Reflation Risk According to Goldman Sachs With fiscal stimulus and accommodative monetary policy buoying the U.S. economic recovery, prominent economists from former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers to former IMF Chief Economist Olivier Blanchard have raised concerns that the U.S. economy could be headed for overheating and inflation. In this recent Goldman Sachs podcast, host Allison… Continue reading →

Honestly, how many of you had Baylor University taking the NCAA Men’s basketball tournament, a.k.a March Madness?  Maybe some of you, maybe even a lot. Unless you’re fibbing. But how many of you got every single team right in your bracket? Essentially, that number is zero. It’s always zero and likely always will be zero.… Continue reading →

Like many of you, I am relieved and thrilled to see vaccines against Covid-19 rolling out across the country. It will take a few more months, but every day is a step closer to normal life for millions. It will take still more months, and for some folks years, to overcome the emotional and financial… Continue reading →

Okay, America, buckle up. You’re going to hear a lot of bad news over the next few months and a lot of good news… and that means stocks could be volatile. I say good news because things are looking up on a number of fronts. An initial report on a vaccine for COVID shows 90% effectiveness,… Continue reading →

Election Day is finally here. As Americans jam the polls in record numbers, both political parties are pulling out the stops to convince voters that nothing is assured either way and that the race is wide open. That has investors plenty nervous, naturally. It doesn’t take much to spoil the party on Wall Street on… Continue reading →

Hearings on the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, President Trump’s choice to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, are under way. Whatever your political opinion of the nominee, you can bet that in the meantime nothing else will come even close to getting done in Congress. We are nevertheless barreling toward Election… Continue reading →

Take a few minutes to peruse the financial news online or tune into cable TV and you might end up with the investor equivalent of whiplash. Some stocks zoom to nosebleed highs, even as the economy unloads one bad headline after another. Meanwhile, thousands of inexperienced day traders armed with smartphones flood the market with… Continue reading →

Those of us a certain age remember the mid-1980s rock anthem “I Can’t Drive 55,” by Sammy Hagar. It’s a funny, ridiculous song, coming out about a decade after the country established a nationwide maximum speed limit of 55 mph in reaction to the oil shock of the 1970s. The video for the hit song is equally… Continue reading →

Every so many years, it seems, the stock market is flooded with mindless cash, an influx of inexperienced day traders looking for a quick buck and a thrill. It’s happening again. Consider the weird saga of Hertz, the long-respected car rental brand. Undone by debt, it’s not clear the company will survive. They’re dumping cars… Continue reading →