Stop. Take a Deep Breath.

Stop. Take a Deep Breath. The last few weeks have been amazing to watch, even for old investment pros. The narrative which over the course of 2022 had gone in our direction (recession), first flipped to a soft-landing scenario (slow growth, but no recession), then flipped to a ‘no-landing’ scenario (i.e., economic growth continues). Finally, […]
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Bottom’s Up!

Bottoms Up! In his classic 1934 book “Security Analysis”, Benjamin Graham, the father of value investing (and a mentor to Warren Buffet), said something to the effect that in the short run the stock market is a voting machine, but in the long run, it is a weighing machine. Eighty-nine years later, that comment still […]
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Now Might Be a Good Time for a Roth Conversion

Now Might Be a Good Time for a Roth Conversion One silver lining in the current bear market is that this could be a good time to convert assets from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. Converted assets are subject to federal income tax in the year of conversion, which might be a substantial […]
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Move Along, Nothing to See Here | September 17, 2022

Move Along, Nothing to See Here Investors have been hanging on every word from the Federal Reserve for years as their policies have been the most consistent driver of markets, be it stocks, bonds, housing, private equity, etc. Some level of rate increases has been baked in by markets, but, of course, that level gyrates […]
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Quick Takes | July 16, 2022

Quick Takes A Shot Across the Bow? There is so much focus on narratives these days, we are increasingly compelled to play by the old rule. Watch what they do, don’t listen to what they say. We’ve been watching what JP Morgan has been doing: June 24: JPM announces layoffs in the mortgage unit. It […]
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How Long? How Bad? | June 18, 2022

How Long? How Bad? As we have stated numerous times, we are faced with a menu of bad options. After 20+ years of ever-increasing, Fed-induced, financial largesse, inflation has turned the tables and we face the inevitable reversal of that largesse. There are no good options. The Fed will remain optimistic to the end, but […]
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SNAP Judgement | May 28, 2022

SNAP Judgment After reporting slightly disappointing earnings on April 21, just over a month later, on May 23, SNAP, Inc. (owner of social media app SnapChat – ask your kids if you are not familiar) had this to say: “Since we issued guidance on April 21, 2022, the macroeconomic environment has deteriorated further and faster […]
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