White Papers

Investors are slowly waking up to the realization that "stagflation" is a problem. For years, the term "stagflation" has been thrown around and dismissed like a sighting of "Bigfoot." However, rising inflationary pressures are now colliding with slowing economic growth. This collision presents a challenge for Central Bankers and their monetary policy experiments.

The fact we have the lowest interest rates in 5000-years is indicative of the economic challenges we face. Such was a note brought to my attention by my colleague Jeffrey Marcus of TPA Analytics

Is "buy and hold" always the best way to invest? It is common to see increasing numbers of articles touting the benefits of "armchair" investing during long bull market advances. The last decade has been a boon for the index ETF industry, financial applications, and media websites promoting "buy and hold" investing and diversification strategies.

Dow 40000! Yes, it will eventually happen. Such should not be surprising given the massive amounts of global liquidity chasing fewer assets. But while Dow 40,000 will undoubtedly bring out the “Party Hats,” it is also a massive disappointment of the promises made to investors.

After 40-years of economic erosion, there are still deficit deniers. The belief that debt and deficits “don’t matter” primarily stems from the basis the economy hasn’t collapsed and become a historical equivalent of Weimer, Germany. However, the rather elementary view fails to distinguish that dropping a frog into boiling water or slowly bringing the water to a boil equates to the same outcome. That latter just takes longer to get there.

The question of Japanization in the U.S. continues as the S&P 500 tracks the Nikkei of 1980. An email question I received recently is worth discussing in more detail.