Current Oil Price Decline May Set Stage For Price Spike And Global Recession

My Comments: There are relatively high taxes on the sale of gasoline at the pump where I live. In spite of this, we are almost at the $2.00 per gallon level. As I’ve mentioned before, this is both a good thing and a potentially bad thing. The bad is that money invested to bring us …

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2015 PPACA Compliance Checklist

My Comments: It’s hard to believe the PPACA has been around for so long. And in spite of the new Congress making lots of noises about making it go away, it’s not going to go away. Will it change? Most definitely. Are changes necessary? Most definitely. But the overall intent to bring millions of Americans …

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The Joy of Being Older…

My Comments: It’s a cold, gray day here in Gainesville, Florida. The rest of the country, except perhaps the West coast, is suffering too but at least we have no snow. Maybe I can add a little levity to what has so far been a frantic week. BTW that's me on January 1, 1942. 1. …

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How Old Was That Shoeshine Boy Again?

My Comments: As we start the new year, and review the annual statements that will soon arrive, most of us are painfully aware that managed portfolios didn’t do very well in 2014. As an advisor, I keep asking myself how I justify charging my clients a fee when the results are consistently poor. More than …

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House Price Rises Give Birth to Generational Inequality

My Comments: I’ve spoken before about how uncomfortable I get with the increasing divide between the haves and the have nots. That it is real is evidenced by a TV show that features this very idea. What I had not thought about before this was another disturbance in the force between generations. In my generation, …

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Healthy Customers Equal Good Business

My Comments: Here we are at the beginning of 2015 and virtually all of us want to experience good news as opposed to bad news. I suspect we will have some of both as the next twelve months appear. Among the good news I’d like to experience is a recognition by the new Congress that …

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The Next Great Market Meltdown

My Comments: My hope for the future about this is that I will be wrong. But I’m also aware that hope is not a very effective investment strategy. So, apart from my hope that you and yours have a spectacular 2015, it’s tempered by my expectations of reality. This writer is well known to those …

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2015 PPACA Compliance Checklist

My Comments: It’s hard to believe the PPACA (ObamaCare) has been around for so long. And in spite of the new Congress making lots of noises about making it go away, it’s not going to go away. Will it change? Most definitely. Are changes necessary? Most definitely. But the overall intent to bring millions of …

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Why the Bond Market Could Blow Up Any Day Now…

My Comments: The SKY IS FALLING! Actually, it’s not, but many of the headlines suggest it might be. This was published 3 months ago and as you probably know, the bond market has not yet blown up. Lots of things have changed but the bond market is just as boring today as it was then. …

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4 Ways Social Security Could Be Healthy Again

My Comments: As someone who paid into the SSA system for over 50 years, it’s hard to describe the satisfaction my wife and I experience from the deposits made to our checking account every month. As an economist, I’ve watched how the system has been modified over the years to remain the safety net it …

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