As The U.S. Consumer Goes, So Goes The U.S. Economy
If you were to look at how the S&P 500 performed during the month of July without context from current events in the news, you would guess July was pretty boring.
As of this writing, the market had a minor sell off in the latter half of the month...
As we reach the midpoint of 2024, the market is up. And it keeps going up! Economic indicators reveal a nuanced picture, with sectors experiencing varying degrees of growth amidst persistent uncertainties. Let’s delve into recent market trends and economic developments so you can better navigate tod...
It's a fair question. Capital markets have outperformed so far this year. How do you interpret this? Let's look at the facts --
Despite jitters over persistent inflation data, the economy continues to hum along. Optimism for the long term within American business is strong. Unemployment continues t...
Investor fear was sky high a year ago. Then the market soared. What happened?
Early in 2023 we were beginning our recovery from a precipitous market decline, talk of runaway inflation and recession was a consistent theme, and a few mid-sized banks failed (though depositors were made whole, either t...
The Fed is currently holding interest rates steady, with the Fed Funds rate range between 5.25%-5.5%.
Because of high interest rates, cash is hot. We haven’t seen interest rates on cash/cash equivalents this high since before the Great Financial Crisis. The Fed has also indicated that higher rates ...
I’ve mentioned earlier that I had an excellent public education. My high school was one of the finest in New England, and I had the best teachers of my academic career there. My high school was in Guilford, CT – founded 1639. Think about it – at the time of the American revolution, Guilford was a...
Kissinger and Kardashian
Anyone of my age remembers Henry Kissinger. He was known for his shuttle diplomacy, and was always all over the news. And he had the most annoying speaking voice ever – gravelly! It almost hurt to listen for more than a few minutes.Â
Years go by and now we have Kim Kard...
 by Glenn J. Downing, MBA, CFP®     Â
On June 5th of this year Gov. DeSantis signed into law some major changes – upgrades - to the Deferred Retirement Option Program. The main points are these:Â
DROP extended to 8 years
Beginning July 1st the DROP term has been extended from 5 years to 8. P...
The Federal Reserve meets again on June 13th-14th  for its periodic Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. This meeting is a critical one. There is a general expectation that the Fed will finally pause historic rate increases at this meeting. To illustrate the point, a May 23rd Forbes headlin...
by Glenn J. Downing, MBA, CFP®
There's a lot of financial stress out there - we hear it from our clients. People who don't have a financial worry in the world are afraid. And, given two high profile bank failures recently and the release of the Durham report last week, I suspect there are lots of...
How to get a big pay hike
If you want a big pay hike, sometimes the only way you're going to get it is by jumping ship to a new employer who values your skill set and experience and is willing to pay for it. Otherwise you may have to settle for an annual cost of living increase. People will make s...
No More Revenge Spending
There’s a new term out there – revenge spending. When people were hunkered down during COVID, they couldn’t go out to spend. When things opened up, people took their revenge on the lockdowns and spent like never before. And the government has joined the party. As Ronald...
