As vaccine rollouts continue to progress, folks are starting to tiptoe out of their quarantine bubbles. But once the euphoria from that first dinner in a restaurant or group hang without masks passes, some people might find that reestablishing the personal connections that COVID-19 interrupted could take more effort than anticipated. As frustrating as lockdowns… Continue Reading Build Connections Post-Covid
After being postponed for a year, the Olympic Games are scheduled to begin on their revised schedule on July 23 in and around Tokyo, Japan. But it looks like the games will be held without the usual crowds of spectators. The Japanese government has banned international travelers from entering Japan to attend the games. After… Continue Reading Empty Olympic Stands?
The U.S. Census Bureau has released its official 2020 state population counts—a labor-intensive exercise it goes through every 10 years. This data will be used in Congressional redistricting efforts this fall, but for now we can see which states are net gainers of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, and which states have lost… Continue Reading Census Gains & Losses
There’s a lot of buzz in the investment world about Bitcoin—and cryptocurrencies generally. Is it an investment? A real medium of exchange? Some of this interest undoubtedly comes from the fact that, in 2009, Bitcoins were selling for eight cents a coin. At the peak earlier this year, one of those coins was trading at… Continue Reading Bitcoin “Investments”
In the last few trading days, investors and traders were reminded once again that markets go down—sometimes with a lurch. The most recent lurch was this week’s 2.1% one-day decline in the popular S&P 500 index of U.S. stocks—which was described as “the biggest one-day drop since February.” In the first three days of the… Continue Reading Market Jitters & Inflation Worries
Many of us have been locked down for more than a year. We’ve cancelled vacations, restaurant visits and in-person schooling. More than 500,000 of our loved ones across the country have passed away. Is there any good coming out of the COVID pandemic? Anything at all? Turns out, there is. The messenger RNA immunization technology… Continue Reading Can Any Good Come from This?
You already know that the U.S. stock markets are constantly testing all-time highs, and part of the euphoria is the idea that we may soon get our lives back. But is there any solid economic data to back it up? Recent Commerce Department data offers better news than anybody was expecting about the U.S. economy.… Continue Reading Good News on the (soon-to-be) Post-COVID Economy
You might wonder what you get in return for your tax dollars. The question isn’t so far-fetched; after all, the government collects those taxes—theoretically, at least—in order to give you back a comparable value in services like police protection, education, infrastructure and a social safety net. Are we getting what we pay for? A recent… Continue Reading Are Your Taxes Paying Off?
There is a difference between planning for hard times and living through them. We are in the latter. We are living through the hard times we may have planned for but wished and hoped wouldn’t come. After an unprecedented run of a bull market, we knew that a market correction was coming, but that doesn’t… Continue Reading What To Do In A Market Downturn
2020 has been a big year for change. With changing legislation and market volatility alongside battling a pandemic, our way of life has altered and adapted to fit our present circumstances. While there have been many challenging aspects of this year, an important new piece of legislation has passed aimed at increasing the efficacy of… Continue Reading What Is The SECURE Act and How Does It Impact Retirees?