A debate is brewing in Congress about whether to approve President Biden's request to raise the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling. If not resolved, the issue could cause a shutdown of government services beginning as early as July. With this issue possibly dominating...
The new year gave the financial markets some nice upward momentum – until it didn’t. In January, enough stock market indicators were turning positive to have commentators suggesting the bear market was over, but that dynamic has turned around 180 degrees. The late...
Over the past few months, I have fielded questions from clients on a wide variety of worries. I have recounted some of those questions and made some brief comments, below. At the end of this article, I will conclude with how Shadowridge deals with big hairy issues...
The Fed’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently announced changes to the way the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures inflation. The Fed’s February 12th announcement will include these newest changes. The government constantly fiddles with the CPI calculations,...
Often we commentators focus on problems facing investors. Instead, I’d like to point out seven things that our clients have to be grateful for this past year. 1. Cash is making a comeback. It has been a long time since cash accounts paid anything above diddly....
A frequent topic in the financial news recently has been the concept of a Lost Decade. The term first came into use in the 1990s after Japan’s Nikkei Index dropped over fifty percent and took 16 years to regain the 1990 level. (Source: Investopedia) My term for these...
With the turbulent financial markets this year, I am often asked, “How are you doing with the market being so bad?” I usually reply something along the lines of, “Pretty well. At Shadowridge, we expected bear markets in both stocks and bonds and had plans...
We all have heard someone complain about how bad things are these days, or how afraid they are about what the kids growing up today will have to deal with, or that the future looks bleaker each year, or, or, or. World-weariness affects almost all of us at...
Inflation has begun to moderate, largely due to our government’s move to destroy demand with high prices and pull money out of consumer’s hands via higher taxes. Policies designed to limit supplies of energy are evidence of the government’s intent to raise gas...
The stock market has improved a bit over the past couple of weeks, but this is not the time to get complacent and think this tough market is over and good times are back. The US government must break a vicious circle of inflating interest rates before we can...
Most Shadowridge clients already know that they don’t have too much to worry about in this market, because we’ve got you covered in that regard. However, for the many non-clients who get this letter, like a neighbor who said their investments are a “mess” due to...
Increased reporting on ESG investing has intrigued me since I noticed it a few years back. Articles have appeared with increasing frequency in virtually all industry rags about how “Advisers respond to consumer demand for ESG investments,” or “More investors demand...
