I tend to come down on the optimistic side of things. No panicking during market selloffs, no short selling, a glass half-full outlook. That kind of thing. But sometimes you have to look at the not so optimistic side. Global growth has been subpar for some time now. Even though the U.S. is experiencing the […]
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Things Won’t Always Be This Way…
Once we get used to things going a certain way, we tend to think they’ll just keep going. And the longer they keep going, the easier it is to get complacent and the harder it is to prepare for things going differently. But in life and in investment — as experienced investors well know — […]
The Reason We Save…
Is because we have a certain level of confidence that the future is bright and to enjoy those positive prospects we must be prepared. But what happens when an entire generation starts feeling less optimistic about the future? Younger people around the globe are tending to favor spending now in place of more responsible saving […]
The Tough Love School of Life…
You have read the numbers. Half of all Americans do not have $1,000 to $2,000 in savings for an emergency. Forty percent of Americans do not have a retirement account and the same percentage, 40%, do not pay off their credit card every month. The balance on these cards not paid off monthly is about […]
What’s in Your Wallet?…
Just when you thought you could forget about Bitcoin…it’s back. Bitcoin is a digital currency that is free from any influence by central banks. Libertarians like it for it’s independent, secure and untraceable features. But for a whole slew of reasons Bitcoin has not taken off as a medium of exchange. One problem is volatility. […]
Why so Negative?…
When you lend money to the government by buying a Treasury bond, it’s an investment and not a favor. You expect to get back more than you put in, in the form of interest, in order to compensate you for a multitude of risks and the loss of use of your money. This makes recent […]
“In Investing, What is Comfortable is Rarely Profitable.” Robert Arnott
The outlook for global economic growth is plagued by uncertainty today. Just how far will the U.S. and China go in their efforts to win the current trade war? Will the U.K. arrive at a solution to the ongoing Brexit impasse? Will central banks around the globe continue their easy money policies? At the industry […]
Things That Have Crossed Our Desk…
Health Care is a Big Number. There is nothing more Rube Goldberg-esque than health care in America. It is one scaffold stacked on top of another scaffold. No one would ever create this system from scratch. But so be it, we have to play the hand we’re dealt. The good news is health costs have […]
The Wall Street Journal, Then and Now…
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published a special issue on July 8 commemorating the 130th anniversary of the first edition, July 8, 1889. In my estimation, the WSJ, along with The New York Times and The Economist are the three absolute best publications. Read them. A lot has changed since 1889, including the price of […]
What Happens When Public Transit Becomes Free?…
Have you heard that in Tallinn, Estonia, public transportation is free for residents? Not only has it been free since 2013, but it also works great. According to The Economist, “The buses are on time, the trams are shiny and new, and passengers usually get a seat.” And that’s not all. Far from draining city […]
In Case You Haven’t Heard…
Our population is getting older and doing so at a quicker pace than was projected in the past. For the first time in U.S. history there are more people over the age of 65 than under the age of 5. Here in Vermont this has led to a recent downgrade in our sterling AAA bond […]
Where You Stand Depends on Where You Sit…
I am talking about the rules that China does and doesn’t play by. China has developed an alternative to Western style democratic capitalism. Call it authoritarian capitalism if you will. China does not feel that it has to adapt and accept the standards from the West. It is developing its own viable, and it thinks, […]
