Are the Bond Vigilantes Dead?

Are the Bond Vigilantes Dead? With all due respect to the Oracle (ORCL) mess this week, for us, the important news was in the bond market. The Fed rate cut announced Wednesday was a foregone conclusion by the time the week began. But somewhat contrary to logic, long-term bond rates were creeping higher. Were the […]
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The Penny Finally Succumbs to Inflation

Inflation Wins, The Penny Loses The old saying “It’s not worth a penny” implied that something was worthless. I guess even a penny isn’t worth a penny anymore. This week marked the end of an era when production of the penny (which costs four cents to make) ceased production permanently. The penny is still legal […]
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Understanding Bonds, Debt & Inflation: A Conversation with Lisa Hornby

Click Here to view our Podcast. This week, Phil sits down with Lisa Hornby, Fixed Income Strategist at Schroders, for a timely conversation on the state of the bond market. They discuss how yields influence future returns, the growing concerns around deficits and national debt, and why inflation continues to play a critical role in […]
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The Tariff-Inflation Connection

The Tariff-Inflation Connection It was a confusing week of inflation information this week. On Tuesday, the CPI (Consumer Price Index), was reported at 0.2% for the month and 2.7% year over year, essentially as expected. That eased concerns regarding the impact of tariffs on inflation. Two days later, the PPI (Produce Price Index) reported an […]
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Data for Sale: Tips to Help Protect Your Private Information

Data for Sale: Tips to Help Protect Your Private Information On December 3, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a proposed settlement in legal action against a data broker named Mobilewalla, which was accused of using location data obtained through online advertising auctions to identify consumers by factors such as private home address and […]
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Taking Stock

Taking Stock As we embark on the last year of the first quarter of the 21st century, it seems appropriate to take stock of the situation. Looking backward, if you were long mega cap tech stocks, gold or Bitcoin, there was plenty to smile about in 2024, but otherwise, it was a less than stellar […]
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