Blog

The #1 Fear In America

About 58% of the S&P 500 stocks now have yields higher than 10-year Treasuries

“At best, most college presidents are running something that is somewhere between a faltering corporation and a hotel.”

“You have to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going, because you might not get there.”

A recent poll conducted in June of this year revealed that 6% of Americans believe the moon landing was staged…

In every case going back to 1971, when the Fed began a new easing cycle while the economy was expanding…

Of the 20 times stocks have rallied in the first six months of the year by more than 10%…

In 1783, there were 4,131 breweries in America…

Forty-three percent of Americans don’t know that the First Amendment gives them the right to freedom of speech …

By the end of 2018, there were 53 firms in the S&P 500 that increased their dividends to stockholders

The CEO of the company Simpliflying tried an experiment…

The U.S. expansion reaches its 10-year mark this month.

Of the 469 recessions in 194 countries since 1988, only four were predicted by economists at the International Monetary Fund

Since 1896, the DOW has fallen by at least 2% in a single day 1,011 times.

Up to 16% of doctors’ traditional white coats tested positive for MRSA

There are now 1.2 million more job openings in the U.S. than there are unemployed Americans.

“Birth is not about making babies. Birth is about making mothers.”

Roughly 40% of parents with kids in youth sports are confident that their child will one day get an athletic scholarship

The biggest stock market winner so far since the beginning of 2000 is not Amazon…

The IRS estimates that business owners don’t pay $125 billion in taxes they oweevery year.

If it meant never to have to send another penny to the IRS, 27% would get the letters “IRS” tattooed on their body

The U.S. is building a $500 million supercomputer that can reach “exascale” performance.

In the tax year 2015, the top 50% of wage earners accounted for 97.2% of the total income tax paid.

Girl Scout Cookies are an $800 million business

March and April are historically two of the best months for the S&P 500.

U.S employers posted 7.3 million available jobs in December

January marked 100 months in a row of positive job creation, by far the longest streak on record.

Calling “Presidents Day” a holiday doesn’t make it so.

The Jamaican Stock Exchange was the world’s best performing stock market in 2018

The day after the Super Bowl is the Number 1 sick day every year

Ninety-six percent of the world’s population now live within reach of a cell phone network.

American life expectancy has shown our average span either falling or stagnating for the third consecutive year.

Job openings declined to about 6.9 million in November, but there are still about 800,000 more jobs than there are workers.

December 26, 2018 marked a historic day- more than 500 stocks in the S&P 500 finished positive…

Since 1969, the S&P 500 has averaged a gain of 1.3% over the seven-day period that encompasses the last five sessions of the year and the first two trading days of the new year.

The US playing card company, Bicycle, manufactured cards to give to all Prisoners of War in Germany during WWII as a Christmas present.

Thirty-two percent of college graduates end up in a career that didn’t require a college degree.

“Markets take the stairs up but the elevator down.”

Eighty-two percent of toys sold in America are imported from China.

Over the past two years, the average price of a Christmas Tree rose 17% from $64 in 2015 to $73 in 2017.

Since WWII, the average correction for the S&P 500 lasts 4 months and sees equities slide 13%.

History shows that the midterm elections act as a launching pad for stocks.

Talking Points: Issues, Business,Taxes “In our age there is no such thing as ‘keeping out of politics.’ All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia.” George Orwell, 1946 “There is nothing in the business situation to warrant destruction of values that has taken place on… Read More

“When investing money, the amount invested should depend on whether you want to eat well or sleep well.” J. Kennfield Morley Last winter, 80,000 Americans died of the flu and related complications, the most since the winter of 1976-77. Fox News, September 27, 2018 Over the past six years, at least 259 people around the… Read More

Retail, Netflix, Student Loans This year, 25% of mall space in the U.S. is occupied by non-retail and non-restaurant companies, up from 19% in 2012. Business Insider, October 1, 2018 Netflix is on pace to add 27.4 million subscribers this year. That is nearly as many as HBO added in the past 40 years. CNBC,… Read More

Talking Points: Politics, Polls, Fake Ad “In politics, the short term is crystal clear and the long term is murky; in the stock market, the short term is murky but the long term is crystal clear.” David Gergen A new poll found that nearly a third of voters do not know the names of their… Read More

Talking Points: Currencies, Cell Phones, IPO’s “The Indians I met readily embraced Christianity…they were always smiling…their speech is the sweetest in the world…they are a loving people…weapons, they have none…it appears that the people are ingenious and would be good servants.” Christopher Columbus A review of the values of 143 global currencies indicates that so… Read More

