Category: Economic Updates and Observations
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A Rough Quarter-to-Date for Equities Brings Forth Higher Expected Returns
(As of Nov. 6, 2023) October 2023 was a rough month for investment returns, with asset class returns in these ranges (as implemented via Dimensional Funds Advisors’ mutual funds and ETFs): U.S. Large Company stocks: – 1.6% to -4.2%, approximately U.S. Small Company stocks: – 4.8% to -6.5%, approximately Foreign Developed Markets Small…
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Should You Invest in the United States or Foreign Equity Markets?
The Spirit of Entrepreneurship I’m a big fan of the United States, the future of its economy, and, as a result, to possessing a home bias with respect to U.S. stocks (versus foreign stocks). Why? Because in the U.S. we have an attitude that makes things happen. In other words, we are a country of…
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WALL STREET’S GREAT DECEPTION: THE 3-ACT SHAKESPERIAN TRAGEDY LEADING TO THE ADOPTION OF “REGULATION BEST INTEREST”
The story of the abandonment of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (S.E.C.’s) mission to protect individual investors, and its tragic turn in which it now facilitates consumer confusion, is a long one. Over the past decade, great efforts were made by many actors in the investment industry to dupe the SEC, which unfortunately worked.…
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Social Security Retirement Benefits Much Higher in 2023
This month more than 65 million Americans received an 8.7% cost-of-living adjustment in their Social Security benefits. Driven by high rate of inflation seen last year, this hike in the monthly benefit amount was the largest since 1981, with the average benefit check rising more than $140 a month to $1,827. However, the 2023 increase…
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FOCUS REPORT: THE RATE OF INFLATION DRAMATICALLY INCREASES
Executive Summary: Price Increases Abound; Federal Reserve Likely to Raise Fed Funds Rate to Above-Neutral Policy Levels; Some Relief Likely in Late 2022 or 2023 The Russia-Ukraine war has taken a terrible human toll and resulted in huge price hikes for energy and agricultural goods. Rising real estate prices and interest rates are stifling the…
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Inflation Hits This Couple Hard
Author’s note – this article was written in January 2022, prior to Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine. Since then, gas prices have soared to over $4.00 a gallon (with further increases likely), and food price increases are widely anticipated. Inflation is expected to run at around 8% year-over-year as of February 2022, with a potential…