Friday

The calendar has turned, and we find ourselves on the backside of Labor Day.  Halloween, however, is nearly two months away.  America finds itself in a sort of doldrums.  Summer is unofficially over, yet the holiday season has not arrived.  Many Americans resort to Pumpkin Spice Lattes (PSL) as a way of taking the edge off of this uneventful period.  If that’s you

The Federal Reserve heavily influences the American economy.  Every six weeks the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) gathers to determine the correct course for monetary policy; they do this by setting the Fed Funds Rate (the amount charged for overnight loans between banks).  In short, they are trying to strike a balance between controlling inflation and supporting the labor market

Arthur “Pop” Momand created the comic “Keeping Up with the Joneses,” a strip depicting the McGinnis family who struggle to keep up with the lifestyle of their neighbors.  Since its creation in 1913, Americans have been doing just that.  Our economy is driven by consumption.  Spending on goods and services represents roughly 70% of the nation’s output

It’s mid-summer Friday morning, and dinner is already top of mind.  I don’t know about you, but something with some leftovers for tomorrow morning’s breakfast, hot or cold, seems about right.  Just one delicious dish comes to mind: pizza.  This classic meal originated as a peasant food, tracing back to 18th-century Naples, Italy.  At the time, it was a city

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell addressed the press Wednesday following the Federal Open Market Committee’s decision to keep the overnight interest rate unchanged.  During the Q&A, he offered an assessment of the economic outlook in light of recent tariff increases.  Powell emphasized that while the U.S.

The age of artificial intelligence (AI) is here.  It is pervasive in daily stories about the world of finance.  Firms are certain to mention it in their quarterly earnings calls.  In short, it seems to be part of our future.  Like most phenomena, though, it comes with its downsides as well.  

Vigilantes are not something one ties to the boring old bond market very often.  However, a well-known economist, Ed Yardini, coined the term back in the 1980s when bond market investors protested against what they perceived as inflationary or fiscally irresponsible government policies.  They could be causing a stir once again. 

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is one way to measure the output of our economy.   It considers how money is spent in America by consumers, businesses, and the government.  Recently, the Bureau of Economic Analysis released the advance report on first quarter 2025 GDP, and it was negative for the first time since declining for two consecutive quarters in 2022. 

According to chiefexecutive.net, optimism remains stubbornly low in America’s C-Suites (the group of senior executives in a company whose titles typically start with "Chief”).  Each month they conduct America’s largest monthly poll of CEOs.