Common Cents Blog
There has been precious little good news in the headlines this week. From Hurricane Helene’s destruction, to the longshoremen’s strike, to the escalation of tensions in the Middle East and the ongoing political (and societal) divisions…
Birmingham captured both national and global headlines this past week after a mass shooting occurred Saturday night in Five Points South, one of our popular entertainment districts. As I type here on September 27, 2024, there have…
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the policy making arm of the Federal Reserve, cut the overnight lending target rate this past week. There had been much speculation about whether it would do so by either…
The summer I graduated from high school, a Swedish rock band named Europe released a song called “The Final Countdown.” This was seriously silly stuff about a spaceship taking the group to Venus, hoping the locals…
On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released “The Employment Situation – August 2024.” To say this was one of the most widely anticipated economic reports in recent memory would be an understatement. Conventional wisdom…
The last several weeks have almost felt like the calm before a storm. The economic data has largely been pretty boring, and what else is there to say about the Federal Reserve? Shoot, even with everything…
On Friday, Chairman Jay Powell all but promised the Fed would start cutting the overnight rate at the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in September. Obviously, the markets liked the prospect of cheaper money,…
After work this past Tuesday, I went to The Fresh Market supermarket near the office to pick up a couple of steaks. My wife and I were celebrating some big news our daughter had received earlier…
I am on the Board of Advisors for a company which held a very nice dinner this past Tuesday. The firm’s founder gave all of the Board members in attendance a brief introduction, and asked us…
The U.S. stock markets opened sharply in negative territory this morning, August 5, 2024. This after two consecutive down days to end last week. After such a strong July, some sort of pullback wasn’t surprising. However,…