August is recognized as National Make-A-Will Month, an annual campaign that reminds us of the importance of having a will or estate plan and the importance to make sure all details are up to date. When…
Thought Leadership
This past week, I told people on several occasions the administration’s tariffs are not necessarily inflationary. They aren’t. As such, the Federal Reserve shouldn’t be horsing around waiting to see what tariffs will do to consumer…
Listen to the full episode, here. Key Points The GDP report for the second quarter of 2025 showed 3% growth, but the underlying data suggests a more moderate pace of economic growth, around 1.5%. The Federal…
I am currently almost finished with the third of four books I bought about the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (Cultural Revolution) in China. Admittedly, this is not the topic of discussion at cocktail parties in my…
This morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released “The Employment Situation – July 2025.” In it, the BLS reported the U.S. economy created 73K net, new payroll jobs, and the unemployment rate ticked up slightly,…
This past Wednesday was my wedding anniversary, and I had done absolutely nothing to celebrate. To be sure, Beth and I had a little trip to New York in the works to celebrate. However, as for…
The performance of the stock market in Q2 is even more impressive given the environment and backdrop at the end of Q1. On February 19, 2025, the S&P 500 made a new all-time high.(1) But momentum…
IRAN’S OIL GRIP: UNDER THE RADAR, OVER THE BARREL If you’re only looking at production numbers, Iran might be dismissed as a second-string energy player – outpaced by Saudi Arabia, sidelined by sanctions, and mostly boxed…
ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION During the 2nd quarter, economic globalism either seemed to have died or veered wildly off course. If actions speak louder than words, domestic investors didn’t really seem to mind too terribly much. TARIFF THREAT…
TRUMP’S FIRST TERM EFFECTS Whether you agreed with his policies or not, the stock market loved Trump during his first term in office. The S&P 500 grew at a blistering clip of 64% during his first…