Month: July 2024

Beyond the Magnificent Seven

It’s summer and it’s HOT. Today’s will be a short and sweet edition of TGIF 2 Minutes.

The title for today was almost simply, “Beyond the Magnificent”. But a quick note on the “Magnificent Seven“ is in order.

The seven companies are, of course, Amazon, Apple, Meta (Facebook), Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla. This week – and the past several weeks – have seen volatility and shifts of short-term leadership in the stock markets from the Magnificent Seven growth companies to smaller and more value-oriented ones.

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Interest Rates, The Fed & Market Highs

Today’s edition of TGIF 2 Minutes is worth a comparison to this past February’s archives – just 6 months ago – and was originally titled, “Interest Rates, The Fed & Gray Hair.” In today’s re-run, readers will learn that the US Federal Reserve lowering interest rates is not the only mechanism able to cause the stock market to go up. Sometimes markets go up due to other factors including momentum or continued consumer spending, as in the past 6 months.

Question asked in February 2024:

How soon might the US Fed lower rates and how fast might the markets keep going up or falter down?

A certain amount of gray hair (read: wisdom and experience) helps in understanding the current interest rate and US Federal Reserve environment. Why? Because economies do not move as fast as same-day or even same-month. And “gray hairs” know this.

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The Luxury and Cost/Value of Travel

Today, my favorite airplane image (above) represents landing in a remote vacation destination…

Just thinking about an upcoming or off-in-the-distance trip or vacation can create excitement and the feeling of anticipated relaxation. Travel can be a gift we give ourselves or travel may be necessary, as in to see family for a graduation or birthday celebration. No matter what, there are deep benefits to travel and vacations… and costs and intangible value to consider.

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