Thoughts

Well here we are at the end of July and Congress has failed to act so the supplemental unemployment program which is providing an extra $600 a week has ended. I am sure eventually they will work out a deal of some kind but it’s just sickening to me that even in a time of national crisis, politicians cannot do what they are elected and paid to do – work for the good of the American people. There are no easy answers to this situation and there needs to be discussion and compromise, instead one s

Based on a study by the CSIS, the US has spent over $2.9 Trillion dollars or 13.6% of our 2019 GDP on stimulus packages to battle Covid19. That is a staggering amount of support in the form of cash payments to individuals, unemployment enhancements, student loan payment suspension, loans and grants to small (and many very large) businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans. That does not consider the action by the Federal Reserve in increasing its’ bala

Better is a relative term. One stick in the eye is better than two, but it still leaves you going as One-Eyed Willy every Halloween. I can walk better than my 18-month-old son (usually) but that does not mean I never end up taking a face plant every now and again (Who put that chair there!?). In the current environment, however, where the economic conditions have been horrendous and the loss of human life has been a tragedy, better might be the only thing worth focusing on.

This month May futures contracts for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil closed negative. That means if you were the holder of a futures contract for delivery of oil in May and you didn’t actually want the oil (most holders do not), you had to pay someone to take delivery of that oil for you before that contract expired. (Think of it as a game of hot potato, whoever is left holding it at expiration ends up with 1,000 barrels of black goop!

The roller coaster ride continues in the market!  Just like the real thing, trying to get off mid-ride could prove problematic.  Most people have heard the saying “it’s about time in the market, not timing the market” and historically that has proven accurate.  Generally trying to time the market results in missing some of its best days, and even if you miss the worst days at the same time, your return usually suffers.  My dad always used to say in

Good thing it’s a leap year or I wouldn’t have met my arbitrary self-imposed monthly deadline for adding some thoughts to my website.  Phew, better late than never as they say.  This has obviously been a volatile week in the markets but first and foremost, don’t forget the loss of life being experienced by families across the globe. 

Some people would come up with some clever insightful name for this, not me.  I guess I could call it a Blog but I’m just going with “Thoughts.”   I made a New Year’s resolution to start writing “something” on a “regular” basis (not real specific or measurable contrary to all expert advice!)  Like many folks, I procrastinated; I got caught up in the what, when, why, how, not sure where to start.  And you know what, that's ok.