The Federal Reserve has succeeded in bringing inflation down to the long-term goal rate of near 2%, which is good news for consumers. But for savers and taxpayers, this means that the big increases we’ve…
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September Recap and October Outlook September equity markets ended the month in positive territory, but with volatility increased. The VIX, the markets “fear index” closed higher than last month, at 16.73, up from 15.00. Intramonth,…
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August Recap and September Outlook As summer ends and September begins, attention is focused on the long-anticipated change in the Fed’s monetary policy, from holding rates steady to returning rates to lower levels. July and…
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July Recap and August Outlook After weeks of Olympic-themed press reports about the Fed “sticking the (soft) landing” and safely guiding the economy to a place where inflation is coming down and growth is…
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It’s no secret that the IRS is underfunded right now. It takes most taxpayers months to receive refund checks, and most would rather go to the dentist than wait on hold to talk with the…
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June Recap and July Outlook At the FOMC meeting in mid-June, the story was the drop in expectations for multiple rate cuts in 2024 to potentially only one rate cut later in the year. However,…
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April Recap and May Outlook April had it all, and most of it was not so great. Inflation is proving sticky again, which forced the market and the Fed to reassess the timing of interest…
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March Recap and April Outlook Among the more interesting bits of Jerome Powell’s testimony to Congress last year was his admission that he’s been a Grateful Dead fan for 50 years. In his comments at…
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January Recap and February Outlook As goes January, so goes the year. That old stock market canard has a double-edged meaning this year, as the stock market as measured by the S&P came in strongly…
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December Recap and January Outlook The drama around the timing of the Federal Reserve’s first cuts to the key short-term interest rate continued in last few weeks of the old year and into the first…
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