Blog

  I know it’s a bit clichéd to parallel the similarities of the Federal Reserve normalizing their balance sheet to some fictitious experience of diving into the unknown (which might as well be the plot line to a cheesy low-budget thriller), but to be perfectly honest,… More >>

  Last week the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by another 25 basis points.  This is the third interest rate increase in the last eighteen months. [i] The Fed uses interest rates to promote full employment and control inflation; currently, the Fed has an annual… More >>

  While everyone was focused on the political circus in Washington DC last week, a little tidbit of news went largely ignored by the American public.  According to the Federal Reserve’s latest Q1 statistical release, Americans are the wealthiest that they have ever been.… More >>

  A countless number of commentaries written in the past eight years have been dedicated to the threat of disinflation/deflation. But why is disinflation/deflation so essential? The short answer is that disinflation, the slowing rate at which prices are increasing, leads… More >>

  Last week during a CNBC interview, the famous Nobel Prize winner and Yale University professor, Robert Shiller, said, “It [the market] could go up 50 percent from here. That’s what it did around 2000; after it reached this level, it went up another 50 percent.” [i] I’m… More >>

  Usually, when discussing macroeconomic trends, we focus on fiscal or monetary policy, taxes, or political risks both domestically and abroad. However, we often don’t spend enough time discussing inflation.  Inflation has a significant impact on equity investments.  Take… More >>

  It seems that the European Union (EU) is breathing a bit more easily now that centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron has won the French presidency in last weekend’s election. Macron’s pro-EU stand will likely help strengthen the EU as a whole, which will likely put the… More >>

  The strength of the latest jobs report continues the trend in the U.S. labor force.  In April 2017, the U.S. economy added 211,000 more jobs.  Hospitality/leisure, professional and business services along with healthcare showed solid growth. [i] The unemployment rate… More >>

Economically speaking, the first quarter of 2017 was simply uneventful.  First quarter 2017 GDP growth was nothing shy of anemic.  In fact, it seems to go hand in hand with the frail upward trend of economic recovery following the 2008 financial crisis. During the first… More >>

  On the back of the completed first round of the French election, markets both in the United States and abroad are having a great day.  Polling seems to show an improving lead for Emmanuel Macron over Marine Le Pen, which has certainly sparked another advantage for… More >>