Federal Reserve

Our economy is hardly flying on one engine, but the international radio distress signal seems appropriate.  Why?  May is right around the corner, and the Federal Reserve will likely begin tightening its monetary policy during the period.  On Wednesday, the central bank unveiled its plan to shrink their balance sheet.

Inflation is a challenge for any family’s plan to retire.  Ask Tom Brady.  After leaving the NFL last month, he announced a comeback earlier this week.  Could soaring prices have been the driver?  Ok, probably not, especially since he will reportedly earn $25 million for playing the season.

Classic relationships can be so romantic.  They can even inform our own ideas about the successfulness of our pairings.  Take Ethel and Fred Mertz.  I know Lucy and Ricky are the main characters, but their neighbors really crack me up.  Like Fred, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked for the price tag on some item my wife wants to get rid of because I thin

Income and outlays data provide an important and frequent look into the state of our economy.    Of course, income is, for the most part, a necessary condition for spending.  Outlays, in the report on personal consumption expenditures (PCE) represents over two-thirds of our nation’s output.  Both were mixed in October 2020 according to the Bureau of Economic Analy

Zombies are occasionally the subjects of fictional works.  These undead, horror-related characters are found in books, music videos, movies, and video games.  Often pathogens infect them, turning a once lively person into no more than an animated corporeal without other human essences.  Once an individual transitions, they may become a vector of the disease for which there is no

A portmanteau is one for my favorite tools of the English language.  It sounds awfully French to be English, but I digress.  They result from blending two or more words.  Spork is probably the most utilitarian one I can think of.  You can eat a salad or bowl of cereal with that portmanteau.   Those of us in Southern California are familiar with smog (smoke + fog).&

Charlie Brown just wants to kick a football.  Yet each time I’ve watched him attempt it, Lucy van Pelt swipes the ball away right as he plants his non-kicking foot.  As the rules of Newtonian Physics kick in, he ends up in a horizontal position before falling to the ground.

Cash use has been on the decline.  Technology has made it easier to spend money without it ever being held in your hands.  Consumption is nearly frictionless as mobile technologies allow a person to go from an advertisement on social media to payment in seconds.  So, are we headed to a cashless society?  The jury is still out but a trend has emerged.