“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” This famous quote from Mark Twain seems like it would be old news over 100 years later but in a world with more data at our fingertips than ever before, it is hard to know if we see the truth or more damned lies. […]
One way to make sure you hit your targets is to simply adjust them lower. It looks like central banks worldwide will do just that in their fight against inflation. Despite a long-term target of a 2% annual rate, political pressure to sacrifice purchasing power in exchange for growth appears to be gaining steam. Given […]
The US Presidential election will generate endless talk about who is or is not “paying their fair share” and what tax policy should look like at the national level. Less discussed is the continuation of “tax cut fever” at the state level. Flush with cash from pandemic payouts from the government, many states decided to […]
If you spoke to a 25-year-old versus a 65-year-old, you might be shocked at the difference of opinion on where our country’s economic future is headed. While this disparity is common, the degree to which government policy is affecting each may be at its highest point ever. This is sending shockwaves through political circles, as […]
Making financial choices is a daunting task as the result yields an objective number on your selection. Nobody likes to see that they exited a stock just before it took off or entered a new investment into a fresh drawdown. Sadly, this human characteristic often pushes us to ask the wrong questions. The Power of […]
In a scene reminiscent of the French Revolution, angry mobs descended upon the capital in tractors. Wait, tractors?! Farmers across the European Union (EU), upset by new environmental regulations, flexed their political muscles by demonstrating that limits exist to the “green” mandates passed by government bureaucrats in Brussels. Taking a page from climate protestors, farmers […]
Headlines trumpet the stock market gains driven by the “AI Revolution,” but there is company at the top as gold, Bitcoin, and cocoa also hit their peaks. Many would say this is a validation of a buy-and-hold strategy. Typically associated with equity markets and not commodities, bitcoin holders and gold bugs might argue that it […]
“A portfolio where everything goes up together is a bad portfolio,” a wise man once told me. Increasingly, this point seems lost on investors who seem to buy every stock market dip with positive results. Much like the Thanksgiving turkey that feels more comfortable with each passing day, the chance of severe loss might get […]
In a July 2023 blog post entitled Real Estate Trends in a Post-Pandemic World, we discussed the potential trajectory of real estate, particularly commercial real estate. As expected, the outlook for office space and other properties is tumbling. While that article mainly focused on supply and demand as work-from-home trends took over and interest rates […]
Argentinians have spoken, and their message to the government seems clear: they are sick of lurching from inflation crisis to inflation crisis. As is often the case, currency debasement affects the countries that can least borrow or print their way out of it the most. Argentina earned this skepticism with a 200% inflation rate in […]
Much like weight loss or finding more time to read, including financial planning in your resolutions for 2024 is a great idea. It is an election year in the United States, which means we will see a lot of promises. If history is an indicator, there will be a positive return for the S&P. Twenty-four […]
While grocery prices grab the headlines, chocolate might be the story of 2024. The standout trend of 2023 was one that most people overlooked in their day-to-day lives. Cocoa futures surged over 70%1 for the year, and this rally2 seems to have staying power. Smaller trend managers benefited from seizing this opportunity, unlike larger programs […]
The VIX, or Volatility Index, is one of the most frequently mentioned acronyms in financial news. This prominence is well-justified, given that the VIX serves as a crucial indicator of market risk and is instrumental to the pricing of options, which exerts a profound impact across the financial landscape. Furthermore, trading activity related to the […]