stands for Leadership Education And Development. It is a nine-month program that the Independence [...]
The Importance of Being Active
If I’m honest, the past decade or so have not been great for investors who actively manage or diversify their accounts. Many like Warren Buffet who espouse the strategy of simply buying low-cost S&P index funds, have done very well especially since 2009. With the nearly unprecedented run our nations [...]
Bearing with Bonds
Road sign to bond market My goal today is to give you some remedies for the plummeting bond values from which most of you reading this are suffering. One oft distributed piece of radio wisdom these days is that, in retirement, it’s all about income. I respectfully disagree [...]
Finding value in what you buy
Before coming into work this morning I stopped to get gas. The price of super premium gas was a staggering $4.89 a gallon, I thought to myself I wonder if anyone is choosing to put premium gas in their car during this time of massive inflation. As I drove, I [...]
Is getting political bad business?
The last week has been a very interesting one for some well-known corporations. Particularly, companies with a left of center political perspective. After Disney came out in opposition to the “don’t say gay” bill a little over a month ago, this past Thursday amid growing calls by conservatives for action [...]
Could a 401(k) be a solution for your small business?
This past week is always a busy one for investment advisors. Despite the fact that Tax Day comes at the same time every year, many wait until this last week to make year-end contributions to their IRA accounts in an attempt to reduce their overall income tax liabilities. Unfortunately, for [...]
Independence Needs Modern Community Development
There is no such thing as a free lunch! Someone pays for everything. Beginning with that truth, today I will discuss the modern world of community growth and development. It applies to all of us whether we live in a major city, its suburbs, or in a rural county in [...]
Where have all the workers gone?
This past weekend my family and I went to a local chain restaurant for dinner. As we entered, I was surprised to find the dining room virtually empty given it was dinner time on a Friday night. I was even more surprised to find a lobby full of people and [...]
It’s a hard time to be an investor
Lenin once said, “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” I believe for today’s economy and stock market; no truer words have been spoken. This is one of the most stressful periods I have seen since I began to watch markets in 1998. There’s [...]
How Do You Know?
I am thinking of the pop song, How do you know if he really loves you? Whitney Houston made this a giant hit a couple of decades ago. But in this column, I am discussing how can one know if this new bull market is the real deal and will [...]