The Price of Money
“The most important item over time in valuation is interest rates.” — Warren Buffett Every market has a price. Labor has wages. Goods have prices. Real estate has rents. Capital has a cost. And money, the most important coordinating mechanism in a modern economy, has a price as well. That price is the interest rate, […]
The Fear Trade
“Profits are compensation for pain and suffering. First comes pain, then comes money.” André Kostolany. Within minutes of the U.S. and Israel’s strike on Iran, oil jumps, gold rallies, the VIX (volatility index) spikes, Treasury yields fall, the dollar strengthens, and stock futures turn red. The classic risk-off trade. When uncertainty rises, investors seek safety. Capital […]
“The Economy” vs “Your Economy”
Weekly Blog #25 “Perception is reality.” If you’ve felt whiplash reading the headlines this past year, you’re not crazy. On paper, “the economy” did just fine: output grew, inflation cooled from prior highs, and unemployment stayed low by historic standards. Yet plenty of households still feel squeezed, frustrated, or just plain uncertain. Both can be […]
Crypto is Dead–Or is it?
Weekly Blog #24 “Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” Mark Twain (paraphrased) Every time crypto sells off hard, the same declaration gets dusted off: “This time it’s different. Crypto (or tech stocks, real estate, precious metals, etc.) is dead.” And yet here we are again, still talking about it. Bitcoin has been declared […]
All that Glitters
Weekly Blog #23 “Gold is money. Everything else is credit.” J.P. Morgan Gold and silver are on a tear. Gold has surged to new highs, silver is finally waking up from a long nap, and—almost on cue—the U.S. dollar is sliding. None of this is random, and none of it should be surprising. Precious metals […]
Freddie & Fannie May …
Weekly Blog #22 “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are neither fish nor fowl. They are private companies with public purposes, and they benefit from an implicit government guarantee.”— Ben Bernanke Few outside the mortgage industry truly understand what FNMA and FHLMC—commonly known as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—actually do. Fannie Mae was established in 1938 […]
Is Real Estate Still a Good Investment?
Weekly Blog #21 “Buy land. They’re not making it anymore.” Anonymous Long before formal monetary systems existed, land represented wealth, power, and security. Wars were fought over it. Dynasties were built upon it. For most of human history, property ownership was limited to the elite — the landed gentry. As feudalism faded and property rights, […]
Healthcare Dumpster Fire
Weekly Blog #20 Affordability seems to be the word of the day, especially regarding healthcare and, more specifically, insurance premiums. But as with most widely used economic terms, few people understand what’s actually driving the numbers. Here’s the uncomfortable math: In 2025, total U.S. healthcare spending will reach roughly $5.6 trillion, or 19% of GDP—nearly […]
What is Inflation?
Weekly Blog #19 “Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon.” Milton Friedman It seems every politician eventually promises to “make life more affordable.” It’s a crowd-pleaser. Who doesn’t want their dollars to stretch further? But how, exactly, do they plan to make that happen? The devil, as always, is in the details. First, let’s […]
Is AI Coming for Your Job?
Weekly Blog #18 “Price is only an issue in the absence of value.” Zig Zigler Every major technological leap has carried predictions of mass unemployment. The steam engine threatened farmers; calculators were expected to make accountants irrelevant; and the internet was forecast to erase retail. Yet with each disruption the labor market adapted. Entire job […]
