Rising interest rates, falling stock prices, government dysfunction, and a war between Hamas and Israel are all adding to investors’ angst. But nothing hurts investor confidence more than losing money. 2022 was a bad year for stocks and bonds recording returns of -18% (S&P 500 stock...
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Economic Outlook Remains Murky The Fed tightened until something broke: Silicon Valley Bank. Now the Fed has to grapple with maintaining financial stability (and not let anything else break) as it tries to tame inflation. The outlook for the U.S. economy has become murky—again. First, Federal Reserve...
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Is Schwab Okay? The recent banking crisis has hammered financial stocks, but few more than Schwab, which is down 35% in three weeks. In the wake of the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) failure, Charles Schwab stock has suffered the fastest decline since 1987. While few clients of...
Read MoreWhat about Reading, Riting, Rithmetic and Return on Investment?!?! We believe that financial education is not just about money. It’s also about our sense of well-being, creating equal opportunities, even strengthening our relationships. So, though we work predominately with adults, we believe that it’s important to share with the next generation...
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Despite high inflation and rising interest rates, the U.S. labor market remains strong. If inflation continues to ease, an economic soft landing may actually be possible. The U.S. economy produced jobs at a slower but still comfortable rate at the end of 2022, as higher interest...
Read More2022 Considerations SECURE Act: You may know that, as part of a larger government package signed into law in December 2019, Congress included provisions that could make saving for retirement more accessible. Key takeaways include: Required minimum distributions (RMD) now begin at age 72. If you...
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As the oldest of five children born to a high school social studies teacher and homemaker, my siblings and I sought out sports for fun, friends and many times, intense competition. My three sisters and I all played various sports at many levels. My youngest sister...
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It appears the Federal Reserve is determined to crash the economy in order to stamp out inflation. They will likely succeed, but at what cost? In the face of an already-slowing economy, the Fed pushed its Fed Funds rate higher by another 0.75% on September 22nd...
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Water is elemental. Crucial for life as we know it. Finite in supply—particularly fresh water—it is chronically degraded by pesticides, herbicides, fossil fuels operations, discarded plastics, and countless other contaminants. Add it all up and it seems like the perfect combination of inelastic demand and...
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Inflation and rising interest rates are putting downward pressure on stocks and bonds. It is too early to tell if this is the start of a larger inflation and interest rate cycle, or just a correction from the pandemic-induced extremes. Either way, stock prices will...
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