The fiscal quarter that ended September 30 was supposed to be the off-ramp to normalcy for the economy. It now seems a long time ago, but early summer 2021 was a time of low Covid case counts and great optimism. (We pause here as you, our reader, may sigh upon thinking this is another story […]
We hope you’ve been outside this summer and fall, and perhaps had the chance to hike, enjoy nature and let free the mind for thought. In the nearby Cascade Mountains, many trailheads start at a creek bed and, as the elevation increases, the path switches back and forth up to a ridge and even beyond. […]
Our newsletter for the third quarter is a departure from custom as we use the reasoning and analysis for a recommended trade to illustrate what we see happening in financial markets. We will follow under separate cover with a request for trade approval if you own the relevant funds. Among the many cognitive errors that […]
All families, and many of us individually, have memories of what things cost in the past as evidence of inflation. When your author’s parents were married in Billings, Montana in 1963, they had $110 between them and needed $107 the following week to pay tuition for my father at the local community college. They marked […]
Dear Clients and Friends of the Firm: In looking back at the year, as we always do in our customary January newsletter, the Covid-19 pandemic was obviously the big event, and it caused a cascade of subsidiary effects, some of which will have enduring consequences for our economy, and investment and financial planning, as we […]
President Lincoln began his second inaugural address with an enormous caveat: “The progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself; and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it […]
Greetings, By now we’re sure that all of you have read about the historic $2.2 trillion stimulus package that was passed by Congress and signed by President Trump on March 31, 2020. The CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act has broad, sweeping measures aimed at supporting our nation’s economy, companies and citizens. The […]
We write to you here at the end of the first quarter amidst financial markets in great transition. Of course, the battle against the coronavirus walloped financial markets in the quarter, but the initial period of indiscriminate selling has passed. With asset prices down significantly and better data on cases and deaths from early hot […]
Greetings: The outbreak of the coronavirus known as COVID-19 hasn’t just required attention to financial market volatility; it has also required that we think about and adapt to the way we conduct business. Operations First, it is important for you to know that we are open and conducting business. You may be aware that the […]
Greetings: The 12% drop in US stock prices (and somewhat less overseas) from the peak last week to yesterday’s close has probably grabbed your attention. So, we’re writing to give you a summary of our perspective amid the heightened pitch of news. Steep declines from shocking developments are a known feature of investing as markets […]