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Stocks ended the week with healthy gains, propelled by better than expected earnings reports and optimism on the phase one trade deal.  This is the third straight week of gains for the major indexes.  The S&P 500 was bumping up against the old time closing high of 3026 for most of the day on Friday.

So I stepped on the scale this morning and immediately my mood collapsed.  I’d gained one pound since yesterday.  Normally this shouldn’t be a big deal, but now I’m in a competition with a friend to see who can reach his target weight soonest.  One pound is now a big deal.  Prior to entering this contest I had not weighed myself in over 8 months and, while I was periodically unhappy with my gut, the comings and goings of my weight concerned me littl

Some historians would argue that the 20^th century didn’t truly begin until August 1914.  On June 28, 1914 the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was assassinated in Sarajevo setting into action events that would lead to World War I five weeks later.  When the armies of Russia, Germany, France, Great Britain, and Austria-Hungary took the battlefield in August most of the citizens of these countries expected the war to

De-Escalation Leads to Elation

Let’s Make a Deal?

What to Expect When You’re Expecting

The stock and bond market action this week was primarily driven by economic data.  The S&P 500 fell roughly 3% Tuesday - Wednesday as the ISM Manufacturing Index indicated that the manufacturing sector is currently contracting. 

We live in a data obsessed world.  The rise of super computers, over half a century ago, gave us the opportunity to quickly retrieve, analyze, and create a solution around all sorts of computable information.  We can thank IBM for that.  What began as a niche in most industries, data compilation and analysis, has now evolved into the new arms race--who can gain the greatest edge by compiling the most discrete and pertinent information and data.  But

IMPEACHMENT.  President Trump on Thursday warned voters “If they actually did this (impeached me) the markets would crash.  Do you think it was luck that got us to the best Stock Market and Economy in our history?  It wasn’t!”  So classic.  Set aside the capitalization and punctuation errors, Trump's statement implies that corporate earnings and future earnings growth rely huugely on him.   After all the perception of future earnings growth underpin

The Federal Reserve made their interest rate decision this week.  As expected, they announced a 0.25% interest rate cut on the federal funds rate.  The target rate was lowered to 1.75% from 2.00%.  Apparently, this wasn’t enough for Donald Trump, he tweeted “Jay Powell and the Federal Reserve Fail Again. No “guts,” no sense, no vision! A terrible communicator!”  The truth is, the US economy is doing fine.