The specter of long-term inflation loomed over the markets during the 2nd Quarter of 2022. As the 12-month Consumer Price Index (CPI) hit a 40-year during the quarter, people wondered exactly what the Fed meant by…
Thought Leadership
There was no shortage of news this week. From the resignation of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the better than expected Employment Situation for June…
When Georgia won the national championship, we all should have known 2022 was going to be a rocky year. Sure, that might be spurious correlation, and it is; however, the country seems to have staggered from…
Doing what I do for a living, I tend to be popular when I don’t really want to be. After all, when the markets are going up and the economy is humming, who really cares what…
A couple of days ago, my wife asked me what I wanted for Father’s Day. Since I am not her father, I told her I wanted for nothing, and I meant it. If the kids want…
With the exception of Mondays, our investment committee holds a conference call for Oakworth associates every morning. Before each member of our committee shares their thoughts on the economy and markets, I ask them to “give…
This week, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released its second stab at calculating the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) equation for the 1st Quarter of 2022. It seems things were slightly worse than previously announced, as…
For years, I have maintained the biggest threat to the United States isn’t economic in nature. It is societal. That isn’t as insightful as it is obvious. Taking it one step further, I would argue the…
My daughter and I largely share the same sense of humor. We often find comedy in things which many people wouldn’t. For instance, there is a certain type of joke called an anti-joke which you either…
What should I write about today? That the data suggests we are NOT on the verge of economic Armageddon? That the Federal Reserve does NOT appear poised to crush the economy in order to throttle inflation?…