The recent $7.5 billion IPO of South Burlington’s own Beta Technologies intrigued many of our clients at Hanson + Doremus, particularly those in Vermont, a state which rarely generates new sizable public companies. While the hype and excitement surrounding IPOs have been a staple of both the financial and general media since the dotcom boom, […]
News
The Medicare (Dis)Advantage
Big changes are coming to the Medicare Advantage marketplace, and if you’re over 65, it’s worth paying attention to the notices you may be receiving in the mail. The last thing anyone wants is a surprise coverage gap. Let’s start with the basics. Medicare covers people 65 and older. Part A handles hospital stays and […]
Staying Warm in the Winter Without Burning Through All Your Cash…
The first flakes of the season just fell outside our office window — the kind that sticks to the trees and reminds you that winter is officially here. As the cold settles in, the familiar office banter begins: “Have you turned on your heat yet?” For many, this comment is half joke, half challenge. But […]
The Race To Innovate…
The financial press often uses the term “innovation” in vastly different ways. Many financial innovations, such as mortgage-backed securities, are simply new methods to monetize other products, creating fees and often problems in their wake. Innovations can also encompass more useful products. Thomas Edison’s lab tested thousands of filament designs before finding the one best […]
End-of-Year Financial Planning…
As cooler fall weather settles in and the final quarter of the year begins, many of us feel a renewed sense of focus. That “back-to-school” energy often extends beyond closets and calendars — it’s also the perfect time to revisit your financial to-do list. At Hanson + Doremus, we view this season as an opportunity […]
Global flashpoints…Handicapping Taiwan today…
We are all watching the fighting in Ukraine and the Middle East in real time today. Both are certainly serious but neither involve a direct confrontation between the world’s biggest powers, China and the U.S. The Taiwan issue, however, does. We would not be surprised if this resurfaces as a major flashpoint sometime during the […]
The AI investment landscape evolves…
Today’s investment headlines are chock full of articles debating whether a bubble is brewing in AI-related technology shares. Investor concerns on this issue are well-founded. According to JP Morgan, AI-related stocks have accounted for 75% of S&P 500 returns, 80% of earnings growth and 90% of capital spending growth since ChatGPT was first launched back […]
And the Nobel goes to…
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences recently awarded the Nobel Prize to three economists for explaining how technological advances drive lasting economic growth. Joel Mokyr won for identifying “the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress,” while Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt won jointly “for the theory of sustained growth through creative destruction.” It may […]
Observations on my return to China – innovation and uncertainty…
Over the summer, my family and I spent three and a half weeks in China and Japan, visiting five cities, including my hometown of Shenyang. Experiencing these places again after over a decade in the U.S. revealed how rapidly technology, consumer behavior, and demographics are reshaping Asia’s two largest economies. Here’s what I observed. Automation […]
Where are the future workers?…
Last month, we discussed America’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR), the average number of children a woman between the ages of 14 and 49 is expected to have over her lifetime. It’s been falling. After holding steady for some years at around 2.1, a rate which ensures a stable population, America’s TFR has fallen to 1.6. […]
Our not so irrational markets…
Why is the stock market performing so well given the extreme level of political, economic, and social uncertainty today? We have been getting different versions of this question a lot recently. Making sense of financial market prices can indeed be challenging – on any given day they reflect a mix of both economic forces and […]
So too in parenting…
“Authoritarian,” “Free Range,” “Gentle” – these are not the names of professional race horses, but rather a small sample of the parenting styles available today in the information age. In investing, certain styles move in and out of favor over time. So, too, in parenting. Indeed, the Silent Generation and Baby Boomers among us may […]