August Recap and September Outlook An extremely low jobs report for August, released in the first week of September, focused all attention on the jobs market. The real shock wasn’t the low number of jobs…
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Lower Rates, Higher Inflation?
The Silly Season Gets Serious – August Market Commentary
July Recap and August Outlook The hot days of high summer are usually regarded as the “silly season” because, lacking important news, the media tends to look for trivial material that will capture viewers. Not…
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Everything is Different Now – July Market Commentary
June Recap and July Outlook June saw a further complication of the macro situation as U.S. military involvement in Iran was added to ongoing tariff confusion and a worsening of the economic outlook for the…
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The Limits of Data in an Ever-Changing Environment
May Recap and June Outlook May was a month of differing perspectives. Markets turned positive on a belief that a solution on tariffs would be eventually forthcoming, and the continued whipsawing headlines began to have…
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Does Volatility + Uncertainty Equal Recession
April Recap and May Outlook April began with the shock of tariff announcements that were much more punitive than anticipated by businesses, markets, investors, and economists. Equity markets promptly pulled back, even entering bear…
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April Market Commentary: A Shock to the System: Tariffs, Stagflation and Market Corrections
March Recap and April Outlook The month started out on a positive note as CPI came in lower than expected, creating a brief respite from worries about the impact of tariffs. It was short-lived, as…
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January Market Commentary – Seems Like Old Times?
December Recap and January Outlook The inauguration of only the second U.S. president to win two non-consecutive terms (Grover Cleveland was the first) is historic by a host of measures. Starting a second term of…
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Inflation-Adjusted Increases Come Down to Earth
The Federal Reserve has succeeded in bringing inflation down to the long-term goal rate of near 2%, which is good news for consumers. But for savers and taxpayers, this means that the big increases we’ve…
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A Volatile Start to the End of the Year?
September Recap and October Outlook September equity markets ended the month in positive territory, but with volatility increased. The VIX, the markets “fear index” closed higher than last month, at 16.73, up from 15.00. Intramonth,…
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I’d Like to Give More to Charity. How Can I Reduce My Taxes by Doing So?
Reducing Taxes With Charitable Giving There are a ton of different ways to give to charity, but not all of them will help you on your taxes. This week we cover a listener question about…
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