2024 is shaping up to be one of the rare years with no major asset class in decline (see far right column in the chart below.) Large Cap US, Foreign Stocks, and Real Estate have led the way, while Bonds and Commodities have returns barely more than money markets. Below, we will detail the relevant
Category: Market Commentary
Quarter in Charts – Q2 2024
A Quarter on Repeat Our family has a handful of stories we tell on repeat. There is the one about my driver’s ed instructor who made me go through the Burger King drive-thru to pick up her lunch (a “Whopper with no mayonnaise this time!” emphasis hers.) After discovering mayonnaise on her Whopper, she made
Quarter in Charts – Q1 2024
“Dad, our lawn looks like the Masters!” That’s an actual quote from our eleven-year-old son last weekend. When we moved in 12 years ago, the backyard was a jungle without a blade of grass. But over the years, we’ve slowly transformed it to allow us to host countless parties and backyard football games. It has
Quarter in Charts – Q3 2023
In this Quarter in Charts, we have several graphs detailing the current interest rate environment, global market events, the bond bear market, and various economic indicators. We use this data to explain what happened (and look ahead to what could happen) in economies, markets, and investment portfolios. But none of those graphs will be able
Quarter In Charts – Q1 2023
Kids Today Have It Too Easy As a dad of teenagers, it’s my duty to occasionally put on the “grumpy old man” act and talk about how kids today have it too easy. I say things like, “You know when I was a boy…” followed by a misremembered anecdote of my days working at the
Quarter in Charts – Q2 2022
“The Circumstances” So far this year, investors have experienced a dramatic increase in interest rates and sustained high inflation, coupled with a decrease in both stock and bond prices not seen in half a century. All of this while the US continued to add jobs and public companies increased profits at a steady pace. Below
Quarter in Charts – Q3 2021
According to NPR’s Rob Elving “The Basics” explainer on the Debt Ceiling, congress will likely raise our nation’s imaginary borrowing “line in the sand” for nearly the hundredth time since 1917.
Quarter in Charts – Q2 2021
As we close out the first half of the year, significant headlines continue to surround the Pandemic. Concern has shifted to the impact on the labor market, inflation, interest rates, and housing.
Quarter in Charts – Q1 2021
So much over the last year has felt like it belonged in a movie rather than real life. From COVID to the election, from social unrest to working and schooling from home.
Quarter in Charts – Q4 2020
Much like the buffet lines, the financial media served up a lot of “food” this year, not all of it of substance. In an effort to cut through to what is most important and what we need to pay attention to going forward