If you lend me $100 and want repayment tomorrow, there is a near certainty you will get repaid. If you lend me $100 and want repayment in 30 years, there is the additional risk that I could die, go crazy, go bankrupt, or disappear and fail to repay you. The point is that the longer the term, the greater the risk, and you should be…
My late mother always told me it was NEVER appropriate to hit a girl. However she also said, it was okay to hit another boy, if . . .”absolutely necessary”! I am amused at the uproar over some male actor slapping another male actor at the annual Oscars award ceremony last night. Apparently, one male actor made a tasteless joke about the other male actor’s…
A few years ago, I saw an advertisement for a DNA analysis for $29.95, which I thought might be fun. You know, spit in a vial & mail it somewhere. It was interesting. Who ever suspected I was 1% African?? Later, I learned the company was sold to the Chinese, who now have my DNA. I know . . . who cares . . .…
Blackrock is the world’s largest money manager, managing well over ten trillion dollars of other people’s money. The longtime CEO is Larry Fink. He is both important and very self-important, but I would not drink beer with him. This week, he made news, when he declared globalization killed by Putin’s war on Ukraine. He is wrong. Globalization has been terminal dead for years. It was…
During that period between my retirement from the bank and my eligibility for Medicare, I looked to the Veterans Administration for my health care. After they verified my eligibility, I was told I was a Group 3 veteran. That’s nice, I thought, but what was a Group 3 veteran? I learned Group 3 vets have extra benefits. However, when I learned that Medal of Honor…
As a longtime member of NABE (National Association of Business Economics), I enjoy reading the periodic surveys of other members. The latest shows: 78% of members think the Russia-Ukraine war will make the supply-chain bottlenecks even worse. A whopping 95% think global GDP will fall, due to the war . . . but not much. To lower the price of gas, 31% think we should…
Would you take one of the world’s worse jobs for a salary of $203,500? If not, you’ll never be Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board! We’re lucky anybody would take the job, especially a person like Jay Powell. Yesterday, he led the Board in raising short-term interest rates by a quarter-point (1/4) or 25 basis points, with the stated expectation of six more similar increases…
There are no less than 200 monthly reports on the economy. Experts bicker about which reports are the most important. In normal times, the “jobs report” and the JOLTs report get the most attention. Both of those reports have been quite positive in recent months. Unemployment at 3.8% is terrific. The JOLTs Report (Jobs Openings and Labor Turnover) is also terrific, with ten million job…
Sometimes, savagery is more effective than economics. I would not disagree with anyone who believed Putin needed to be pistol-whipped, until his brains ooze down his cheeks. He is certifiably evil! However, cutting off his country’s energy exports so abruptly is a poor substitute. I’m concerned about the futures market, which tends to be even more volatile than the stock market. The London Metals Exchange…
A new survey released this week by Gallup shows that a robust 85% of Americans are happy or relatively happy with their lives in this country. At the same time, only 17% are happy with the “direction” of our country. Last Friday, the monthly “jobs report” showed job growth remained surprisingly strong, with 678 thousand new jobs created last month. Only 440 thousand new jobs…
During a crisis, one of the more delicate jobs of financial advisors is begging clients not to jump out of the market. Warren Buffet said the only time to be out of the market is NEVER. Indeed, while stocks are on sale, shouldn’t investors put more money into the market? But they say, this time is different. Bear markets are always different . . .…
