Inflation is Here

Long time readers of TGIF 2 Minutes may remember the above photo* which accompanied a February 2018 post describing how inflation feels.

Earlier this year in March, a TGIF 2 Minutes post titled Get Ready for Corona Inflation described what could happen if government spending and stimulus continued unchecked. This week’s reported economic numbers underscore reality: a three-month continued surge in inflation that in several categories has not been seen since the early 1980’s. Lots of people reading this post may not have even been born in 1981 – which was the last time that restaurant meals and food prices rose this fast. To the younger generation, inflation may be learned painfully early in their careers. Inflation hurts EVERYONE, most of all the middle class and low-wage workers. For the wealthier, inflation gradually eats into returns on savings and investments.

Photo by Jared Haworth, www.wehadtoday.com/jared

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Hindsight is 2020

Perhaps the perfect way to “look at” 2020 – is in hindsight! Who on earth could have predicted what went down in world and market events in 2020, both bad and good? Who will ever be able to accurately predict markets? And why is this important?

Funny, there will always be those people who seriously believe and will say out loud that:

  • they knew a pandemic would strike,
  • the economy was due to come to a screeching halt,
  • they predicted the timing of the market turnaround,
  • they knew the US Fed would abruptly lower benchmark interest rates back to zero,
  • Etc., etc., etc.
The smartest of the smart recently admitted they could never have predicted the events of 2020 and how they played out in stock, bond, real estate, and commodities markets.

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A Free Lunch?

Is there such a thing as a “Free Lunch”? Developments this week tested the concept.

News broke this past Tuesday that Charles Schwab, followed by TD Ameritrade and E-Trade, would drop their stock, ETF and options trading commission charges. That means free, $0 trades.

woman using smartphone
Millennials have been demanding cheaper prices and “value” for their purchases since they could pick up a cell phone or iPad.

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