Oil, Gas, TV For seven straight years, the U.S. has pumped more oil and gas out of the ground than any other country. U.S. natural gas production stole the top spot from Russia in 2008, and exceeded Saudi Arabia’s oil production in 2013. Since 2008, U.S. petroleum and natural gas production has jumped nearly 60%…. Read More

Talking Points: Bezos, Money Matters, Markets Jeff Bezos, with a net worth of $156.7 billion, is donating $2 billion on his new “Day One Fund,” that would fund nonprofits that help the homeless. That would be the equivalent to the average American giving $1,187. CNBC, September 13, 2018  Sales of luxury apartments in New York… Read More

What’s New in Washington? These Bullet Points Tell The Story Are you wondering if new ground  will be broken or if history is repeating itself?  Bob Sellers who is an expert in politics has this to share… What’s New in Washington?   

Manufacturing, Amazon, Apple From July of 2017 to July of this year, U.S. manufacturing added 327,000 jobs, the most of any 12-month period since April 1995. CNBC.com, August 3, 2018 In 2017, 76% of the companies that became publicly listed were unprofitable in the year before their Initial Public Offering. That’s lower than the 81%… Read More

Talking Points: World, Savings, Homes The world’s middle class now totals 3.7 billion people, or 48% of the world’s population. The Brookings Institution, July 11, 2018  The government has pushed up its estimate of the personal saving rate from 3.3% to 7.2%. That comes to $613.5 billion in additional savings, enough money to purchase more… Read More

Taxes, Benefits, Capitalism Apple has 489 open appeals with regards to property taxes. The company disputes what the assessor valued at $8.5 billion in property. In one of those appeals, Apple says that a cluster of properties in the vicinity of Apple Park is not worth $1 billion, but is in fact worth only $200…. Read More

Investing, DEFCON, Economic Index This may be the year when popular investing mantras like “sell in May and go away,” are turned on their heads. So far, 2018 has defied convention with the S&P 500 climbing almost 7% since the beginning of May. MarketWatch, August 14, 2018 Urban areas make up just 3.6% of the… Read More

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the uptick in growth we have experienced in the first five quarters of the Trump presidency, “has already added $1.3 trillion to the 10-year federal revenue projection.” The Week, August 10, 2018 On average, mass marketing email “open rates” are only 20% while text messages are read 98% of… Read More

College, Elections, Fees Students entering college this year could pay more than $190,000 for a bachelor’s degree. CNN, May 21, 2018 There have only been two years in the midterm election years where the market has been up in April, May, June, and July and it was 1954 and 1958. Each one of those times,… Read More

Energy, Loans, IRS The energy used in our digital consumption is set to have a bigger impact on global warming than the entire aviation industry. The Guardian, July 17, 2018 Personal loans surged to a record this year and are now the fastest-growing U.S. consumer-lending category. Outstanding balances soared 18% to a record $120 billion…. Read More

Home Prices, Farm Profits, Cheese Surplus The San Jose area was once again the most expensive place in the U.S. to buy a home in 2017, with a median price of $1.27 million. MarketWatch, February 13, 2018 The terrorist group al-Shabab, the Somalia-based militant Islamic group that has massacred thousands of civilians, has announced a… Read More

Advertising, China, Jobs Google and Facebook combined make up roughly 25% of all global advertising expenditures, and control more of the advertising market than all of the print media on the planet. Abundance Insider, July 9, 2018 China is home to the world’s best pencil graphite. In China, the color yellow is connected with royalty,… Read More

Have these conversations before it is too late. Some sage advice about having this important talk with your aging clients before its too late. Because this can be a difficult conversation to start, there are a number of useful links in this article from MarketWatch, including a  “playbook” you can download. Read the full article … Read More

S&P 500, Education, US Workers Since 1950 there have been 35 years when the S&P 500 was up a minimum of 3% at the start of summer (June 21). The S&P saw further gains in 30 of those 35 years.  CNBC, June 24, 2018 In today’s digital world, within just 1/1000 of a second we produce written content equivalent… Read More

Flag, Health Insurance, DOW The US flag currently in use was actually designed by a 17-year-old high school student as a class project. After Hawaii and Alaska joined the union in 1959, Robert Heft designed a flag with five rows of six stars and four rows of five stars. His teacher told him it was… Read More

Wealth, Robocalls, Workforce U.S. household wealth topped $100 trillion for the first time ever. Wall Street Journal, June 7, 2018 “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking that we used when we created them.” Albert Einstein The number of robocalls reached a record in April, with 3.36 billion calls placed, a 6.5% increase… Read More

Reaction 20 days & 250 days later Whether it be a physical war or a war of words, the stock market tends to react. But what does the market do weeks and months later? Click here to see the chart

