Every January I promise myself I will resist forecasting. It’s the smart people who know how little they know about the future, so I will try to be a smart person. I was in Taiwan on a business trip in the 1990s and saw a government report which projected the next five-year growth rate out […]
Eric Hanson
“Workin’ For The Man” Ain’t What it Used to Be…
An Oxford University study back in 2013 concluded that 47% of American jobs are at high risk of automation within two decades. A McKinsey Global Institute analysis came to the same conclusion according to an article in The Week back in September 2019. Stories about the future are often scarier than what actually comes about. […]
So Why Are We Not Happier?…
The United Nations 2019 World Happiness Report is out and the happiest country in the world is Finland. The U.S. is all the way down in 19th place, its worst ranking ever. How can we be so affluent and at the same time so glum? I don’t have the answer but a good place to […]
O.K., It’s Time To Talk Bubbles…
We’re Number 1! The current Economic Recovery has set a record, the longest advance in U.S. history. That’s nice, but the skeptics will immediately ask, when’s the next crash coming? Right now things in the U.S. look good so no immediate panic – but we know that life is cyclical and a recession will happen […]
Keeping up with Hanson & Doremus…
It’s hard to believe we have been going now for almost twenty-five years. We started here in the Maltex building in Burlington in 1995 with just two people. We have grown to ten today. Some things however have not changed. We are as committed now as we were then to professional money management and providing […]
Understanding China…
Forty years ago, when China was a lot less consequential our relationship was a lot easier. Now things are different. China is not only a manufacturing powerhouse, but they are also producing top of the line products that threaten us now and into the future. We will be butting heads with them for some time. […]
One Chart and I am an Immigration Expert…
Immigration is a polarizing issue. On the one side you have the ‘Restrictionists’ led by Stephen Miller in the White House who wants to do everything to restrict and reduce legal and illegal immigration. On the other side you have those who want to create a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million illegal […]
Let’s Not Get Too Worried, But…
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
