Presidents and Markets
| | | | | |

Quarter in Charts – Q3 2024

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…

Quarter in Charts – Q2 2024
| | | | |

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 – Q4 2023
| | |

Quarter in Charts – Q4 2023

Happy Adjacent I recently learned the term “Happy Adjacent” when I stumbled on a YouTube series from Mythical Kitchen called “Last Meals.” The episodes center on Chef Josh Scherer asking famous people (some more famous than others) what they would eat for their last meal on Earth. Josh then recreates the meal, and they sit…

Quarter in Charts – Q3 2023
| |

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
| | | | |

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 – Q4 2021
| |

Quarter in Charts – Q4 2021

Rising prices seem to be at the top of everyone’s mind. From Social Security recipients wondering if the cost of living adjustments will keep up their actual expenses, businesses and employees wondering how to factor in wage increases, or everyday consumers struggling to keep their energy and food costs under wraps. Congress even joined in with concerns. Last week at the Senate Banking Committee meeting, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told lawmakers,