Supply Chain Recovery and the Market
Good news hurts earnings… Most supply chain issues have now been resolved. That’s good news in the fight against inflation — shipping costs and input prices are declining. But there’s…
The Bear Market
The Bear Market… This may be a better name for what we experience during market declines. Not just “bear” in the Wall Street sense — but “bare,” as in the…
The Midterm Election Cycle
The Midterm Election Cycle and Stock Market Returns Although the twelve-month period leading up to midterm elections is often considered a weak stretch for markets, that pattern isn’t universal. In…
Tax Increase
New Tax… In August a new law was passed. Included in the legislation was a one percent tax on share buybacks. This modest tax should not significantly impact the benefits…
The Inflation Discussion
The inflation discussion is being carried out by two groups with opposing political viewpoints. Are politics obscuring the facts? Of course. Each group presents only part of the picture. One…
Update on Inflation
Update on inflation… “Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon” — Milton Friedman. Currently the Federal Reserve has the most control of the money supply, the monetary phenomenon. The…
Some Positive Thoughts About an Uncomfortable Market
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” — Winston Churchill Although this has been an uncomfortable market, there are several reasons…
Good News
“Chance favors only the prepared mind” — Louis Pasteur In this time of uncomfortable news and misinterpretation, we thought we’d share some good news... Gasoline prices. First quarter drilling rig…
Our Approach to Market Decline
A sign I read in a doctor’s office — “Who do you trust, a trained doctor with a medical degree or Google?” — came to mind when I recently saw…
Ukraine
Ukraine… The invasion of Ukraine is, above all, a humanitarian and political disaster. From an investment perspective, however, we expect the economic impact to be relatively muted. Over the past…
Market Surprises
Market Surprise… In January, we received an extensive amount of historical stock market data. One particular data point caught my attention and prompted a deeper dive. Over the past 50…
Successful Investing
Happy New Year! We hope this year brings you health, happiness, and success. A quote from one of our earlier letters recently caught a client’s attention: “Investors lose more money…