My Comments: There is talk in Washington that future Social Security benefits will be cut. How real this is I have no idea. But the fact it’s even talked about suggests the threat today is higher than before. I’m not talking about what might happen in 2035, but in 2017. If you are not yet …
Continue reading What To Do If Social Security Is Your Primary Source of Retirement Income
My Comments: This is brilliant. It comes from Rod Rehnborg who is based in Hong Kong. Too often, people in my profession start out in the weeds and drag the reader further into the weeds with every word they write. Before long you have no idea what is going on. For some of you this …
My Comments: Readers of this blog will recall my observations about risk in general and in particular, those that will influence our economic well being in years to come. With the new administration seemingly in favor of conflicts over trade between nations, and of retreating from the forces that have fostered global economic growth for …
My Comments: As a lifelong Democrat, I’m very aware that if a million more people in this country had better jobs and were feeling good about their financial future, Hillary Clinton would probably be taking the oath of office later this month. But they didn't so a different force will be running the asylum for …
My Comments: The greatest economic threats to the health and welfare of the world I will leave to my grandchildren will arise from the disparity between the haves and the have-nots. One side of this argument arises from the contempt that was pervasive across the planet toward a political movement driven by what came to …
18 years ago, the Eastman Kodak company sold 85% of all photo paper on the planet and employed 86,200 people, 46,300 of them in the US. By 2015, they employed 6,500 people and surrendered what was left of the photo paper business so they could emerge from bankruptcy. You may recall digital cameras were invented …
My Comments: Is it OK to be cynical from time to time? I hope so. The primary message that came out of the Trump campaign for the White House was that no one in Washington gave a damn about the working poor of America. That a large group of Americans had been left behind and …
Continue reading Surprise! The Economy Is Looking Pretty Good Right Now
My Comments: We’re almost there. Whether it turns out OK or not remains to be seen. I suspect it’ll turn out better than many forecast and worse that many expect. Where you and I will fall in all this is a total unknown. But the combined intellect of those making these forecasts is staggering, so …
Continue reading Wall Street’s 2017 Forecasts And Campaign Promises
My Comments: The level of naivete across the planet is remarkable. But it’s nothing new. I was born near London with bombs dropping all around, in a country governed by one Neville Chamberlain who believed Adolph Hitler was a gentleman and not the monster he turned out to be. There are too many parallels in …
Continue reading Terrorism: A Dire Prediction For Trump’s First 100 Days
My Comments: So much for being an optimist. There’s a point where it simply makes sense to take your money off the table and put it under the mattress. At least for a while. The markets are being driven by those who are convinced Donald Trump is the second coming. These folks seem convinced that …
Helping Define Your Financial Future 