With this week’s fast and furious weakness in US and global stock markets – primarily based on spread of the Coronavirus – the next “shoe to fall” likely will be slower short-term economic growth in parts of the US and definitely longer, more pronounced slow-downs in China. These types of slowdowns do happen as a part of market cycles. This situation also got me to thinking about how economic slowdowns, often over decades, have benefited beer and alcohol sales.
It may be a decent time to buy a house… if you have good credit.
Quick note here on:
Does it seem to you that with the stock market rebound since late December that you feel “good” or “better” today than you felt in early January?
If you DO feel good, that “good” feeling today may not be as strong as the “pain” you felt in January following December’s big decline.
If you do NOT feel “good” or “better” today, is it attributable to the markets? (Unlikely) A job or the economy? Family? The political environment?
The reason I ask is that good and bad feelings – especially related to the stock markets – come and go. However, extensive research* says that “bad” or “painful” times are felt more strongly than “good” times. Maybe good is boring but I would rather have good than bad. Continue reading “Is Good Boring?”
These are not times for the faint of heart. Almost every day we have been battered with news of geopolitical challenges, tariffs, Federal government partial shut-downs, Brexits, Federal Reserve policy changes, polar vortexes… all amidst new all-time highs for stocks accompanied by the worst December for the S&P since 1931.
Where do we stand going into the Year Ahead?
It is always helpful to define where stand today and understand a few points about how we got here. So as a sequel to my last post, here are a handful of data points about today’s economy and market stats from the recent past. Several of these may surprise you.
Good morning on a Saturday,
And not just any Saturday. The Saturday just 3 days before Christmas! And, the Saturday following a week of sharp stock market declines and abrupt political events. In fact, a Saturday capping off an entire year of unfamiliar volatility and weakness in the stock market.
I took an extra day this week (TGIF +1) to check the path of stock markets year-to-date to present perspective and a few encouraging thoughts: Continue reading “Perspective & Thoughts at the End of a Volatile Year”
I am not typically a reader of Money* magazine (who still reads hard copy magazines these days??). But I received a promotional copy in the mail recently and before throwing it out I figured it couldn’t hurt to breeze through a couple of pages. By the way, have you ever realized that lots of magazines save a truly “of-interest” article for the last few pages?
The article that caught my attention was short, and one where someone famous answers 5-6 intriguing questions. Being that I am pretty out-of-the-know when it comes to famous people, I almost always gain a new fun fact.
This particular article was about Terry Crews, the former (underachieving) NFL player turned Actor, and several of his views on having money… then not having money… and then working your butt off to re-invent yourself in order that you can have… enough money for the lifestyle you seek. Continue reading “Millennial Spirit For Adults”