Uncertainty, Not China, is Replacing US Power

My Comments: Do you lay awake at night, worrying about this? Me either. But global political dynamics will influence our lives, and the lives of those we love, in ways that cannot be predicted. I’ve been part of the world of financial planning and investments for almost four decades and over that span, the extent …

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First Million-Dollar Drug Near; Prices Double on Dozens of Treatments

My Comments: This is the power of free market enterprise. Without controls, if you have a monopoly, or close to a monopoly, you can expect a profit motive to drive the train. What I see happening is that while they can, drug companies are taking in as much as possible before ObamaCare (PPACA) forces them …

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Guide to Tracking Down Old 401k Accounts

My Comments: From time to time someone will ask me about an old account they had when they worked somewhere else. They have no paperwork they can find and no memory of whether they transferred the money, how much it was, etc. This guide came from a source I use from tme to time where …

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Five Historic Sites That Are Most Vulnerable to Sea-level Rise

My Comments: In keeping with the spirit of the recently released National Climate Assessment report, here is an article that identifies five sites that by the end of this century will likely be underwater. Especially if nothing is done soon to limit greenhouse gasses across the planet. You know, the stuff that some on the …

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Scorpions, Chiggers & Sand Fleas

My Comments: I wish I knew who wrote this and who sent it to me so I could give them proper credit. The closest I’ve come to “war” was my early years in England when the Germans were dropping bombs on the surrounding countryside near London. Intellectually I know that from time to time it’s …

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Bitcoin And Its Obsessive Adolescence

My Comments: Last Friday, I brought “Bitcoin” to the financial table for a lot of you. Just as Facebook has become a fixture in our lives over the past decade, so too will Bitcoin, or something similar. Turning the clock back on the digital age is not going to happen. The challenge for us is …

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Our Flawed Financial System is Reflected in Bitcoin

My Comments: What exactly is a bitcoin? I’ve been reading about them for many months now and I’ve yet to understand how I would spend one if it happened to show up in my change at Publix. Chances are it never will. But... The image suggests they are made of metal. But that runs counter …

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10 Bear Market Catalysts To Watch For

My Comments: I guess it's human nature to abhor a vacuum. If there isn't a crisis, we invent one. We’ve had 5 years of mostly good times in the markets, since about the first of April in 2009. The second chart below kinda proves that. From a timing standpoint, we’ve had people predicting the end …

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The Largest Supply Side Shock Since The OPEC Crisis Of The 1970s

My Comments: I realize that many of you have no idea what happened in the 1970s. I’d like to forget some of it so you’re ahead of me. The OPEC Crisis was a move by oil producing nations in the middle east to cut supply drastically, which caused gas prices to jump dramatically and leave …

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Spring Check-Up: 5 Investment Ideas For Your Portfolio

My Comments: OK, we’re a long way into Spring, but the dramatic push to finish taxes by April 15th is behind us. Time now to review and reflect before the heat of summer is here. These five ideas make sense to me. And yes, the approach I take with clients is a little different, ( …

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