Social Security, Tesla, AI This year, Social Security’s costs will exceed its income for the first time since 1982, forcing the program to dip into its nearly $3 trillion trust fund to cover benefits. The Wall Street Journal, June 5, 2018 “There are only two American car companies that have never gone bankrupt: Ford and… Read More

McDonald’s, California, Fertility Rate There are 37,241 McDonald’s restaurants in 120 countries but not a single one in North Korea. According to an intelligence report, Kim Jong Un may allow a “Western hamburger franchise” into Pyongyang as a gesture of goodwill. Thomas Friedman once famously observed that no two countries, that both have a McDonald’s,… Read More

Student Loans, Gas, Strikes Black unemployment is down to 5.9%, while white unemployment is at 3.5%- the smallest gap between the two rates ever recorded. CNN Money, June 1, 2018 Due to escalating tuition and easy credit, the United States has 101 people who owe at least $1 million in federal student loans. The number… Read More

Women, Graduates, & Millennials A recent survey found that 36% of American women earn more than their partner. For men in their 20’s and 30’s, that just fine. More than 1 in 3 say that the relationship and romantic dynamics change for the positive when the person they’re seeing earns more than they do. CNBC,… Read More

Apple, Wealth, Surplus In the latest fiscal year, Apple brought in $229 billion, more than 5 times the entire economic output of Wyoming. New York Times, May 7, 2018 The top 0.1% of wealthy Americans are seen as big winners, but just below them are the 9.9%- and they now own more financial assets than the top… Read More

Job Openings, CO2, Elections In March of this year, there were 6.55 million job openings, and 6.59 million people claiming unemployment, meaning there is now a job opening for nearly every unemployed worker in America.  Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 8, 2018 Kate Middleton’s cost of delivering their third child in a private luxury room… Read More

Wellness, Facebook, Unemployment The market for wellness- whether it be a trendy health fad, a diet, a supplement, a specific type of exercise equipment, or an alternative treatment, now exceeds the total U.S. health expenditure for disease and illness. MarketWatch, April 27, 2018 The median pay for Facebook’s 25,000 employees last year was $240,430. Mark… Read More

You may be wary of Bitcoin but … I’ve been exploring/ researching /talking about Crypto Currencies  for some time now- should you buy, sell, or hold? What if you are approaching retirement but your millennial children (those not still living at home!) are encouraging you to invest…what should you do? Kerri Zane’s recent article in… Read More

Internet, Music, Books Internet crimes netted the perpetrators $455 billion in 2017. CNBC.com, April 15, 2018 Forty-three percent of music revenues came from streaming last year. Tech Crunch, April 23,2018 Every book to hit #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List in 2018 so far has either been about contemporary politics in general or… Read More

Jobs, Employment, Pets In the 12-state region that makes up the Midwest, available jobs outnumber out-of-work job seekers. If every unemployed person in the region were hired today, there would still be 180,000 unfilled positions. The Wall Street Journal, April 1, 2018 The portion of Americans over the age of 65 who were employed, full-time… Read More

Being a speaker, I get the chance to talk to thousands of people each year, particularly those in the financial industry. My mission is to insure they take away some good advice and learn something of value. I was quoted in this article in The Street, where I discuss regrets- more specifically, not saving early… Read More

Cars, GDP Growth, Environment All those cars that Volkswagen bought back in the wake of their embarrassing emissions scandal have to end up somewhere, and that somewhere is large parking lots across America. Today, there are currently 294,000 cars parked in such areas as the abandoned Detroit Lions stadium, some are rotting on a decommissioned… Read More

Health Care, Housing, Estate Planning A JAMA study found that 63% of the U.S. increase in health care spending from 1996 to 2013 was attributable to providers doing more for patients in each visit and charging more for those procedures. The New York Times, January 2, 2018 Home prices have soared by an average 48%… Read More

Self-Storage, Millennials, Private Equity The U.S. has more than 50,000 self-storage facilities with roughly 2.3 billion square feet of rentable space. In other words, the volume of self-storage units in the country could fill Grand Central Station with old clothing, skis, and keepsakes more than 11 times. Curbed, March 27, 2018 According to a Harris… Read More

401(k), Cryptocurrency, Lottery Americans lost track of more than $7.7 billion worth of retirement savings in 2015 alone by “accidentally and unknowingly” abandoning their 401(k). USA Today, February 25, 2018 South Korea, which has one of the longest workweeks in the world, is reducing the maximum number of hours someone can work in a week… Read More

