The Flinchum File

Thoughtful Economic Analysis and Existential Opinions
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Welcome to The Flinchum File

I am an Accredited Investment Fiduciary at Bay Capital Advisors, an investment firm headquartered in Virginia Beach, VA. After retiring from Truist Bank, I started this firm to work more closely with a smaller number of clients, and it has been great! Our client load is about 25% of the national average.

Writing is not for the shy or the meek. It exposes a person’s mind and character. I hope you enjoy the view.

The opinions expressed in The Flinchum File are those of the writer, Jim Flinchum, and do not necessarily reflect those of Bay Capital Advisors, LLC

A Bad Time for Good Medicine ?

I’ve always wanted to be Superman – you know, “Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!”  Unfortunately, I didn’t look good wearing tights and accepted that harsh reality. The new UK Prime Minister is Liz Truss, and we wish her well, but I suspect she wants to be the legendary Margaret Thatcher, her…

Reasons To Sleep

Let’s see . . . the stock is way down, the economy is suffering, both inflation and interest rates are soaring, the world is sinking into debt, a deranged world leader is threatening to use nukes, and the news media relentlessly reports wars and other pleasantries. Who can sleep with all that happening?  You should! One reason I don’t lose sleep that, earlier this year,…

Next . . .

When I was still young enough to know everything, I loved the concept of democracy.  Sure, lots of people have argued that we are a republic, not a democracy, but that is a difference without significance in America.  Authoritarian forms of government are too repugnant to even consider.  Likewise, the constitutional monarchies like the United Kingdom, Japan, Thailand, Norway, etc. were also offensive forms of…

Wrong Direction

Unfortunately, today’s release of the Producer Price Index confirmed yesterday’s Consumer Price Index.  Prices are still going up, although not as rapidly as before.  On a year-over-year basis, consumer prices went up 8.3%, while producer prices went up 8.7% – both more than expected! We are already experiencing a mild recession, which suggests a “soft-landing”.  That means it won’t be necessary to trigger a “real”…

Which Direction?

Oh, what a difference one-fifth on one percent makes . . . . immediately knocking 600 points off the Dow and making three-quarters of one percent increase in interest costs later this month a virtual certainty. This morning, the CPI report for August was issued, showing it increased 0.1% instead of decreasing 0.1%, for a disappointment of two tenths or one fifth of one percent. …

Updating Best Intentions

Do you think poor people are poor because they are lazy?  If so, what percentage?  What percentage are just plain stupid?  What percentage are emotional refugees? As a former Texan, I enjoy reading former Senator Phil Gramm (R – TX) whenever I can, and he had a recent opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal, along with John Early of the American Enterprise Institute. It…