Executive Summary How much do we need to save for retirement? This is the question most people ask and desire a specific numerical answer for planning. However, the number of assumptions in these analyses are too many and too variable to give a specific answer. What we [...]

Executive Summary A recent article in The Wall Street Journal claimed consumers were “in good shape.” The fact missing from the article is the rapid decline in consumer finances. In the second graph below, one can see household debt as a percentage of real disposable personal income [...]

Executive Summary Soaring mortgage interest rates and falling personal disposable incomes are putting pressure on the housing market. When mortgage rates bottomed out around 2.75% and COVID-19 stimulus programs provided cash to households, home prices skyrocketed (see second graph). With current loan rates around 7.5%, monthly loan [...]

Executive Summary During the first two quarters of 2022, GDP growth was negative. The unofficial definition of a recession. Third quarter GDP estimates vary; however, look to be positive. Does this change an expected recession outlook? The NBER officially declares recessions, and it is usually six months [...]

Executive Summary In this issue, I draw upon an article published on Mises Institute, by Thorsten Polleit titled: Inflation, High Inflation, Hyperinflation. As written in the article, “Goods price inflation is the symptom, and money supply inflation is its cause.” Each time the money supply has risen [...]

Executive Summary S&P Global website is showing third quarter earnings falling 2.7% year over year. Due to the following reasons, the potential is there for a greater drop: 1) higher input costs, 2) higher interest expense, 3) higher labor costs, and 4) falling personal disposable income. Corporations [...]

Executive Summary The Fed raised the Federal Funds Rate again last week by 0.75% in the fight against inflation. In  the second graph below one can see the estimated rates through 2025. In addition to interest rate  moves, the Fed is also tightening monetary policy by reducing [...]

Executive Summary U.S. Federal debt outstanding totals about $31 trillion. From 2018-2021 (4 years) the debt grew as much as it did for the first 232 years (founding through 2007) combined! Now take a look at the math: U.S. Estimated Income Tax Revenue          [...]

Executive Summary One Federal Reserve goal is maintaining an average of 2% inflation, which from around 2012 until the pandemic was a struggle (see first graph). Due to the massive government spending efforts and the supply constraints created from COVID19 and the Russia/Ukrainian war, inflation finally began [...]

Executive Summary One indicator for determining stock market valuation is the Price-to-Earnings ratio (P/E). In this missive, I explain how the math (increases/decreases in numerator and denominator) impacts the ratio in changing market cycles. Generally, if price rises and earnings remain the same the ratio increases, and [...]