The voice behind “Sam the Snowman” in the 1964 animated Christmas special “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” was an entertainer named Burl Ives. Those of you of a certain age undoubtedly know this and remember the man.…
Common Cents Blog
When the question of “why not?” stops working. Last week, the Federal Reserve cut the target overnight lending rate by 25 basis points (0.25%) to an upper level of 3.75%. This wasn’t much of a surprise.…
For some time, the proverbial crystal ball has been decidedly hazy. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either lying or doesn’t have a crystal ball. However, this hasn’t stopped me from giving numerous recent presentations about…
It is hard to believe that we only have a few short weeks left in 2025. Back in March of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing, not many investors would have believed the…
Everyone knows the expression “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.” My experience has been that you can substitute the word “always” for probably. There seems to be no shortage of hidden…
Last Thursday, I spoke at a breakfast presentation on the economy during a conference for business leaders here in town. After more than 500 public speaking engagements in the past two+ decades, many here in the…
Traditionally, our office is swamped after Halloween with all the candy that our associates didn’t give away. Despite all appearances to the contrary, I don’t eat a lot of the stuff throughout the remainder of the…
This past Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) at the Federal Reserve cut the target overnight lending rate 25 basis points (0.25%). This was as everyone expected. However, Chairman Jay Powell gave investors a jolt…
On Friday, despite the continued Federal government shutdown, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September 2025. Although the report was over a week past due, it was “better late…
This past Thursday night, I watched the Steelers vs. Bengals game on television. It was an exciting game — and surprising one, at least for me — that the Bengals won. After all, according to ESPN.com,…