U-Haul, Amazon, Snapchat Points to encourage interesting conversation Due to soaring housing prices, many people are moving away from the San Francisco Bay area. Because of this, a one-way U-Haul rental from San Jose to Las Vegas now costs roughly $2,000, compared to just $100 for a truck going in the other direction. Newsweek.com, February 2,… Read More

Stocks, Uber, Fake News Engage your clients with these interesting points Stock buybacks amounted to $151.1 billion in February- a new record. CNBC, March 6, 2018 Nearly 100,000 members of Generation Z- those born after 1994, own a home. MarketWatch, March 8, 2018 A man got drunk in West Virginia and mistakenly ordered an Uber… Read More

S&P 500, Girl Scout Cookies Engage your clients with interesting information. On a total-return basis, the S&P 500 fell 2.6% in February. That drop represents the benchmark index’s first such decline since October 2016, meaning an uninterrupted 15-month rally, the longest streak in the history of the S&P, came to a close. MarketWatch, March 1,… Read More

 Retail, Banks, Bitcoin The National Retail Federation said holiday sales in 2017 reached nearly $692 billion. About $90 billion, or 13%, is expected to be returned through the end of February, 2018. WSJ.com, February 6, 2018 In the 12 months ended June 2017, banks shut 1,700 branches, the fastest decline on record. PYMNTS.com, February 6, 2018… Read More

Talking Points for Engaging Conversations “If a president is skilled he can still only get about three important things done in a term, less than many folks fear or hope.” Ronald Regan During the week of February 5th, US stock funds saw a record $23.9 billion withdrawn by investors, the worst outflows on record. Yahoo Finance,… Read More

Talking Points for Engaging Conversations Despite the enormous wealth creating-power of the stock market, looking at it too closely can be terrifying. A daily look at portfolio values means you see a loss 46.7% of the time, whereas a yearly look shows a loss a mere 27.6% of the time. The Center for Outcomes, February… Read More

Talking Points for Engaging Conversations The average bull market “correction” is 13% over four months and takes just four months to recover. Investopedia, January30, 2018 The Federal Reserve turned over $80.2 billion to the Treasury in 2017. MarketWatch, January 10, 2018 Hawaii’s governor confessed he was unable to correct the state’s erroneous warning of an imminent… Read More

Just in time for the Super Bowl In my presentation, “Secrets of the Temple” I speak about data mining. If you love this stuff as much as I do you will love this stat. We are all aware of how the Super Bowl has, with some accuracy, predicted that year’s market performance. A New England… Read More

 Talking Points… for Engaging Conversations! For the first time in history, health care has surpassed manufacturing and retail to become the largest source of jobs in America. TheAtlantic.com, January 9, 2018 Roughly $16 billion was wasted on unwanted holiday gifts in 2017. USNews.com, December 28, 2017 Today, there are now 1.26 vehicles on the road… Read More

America is growing older with consistent regularity The map below shows where we were, where we are, and where we’re going. I was recently in South Florida and visited one of those minimum-security housing subdivsions – you know the ones I am talking about, right? The ones with the guard gates and the 8-foot wall… Read More

The first-year average gain for first-term presidents since 1928 has been 13%. Trump’s performance, as measured by the S&P 500, was up 23%. Obama’s first year saw the S&P gain 41%. CNBC, January 18, 2018 The Bitcoin exchange ‘Coinbase’ opened over 300,000 new accounts over the 2017 Thanksgiving weekend, which now makes them larger (in… Read More

Photo Credit: htmvalerio  https://www.flickr.com/photos/htmvalerio/ The DOW’s record close in 2017 ended with six full weeks of gains-  the last time that happened was in 1954. CNBC.com, December 29, 2017 January 17 is popularly thought to be the day when a large number of people abandon their New Year’s resolutions. Timeanddate.com The equivalent of 65 years… Read More

Blockchain: The Next Disruptor? I often suggest our goal in the financial business is to see it before it is obvious- when it is too obvious, it is too late. This article, directed toward advisors, illustrates why one goal you should absolutely make for 2018 is to learn more about Blockchain technology…before it is too… Read More

The S&P 500 posted positive total returns in every month of 2017, something the index has not done in its 90 year history. Seeking Alpha, January 2, 2018 Roughly $1 billion in gift cards go unused every year. MarketWatch, December 26, 2017 Over the last two decades aviation deaths around the world have been steadily falling. Airlines recorded no accident fatalities in… Read More

For over a decade I have emphasized the importance of helping your clients get their house in order. This is yet another outstanding article encouraging the same. While the name is a little off-putting, I highly recommend doing what this article refers to as  A Death Clean  

