“I don’t want to invest in any gun makers,” said our client. She was and is passionate and adamant. “This shooting stuff has to stop.”

“I agree with the goal” is my repeated reply. No one wants to see the scenes we are witnessing. But let’s talk about the investing issue and not the…

Each year at the Camp Kotok gathering in Maine, there is an optional morning for those who want to shoot. A variety of weapons are available. All shooting is supervised and all is on ranges or safe venues. We debated doing this for a few years and then tried it. The response was large. Many of…

In their February 15 DataTrek newsletter, Jessica Rabe and Nick Colas refer to the classic DuPont model in discussing how to deal with equity valuations. They admit that “Permanent changes to the tax code shift returns higher.” We agree. They then temper their outlook by introducing the deficit…

Many market agents seem vexed by the VIX. Their recent lessons include a dramatic spiking of volatility, the reactionary pricing of an exchange-traded note (ETN), some forced liquidation, and a blisteringly fast correction in stock prices. The average stock dropped 14% in only a few weeks.…

Eurozone equity markets have declined in step with global markets in a widely expected market correction. While there has been some recovery in the first two days of this week, it is not yet clear that the correction has run its course. Concerns that interest rates in both the United States and…

One of the characteristics of a struggling republic is the inability to separate its central bank’s resources from the fiscal largesse of the federal government. Using central bank resources to avoid addressing funding of the government is a sure path to runaway inflation, economic decline, and…

The President’s infrastructure vision is now in the hands of Congress, which is tasked with devising a plan that promotes investment in our nation’s well-being. The vision includes over $1 trillion in investment over the next ten years. Infrastructure investment is sorely needed, as is…

“Yet there is also good reason to worry,” wrote the Economist on a page 10 editorial dated February 3, 2018. We agree.

First we must say that we think the market is now very oversold and panicked.  That is why we were on the buying side today and especially so in the last hour. Most of the cash in the US and US Core ETF portfolios is deployed as of 4 PM today. The quantitative Lev Vol and Vol strategy…

Economic and financial issues will be thoroughly discussed on February 22 at USF Sarasota-Manatee. The confirmed lineup includes Sara Banaszak of Exxon Mobil, who has expertise in the energy sector. Everything from Puerto Rico Electric Power to offshore drilling to national constraints is on the…