Tag: Inflation
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What. A. Year.
Financial markets are always a little weird. After all, financial markets reflect the behavior and sentiments of people, especially in the near term. Investors have experienced sentiment all over the place the past few years, from bleak circumstances to euphoric speculative nonsense, and back again. 2022 will probably go down as one of the market’s…
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Using the Strategic Petroleum Reserve To Fight Inflation
The inflation numbers for August came in hotter than expected, rising 0.1% for the month against the falling forecast. On the surface, it does not seem too bad, considering inflation is over 8% for the year, and it paused in July. The Fed and investors were by far and away hoping that they had seen…
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Investors Should Worry More About Quantitative Tightening
There is a lot of negative sentiment in markets now, just as inflation pain and recession fears began to ebb. Despite zero evidence, many investors were banking on the FED pivoting from the aggressive rate hikes sooner rather than later. Some investors got ahead, bidding stocks off their June lows for a mid-summer rally in…
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Recession or Nah?
The recession debate has died down a bit as political and financial commentators gravitated to the next dumb debate over the White House’s quote of zero inflation for July. Inflation was zero for July. The inflation rate for the twelve months ending in July is 8.5%. I am unsure if it was worse seeing so…
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What Exactly Is a Recession?
So, how are things going in the economy? Not great. But not terrible either. While the jobs market remains strong, the biggest concern for consumers and policymakers is inflation. The Fed is rapidly increasing rates to tame inflation. However, the Fed may not be able to do a lot to cure the supply chain issues…
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What A Year This Quarter Has Been
It has been a difficult quarter for investors. Major indexes entered bear territory (means down 20%). US treasuries, generally the safest of assets for when investors are scared, have had their worst year since the 70s (when interest rates go up, bonds go down). Commodities, which I generally say “they suck until they don’t,” have…
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401(k) Down? Blame Facebook
Facebook (I still refuse to call it Meta) has had a rough few months. Its stock has fallen over 40% since November. That is a phenomenal drop, especially for a company in the top ten of the S&P 500 Index. The size of Facebook and its plummet have helped drag the S&P 500 Index down…
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Your Guide to Talking About Inflation
Inflation is on everyone’s mind at the moment. Many are unfamiliar with how this particular bout of inflation came about or how bad it could get. Or worse, some people know just enough to sound like they know what they are talking about on the subject. In this post, I will look at each of…
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Inflation Rates Are Rising: What You Need to Know
Inflation seems to be all the rage today with traditional and financial media, and for a good reason. Globally, inflation rates have increased significantly over 2021. Inflation rates are running higher for consumers than in over a generation, and that has many people asking: How does inflation work? Should I be concerned about inflation? What…