My Comments: There is a lot of evidence and sentiment that 2013 will be a solid year. Housing starts are strong and will continue to be at least until interest rates start to climb. The jobs report continues to be positive with roughly 200K new jobs every month for the past four months. GDP growth …
Continue reading Americans Take Payroll-Tax Increase in Stride to Keep Spending
My Comments: I typically start a conversation with someone about investments by suggesting there are two types of investors: Those that want to do it themselves and those who decide they need some help. If they say they prefer to do it themselves, then my comment is usually to the effect that I'll help point …
My Comments: I’m trying to decide if the author of this article is fundamentally to the left of the Obama administration and therefore critical of his lack of fire in promoting new revenue sources for the country, ie higher taxes, or whether the writer is critical because virtually everyone on the right is critical, regardless …
My Comments: While this was written a few weeks ago, the underlying theme is entirely valid today. There is little chance that interest rates are going to see any significant increase over the next 24 months. The Fed has said they are not going to mess with them for perhaps two more years. There is …
You’re going to have a moderate Republican president for the next four years: Barack Obama My Comments: I have a memory of the 1952 presidential campaign where I’m leaning out the window of a room in the Pere Marquette Hotel in Peoria, Illinois. Below me was a parade with bands and cars and horns. In …
I try to post these every week. Some you like to time the market and this report from J.P.Morgan is perhaps the best summary to help your decision making:
My Comments: Yeah, I know. It's Thursday and the day I post something about economics. There have been a lot of 'thursdays' lately. For those of you who look to me to give you good investment advice, or are looking for someone to give you better advice than you are getting now, a lot of …
My Comments: OK, if you can’t stand reading about economics, then skip this blog post. On the other hand, if you have concerns about the economy and whether your vote in the upcoming election will have any influence on the amount of money you have to spend ten years from now, then you might want …
Continue reading Studying a Paradox: When Higher Tax Rates HELPED the Economy
My Comments: The word “bubble”, in the context of investments, has come to mean a time when values are overstated, and many people are going to suffer financial disaster. The classic examples include the Tulip Mania, where in February 1637 in Denmark, some single tulip bulbs sold for more than 10 times the annual income …
My Comments: I’m a small business owner and have been for almost forty years. I’m in the business of helping others retire, and I have to confess to you that I’ve done a poor to average job preparing myself for retirement. Fortunately, my health and my profession allow me to continue to work, never mind …
Continue reading Forty Percent of Small Business Owners Don’t Save For Retirement
Helping Define Your Financial Future 