Each year we watch various heads of state assemble for a power yearbook photo at prominent locations like Washington, London, Toronto, Seoul, Cannes, Brisbane, Hangzhou and Hamburg. There are global round tables, strategic side meetings and broad announcements of international cooperation. The G20 (Group of 20)…
The G20 Summit? Breakthrough or Breakdown?DetailsDo you feel like you’re working harder, only to get less in return? Like your dollar isn’t going as far as it used to? You might be right. The dollar suffered its worst stretch in six years during the first half of 2017, reports Fox Business, and has declined 5.6 percent thus far this year—its…
The Upside to a Down Dollar: How to Make an Unstable Dollar Work for YouDetailsShadow Banking: A Dodd-Frank Fail? In response to the financial crisis of 2008–2009 regulators came down hard on big banks. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act outlined numerous provisions designed to tightly monitor lending and reduce risks inherent in the U.S. financial system, including new oversight councils, credit agency reforms, and increased…
Shadow Banking: A Dodd-Frank Fail?DetailsSkeptical of the staying power of paper currency? Then keep reading. You’re not the only one. On May 22, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed into law House Bill 2014 (HB2014), effectively eliminating state capital gains taxes on gold and silver and allowing Arizona residents to use precious metals as currency instead of Federal Reserve notes,…
More States Standing Up for Gold & Silver! Is Yours Next?DetailsIrrational Exuberance: The Lesson of the Bird in the Bush “How do we know when irrational exuberance has unduly escalated asset values, which then become subject to unexpected and prolonged contractions?” Alan Greenspan, December 5, 1996Another day, another market record. The Dow has set some 36 record high closings since the 2016 presidential election. Wall…
Irrational Exuberance: The Lesson of the Bird in the BushDetailsThe Great Retirement Caper: The 401(k) Bait and Switch By John Rothans The markets are at an all-time high, and you can already smell the suntan oil of that Caribbean island getaway, the first stop of your retirement tour! Then you start doing the math. You add up life’s daily costs against your life expectancy. You…
The Great Retirement Caper: The 401(k) Bait and SwitchDetailsBaseball, Hot Dogs and Credit Cards By John Rothans After a short stint of penny-pinching prudence, Americans are back to swiping their way to big charge card balances. Credit cards, after all, are as American as football and apple pie—and we are racking up debt like it’s 1999. Unlike the 1990s, however, GDP has not cracked…
Baseball, Hot Dogs and Credit CardsDetailsMarkets inhaled a giant gulp of fresh air when Donald Trump was elected in November 2017, a gulp that buoyed them to new heights. Equities rallied and bond yields climbed to match forecasters’ hopes for tax cuts, health care reform, infrastructure spending, and deregulation. The S&P 500 rose about 5 percent in President Trump’s first…
Trump Bump Deflates Under Political PressureDetailsThe Lessons of 1994 By Angela Koch Back in 1994, a gallon of gas was about $1.09. A movie ticket was about $4 and the average cost of a new home in the United States was just under $120,000. But, presiding economic conditions, along with a few uncanny political events, and one major fiscal calamity offer…
The Lessons of 1994DetailsThe Entire World Just Got Hacked! So, How Safe is our Money? John Rothans Every generation worries about money. Our parents’ and grandparents’ life savings were under constant threat due to war, depression, recession, market crashes and the actions of government. We face many of these risks today along with something else—cyberwarfare. While virtually unseen…
The Entire World Just Got Hacked! So, How Safe is our Money?DetailsThere is nothing to fear but the “fear index” itself By Angela Koch With North Korea playing chicken with missile tests, the Cold War on permafrost, and Tehran free of sanctions and flush with cash—one would expect a world of worry on Wall Street. Add insurmountable sovereign debt, stagnant GDP, a shrinking middle class, a massive…
There is nothing to fear but the "fear index" itselfDetailsThe $20 Trillion Divide: Why This Debt is Different By John Rothans As of this writing, our National Debt sits just under $19.9 trillion dollars. The ever-ticking Debt Clock is the 800-pound gorilla lurking in the main boardroom of the U.S Department of the Treasury. The $20 trillion mark is the 900-pound grizzly at the…
The $20 Trillion Divide: Why This Debt is DifferentDetails
