Executive Summary Policymakers in the government and the Federal Reserve put an emphasis on the message to the public that they have everything under control – even before the pandemic. By lowering interest rates and providing unprecedented government stimulus, they are flying blind in hopes of supporting [...]

Executive Summary Many Americans hope the COVID 19 vaccine will help return life to normal.  And as the title asks, what will be the economic normal?  The decade prior to 2006 produced average real economic growth of three percent or more; however, the past decade has averaged [...]

Executive Summary Last week the news reported David took on Goliath on Wall Street via GameStop stock.  The company GameStop has seen earnings fall for several years.  Recently those earnings have turned into net losses.  Large hedge funds (Goliath) recognizing the downtrend in their earnings have been [...]

Executive Summary Last week I described what causes stock prices to rise and fall.  In this week’s issue, I share comments and data from three investment gurus.  Howard Marks states that: “Fear of missing out has taken over from the fear of losing money.”  (see below for [...]

Executive Summary The movement of stock prices is governed by the law of supply and demand.  If the urge to “buy” is greater than the desire to “sell,” then prices move upwards and vice-versa.  Although stock prices should represent the present value of a long-term stream of [...]

Executive Summary Rather than focusing on the published unemployment rate, looking at the actual employment data can be more telling. Last week’s Bureau of Labor Statistics employment reported a loss of 140,000 jobs in December.  Since December of 2019, the number of employed individuals has fallen by [...]

Executive Summary It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Thus, this week’s missive has fewer words than normal and more pictures (please scroll through 1600’s to current). Understanding history and the historical patterns of bubble manias is important to preparing for 2021. [...]

Executive Summary On the one hand the public is told Congress must pass a massive stimulus bill providing cash to individuals, or businesses and the economy will fail.  On the other hand, pundits state the economy is strongly rebounding based on the soaring stock market. Which story [...]

Executive Summary As year-end approaches, I decided to review where we are and compare 2020 to historical times.  The year began with weakening growth in both corporate earnings and gross domestic product followed by the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic and closures.  To fight the negative impacts, [...]

Executive Summary It never ceases to amaze me how financial pundits give such credence to financial projections which more often than not are materially wrong.  Yet in the short run, the stock market tends to react to such misleading data.  Probably the best example is to look [...]