S&P 500, Christmas, Consumers The S&P 500 has returned nearly 20% in 2017. If the gains continue, this year will mark the seventh year out of the past nine the market has closed with a double-digit increase. Bloomberg.com, December 8, 2017 “Christmas is a time when kids tell Santa what they want and adults pay… Read More

Sometimes I wonder, “who has the time to do this level of research and why?” But I’m so glad they do! This article about Santa’s annual expenditures falls under that category. With Christmas just days away, Catherine Campo has calculated how much Santa Claus spends annually to supply a single toy to the 2.4 billion… Read More

14 Incredible Inventions that Were Discovered by Accident Thomas Edison, as we all know, famously said after inventing the lightbulb, “I did not fail, I just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Along those same lines, I found this article to be informative, funny, and encouraging! The phrase “are you doing, what you know you… Read More

I love to tell stories to get a point across and if you’ve heard me speak you know I always say, “Facts tell, and stories sell.” To that that end I am always looking for stories that either inform or inspire and this one does both so take a few moments and enjoy… The best-selling… Read More

A History of Pious Drinking Many of you enjoy the stories that I share in my presentations and some of you even approach me afterwards ask, “Where do you get this stuff?” Because I spend so much time in hotel rooms and on airplanes, I have a lot of downtime to read. Sometimes I come… Read More

Millennials, Retirement, Oil Rigs Seventy-six percent of millennials saving for retirement report they have made sacrifices to do so. The top sacrifice is dining out, as 43% say they’ve cut back. CNBC November 15, 2017 Surveys show that retirees with a predictable monthly income stream tend to be less anxious about their finances than those… Read More

Relationships, Money, Marketing Strong social relationships boost a person’s chances of staying alive by 50%. That’s about the same improvement to mortality as the one that comes from quitting smoking. Bloomberg News, October 9, 2017 Research by Nobel-winning economist Angus Deaton has shown that money stops adding significantly to people’s happiness at an annual salary… Read More

Robocalls, Forbes 400 List, US Oil Production YouMail, a robocall blocker, estimated there were 29 billion robocalls placed in America in 2016. TheOutline.com November 20, 2017 In 1982, a wealthy American needed $75 million ($189 million in today’s dollars) to enter the Forbes 400 list. The minimum wealth necessary in 2017: $2 billion. CNBC.com November… Read More

The 7 Deadly Sins In light of the holiday season when we all tend to over indulge a bit I found this topic was irresistible. Communication is key to getting and retaining clients and this topic could be the gateway to having an intriguing conversation with those of a younger generation who may not be… Read More

Recession, Savings, Housing Market, & Record Sale In the world today, fewer than 10 countries are in a recession, the lowest number ever. MarketWatch, November 13, 2017 Going back seven decades, there have only been 10 years in which the S&P stayed “in the black” for the whole year, as it has done so far in… Read More

Cash, Gold, S&P 500, Dogs and More… Nearly 10% of Americans carry no cash on them, while 40% leave the house with $20 or less. The Wall Street Journal, November 6, 2017 It is estimated that 173,000 metric tons of gold has been mined since 1493, and 91% of that amount has been mined since… Read More

Social Security, Stocks, Credit, & More… Berkshire Hathaway now has $99.7 billion in un-deployed cash, the most in the company’s history. VisualCapitalist.com, October 31, 2017 Americans now have the highest credit-card debt in history, hitting $1.021 trillion in June beating the previous record of $1.02 trillion in April of 2008. MarketWatch.com, April 8, 2017 “It’s acceptable… Read More

Happiness, Crime, Money, Vampires  and More.. Research by Nobel-winning economist Angus Deaton has shown that money stops adding significantly to people’s happiness at an annual salary of $75,000 or after they have attained $550,000 in wealth. The Week, October 27, 2017 E-commerce has created more jobs than it has displaced, adding 178,000 positions over the… Read More

What do G. Gordon Libby and I have in common? We both have spoken at the Watergate hotel…he, more in a whisper, than me!   I had a great time speaking to over 100 financial advisors at the Watergate hotel on Oct 24th. I’ll speak over 80 times in different locales this year, but this one was the… Read More

Managing Money, The DOW and more… NFL players make an average of $1.9 million a year. Yet 15% of them end up declaring bankruptcy. CNBC Some 71% of Americans express regrets about their ability to manage money. The #1 regret- not planning early enough(48%), followed by spending too much on nonessentials (39%). Market Watch, September… Read More

Apple, S&P 500, taxes, and more… Apple has generated more profit than any other company in U.S. stock market history. The New York Times, September 22, 2017 The S&P 500’s inflation-adjusted return, since the market top on March 24, 2000, to September of 2017, has only been 0.9%. Marketwatch, September 22, 2017 The glory of the internet… Read More