The market has had a very good year – in my opinion it is partly due to the expectation that we will see tax cuts this year. But what happens to those expectations if tax cuts are not passed? This, from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin… “There is no question that the rally in the stock […]
Category: Economic
State & Local Government Pension Funds Troubles
Researchers at Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research analyzed the current status of State and Local government defined-benefit (i.e., “traditional”) pension plans across the nation. What they found was a bit disturbing. Despite an assumption that the plans would earn an average return of 7.6% per year, the 170 plans reviewed by analysts actually had […]
Decrease in Loans and the Correlation to Recessions
As the stock market continues to grind higher and investors become more complacent, we are reminded by this “stubbornly fail-safe marker” of economic contraction since 1960. Every time Commercial & Industrial (C&I) loan balances have declined or stagnated—a recession was already in progress or was imminent. This can be seen in the following graphic, from […]
Opinions & Reality
Everyone has heard the term “Put your money where your mouth is”, often times in bar room banter when coaxing someone to back up their statements or opinions by putting some cash on the line. Schwab Chief Investment Strategist Liz Ann Sonders released a note this week with research showing that consumers are “saying” they […]
America’s Patent Lead
We often hear talk about the U.S. falling behind in this or that area. But one measure of forward progress is innovation, which can be concretely measured by the number of patents filed per country. On that score, the U.S. is the indisputable leader, and no other country is even close. This infographic shows that […]
Mind-Blowing Statistic
Multi-billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates recently wrote on his GatesBlog, “This might be the most mind-blowing fact I learned this year”, followed by a graphic of Chinese cement usage over the last 3 years. In short, China has used more cement in the last 3 years than the United States has used in the last […]
The Tax Cuts are Coming!
The tax cuts are coming – we hope. Much work and negotiation remains before any of the desired tax cuts shown below become reality. Regardless of which plan is enacted, it should stimulate personal spending, business, and the economy.
Falling Food Prices
The US Department of Agriculture reports that food prices have fallen for each of the last 9 months – the longest streak of food deflation since 1960. It’s being attributed to lower oil and grain prices, and cutthroat competition.