Market News

Inflation at 39-year highs. Stocks in correction territory. Fears about Russian military action into Ukraine. Federal Reserve rate hikes. Pick your poison. Financial markets are unraveling fast and there is panic and fear running wild on Wall Street. After three years of S&P 500 gains in the 18-31% area (historically abnormal, by the way), the stock market is returning to reality.  The worst performing stocks in 2022 are already down almost 90%. Here's a list ... >> Read More        

Investors are being tested. Equities are down significantly for the year and 2022 has only just begun. High-risk speculative assets like crypto have performed even worse. Meanwhile, inflation threatens “side line” money that investors are holding, as they wait to see how far the market will drop. As interest rate hikes loom there seem to be fewer places to invest. For most the goal has shifted from earning a decent return to merely preserving capital ... >> Read More        

Investors increasingly face an unseen opponent: technology. Often investors believe that technology empowers them. It enables mobile trading. It delivers endless data. What few realize is that technology works against them in many ways. Consider that high-frequency trading (HFT) accounts for 70 percent of all equities trading, and that, “fundamental discretionary traders” - people who log in and make a trade like an ordinary human - only account for about 10 percent of all trades ... >> Read More        

The chaos of the Civil War decimated U.S. currency. As a result, many people resorted to merchant tokens, encased stamps, and fractional currency. When the war ended, officials faced the daunting task of reissuing coinage. By 1864, Congress authorized the minting of a five-cent coin. It was not long after that things started to go wrong. It was decided that the coin would bear the image of “Clark.” By this officials meant the iconic explorer ... >> Read More        

You may have seen the inflation news this week. The U.S. consumer price index (CPI) climbed to 7% in December, its highest level since 1982. That marks the third month in a row with inflation above 6%. This is a direct contradiction to the Federal Reserve's prediction that "inflation would be transitory." The inflation we are seeing today is the worst in 39 years. But it's not hyperinflation. At least, not yet anyway. When we ... >> Read More        

George Washington led our nation through some of its most trying times. Born into a prosperous planting family in Virginia in 1732, Washington was named commander of the Virginia militia in 1752 and fought in the French and Indian war. As the British kept raising taxes on the American colonists, by the late 1760's, Washington believed it would be best to declare independence from England. In 1774, he served as delegate to the First Continental ... >> Read More        

Everyone wants silver these days. That includes investors just like you who want to diversify their portfolios and manufacturers of everything from health care items to lithium batteries to solar panels and more. In 2021, every key area of silver demand rose – including the total for overall demand at 1.029 billion ounces, according to the Silver Institute. Investors, including family offices who want to buy silver bars for their wealthy clients, high-net worth individuals ... >> Read More        

Investors face a diminishing list of places to park money in the low-rate environment of today. Holding cash is a losing strategy over the long-term as inflation reduces purchasing power. Bonds have little to offer as rates have remained low for a long time. Equities have soared in valuations leading to a cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings ratio (CAPE) that is at its second highest level since 1880. This elevated figure suggests that the stock market is ... >> Read More        

Diversification is not what it used to be. Investors have long understood the safety of a diversified portfolio. Over the decades, more investors have opted for low-cost mutual funds and exchange traded funds which give them exposure to hundreds of stocks in a single share. But is this strategy truly diversified? Some measurements suggest the answer is no. In recent years, a greater portion of the S&P 500’s performance has been due to a shrinking ... >> Read More        

The Flowing Hair Half Dime has the distinction of being one of the first coins issued by the US Mint. Designed by Robert Scot, this silver coin, valued at five cents, was part of the Coinage Act of 1792 which established the United States dollar as the standard unit of money in the country. The act also created a decimal system for US currency. In this early phase of the US currency system, officials decided ... >> Read More