Sunday, December 22, 2024
Higher inflation has been rough on all of us. Gas, food, and housing costs are through the roof. Consumer inflation was up 7.9% year over year—the worst it’s been in about four decades. As it turns out, inflation wasn’t transitory after all. As noted by CNBC: Allianz Chief Economic Advisor Mohamed El-Erian: “The characterization of […]
Dear Investor, High inflation has become a driving force in our lives. It’s challenging to invest for income and keep up with inflation, especially outside of commodity-focused investments. It takes an extra step to ferret out investments that will perform well while inflation stays high. We need higher interest rates. But one category of income […]
Subscriber Steve F. asked Chuck Butler and me what we meant when we said the Fed and government is destroying the economy and wealth of the nation: “That seems like a subject the average Joe can get his or her head around. Why not put together what that would really look like for us?” We […]
Dear Investor, It seems we are going through several years of constantly hearing about the latest crisis – such as the pandemic and war – and we must figure out the best course of action. In part because of this most recent crisis, much of the stock market has fallen to correction territory. But there […]
Dear Investor, Investors are rightfully worried about inflation, which is now running at more than 7%. It will be challenging to decide which companies and stocks will be hurt by higher prices and which will benefit. One surefire strategy will be to invest in commodity producers that have directly linked their dividends to profits. These […]
Since the 2008 bank bailouts, readers regularly ask, “what the hell is going on?” I’m not an economist, but I’ll try to explain things – and it isn’t pretty. A major plank in problem-solving is, “Look at the consequences of your decisions, don’t let your solutions cause bigger problems.” Since Clinton repealed the Glass-Steagall act, the […]
Oil has been on a tear this year, both due to concerns over inflation and also as as a result of high demand/low supply dynamics. Owning oil stocks has generally been a winning trade in 2022, but what if the trend reverses? One smart way to hedge oil exposure is by purchasing puts on an […]
Since the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999, the role of the Federal Reserve has changed. The Fed used to be owned by banks while high-risk investment houses were separated and not considered part of the banking system. Since the repeal, banks have consolidated where the top four banks now account for 50% of all US […]
What the heck is going on? In the fourth quarter, I was housebound due to medical issues. When cleared to travel in late December I bought tickets to spend Christmas with the grandchildren. I was shocked, airfares doubled over last year. Might it be because I was a last-minute flyer? When I booked our return […]
The public is on to the Fed’s inflation game! The Fed called it “transitory”. Baloney! The Fed announced: “…it is accelerating its removal of monetary support for the economy, citing a rise in inflation that has seen the biggest jump in prices nearly 40 years. In a move to cool growth, policy makers also said they expect to […]
