Rising Oil Prices Could Pose the Latest Threat to the Economy

Rising Oil Prices Could Pose the Latest Threat to the Economy Oil prices have surged by over 17% since late June, causing transportation costs for both consumers and businesses to rise and unsettling financial markets. On September 27, West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. oil price benchmark, surpassed $93 per barrel, reaching its highest point […]
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We Didn’t Start the Fire

We Didn’t Start the Fire… The whole world appears to be burning these days. Ukraine remains embroiled in war; the Middle East is erupting (again); mortgage rates hit 8%; inflation; the President is a bit fuzzy; the Republican House can’t find a Speaker; crime is up; the U.S. (and the entire world) is drowning in […]
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Week of Reflection

A Week of Reflection It has taken a week to process the unspeakable acts of last weekend. Despite the lessons of history, we are always shocked at man’s ability to be inhumane. We pray for and support the Jewish community and Israel. We pray for the many innocent victims of the past week and the […]
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The One to Watch

The One to Watch  In the face of ’no news’, we have seen a continuing rise in long term treasury bond rates (and decline in bond prices). This week, markets were squarely focused on the potential for this trend to continue that sent stock prices reeling once again, putting a crimp on diversified portfolios. So […]
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Under My Thumb

Under My Thumb Fed meetings usually focus on the change in current interest rates, but this week the focus was on 2024. Current rates were left unchanged, but the Fed doubled down on the ‘higher (rates) for longer’ theme. Chair Powell repeated at least a dozen times that the Fed will “proceed carefully” from here, […]
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EV’s Running Out of Customers? We’ve Seen This Movie Before!

EV’s Running Out of Customers? We’ve Seen This Movie Before! The title this week was prompted by a headline on Business Insider ”EVs are running out of customers — and some dealers don’t want them anymore”. Not long ago, this headline seemed unfathomable. The move toward green tech seemed unstoppable, and EV demand seemed insatiable, […]
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No Surprises

No Surprises The Fed meeting in Jackson Hole continues as this is written, but Chair Powell’s comments on Friday morning, the ‘highlight’ of the confab, were no surprise. Chair Powell reiterated that the inflation target is 2%, not 3% as some on Wall St. have speculated, and with rates at or near restrictive territory, any […]
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