Executive Insights

Gold has been shining bright for thousands of years, including the year 2017. Gold prices gained 9 percent in the first quarter and 10 percent so far this year, reports Nasdaq. Despite such success, gold has taken a backseat to cryptocurrencies in some circles, leaving precious metals owners and market analysts alike wondering, "Could there…

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 4% since the year 2000, and we’ve only…

Markets 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…

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 some very important parallels about today’s…

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 and untraceable, this monetary threat is highly destructive. Hackers and digital pirates can not…

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 federal balance sheet and exasperating hyper-partisanship—and portfolio protection seems like a practical…

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 end of the hallway. It is an implausible amount of money that…

Coins. We collect them in jars, listen to them jingle in our pockets, pop them in vending machines, and even hold onto certain gold and silver coins to help protect our wealth for generations to come. Since the first gold coin was struck around 550 B.C. by King Croesus of Lydia, civilizations around the world…

RECIPE: In the vast global pressure cooker start with two rogue regimes, add chemical weapons, long range missiles, a state sponsor of terrorism and two formidable global powers. Beat. Baste. Blanch. Cover. Bring to a boil. On April 6th President Trump ordered cruise missile strikes on Syrian airfields, weapons depots, and command-and- control facilities of…

Back in early March, State Street Global Advisors erected a 4-foot-tall bronze statue of a young girl across from the iconic Wall Street Bull. The company is the investment management division of State Street Corporation, the third largest asset manager in the world. The statue was placed in Bowling Green Park in Manhattan’s Financial District…

The Vietnam Conflict A Salute to Those Who Served and Endured By John Rothans On March 29, 1973, the last combat troops were withdrawn from Vietnam and the last known prisoners of war arrived back home. It is fitting that today the nation honors and remembers those who served in the Vietnam War by celebrating…

There's no denying it. The stock market has been on a roll. The S&P's index has risen more than six percent since New Year's Day, nearly 20 percent in the last 12 months, and roughly 250 percent since the start of the bull market in March 2009, reports The New York Times. If you've been…