Friday Fun

People like concrete explanations for phenomena.  For instance, virtually daily financial headlines are filled with reasons various markets behaved the way they did that day, up or down.  These explanations are more compelling to readers than something along the lines of  “buyers were more urgent than sellers today, so markets increased after the opposite was true yesterday

Welcome to Pi Day 2025.  Atlas likes to think of it as a day to reflect on cycles, acknowledging the good and bad times implicit in them.  Pie comes to mind.  At the peak of the pie cycle is the first bite.  The wholesome sweetness has hit your tastebuds, yet most of the pie is still intact.  Then there’s the bottom of the cycle, that point when you realize you at

Tariffs are essentially taxes imposed by a country on goods imported from abroad.  They serve multiple purposes: generating revenue for the government, protecting domestic industries from foreign competition, and sometimes as a tool in trade negotiations.  When a tariff is applied, it increases the cost of imported goods, making them less competitive against domestic products.

Last week Atlas sent a note called How Did We Get Here?

Here we are on the first Friday of 2025.  Tragically, a lot has already happened.  But with so much runway ahead of us, there is much more to unfold.  Of course, it will not all be a bed of roses, but we have plenty to look forward to.  Before looking ahead, let’s look back.  One would need to have been alive in 1936 the last time a square number was at the top of

Imagine the Federal Reserve as a skilled dancer, gracefully navigating the dance floor of the economy.  Right now, they’re performing a delicate waltz, trying to keep in step with a weakening labor market and persistent inflation that refuses to approach their two percent target.

Imagine the Federal Reserve as a skilled dancer, gracefully navigating the dance floor of the economy.  Right now, they’re performing a delicate waltz, trying to keep in step with a weakening labor market and persistent inflation that refuses to approach their two percent target.

It’s the holiday season.  The time of year when Hershey Kisses are wrapped in green and red in addition to their traditional plain foil packaging.  Years ago, they ran an add reading, “Big things come in small packages.”  You can see an example here.  In short, they didn’t want consumers to miss the

Big Brother Doctor

Henry Ford is remembered for revolutionizing the automobile industry, doing so by introducing the assembly line.