Whether you’re shopping around for household appliances, in the market for a new or used car, or at the supermarket picking up basic essentials, you’ve probably noticed prices have gone up. If so, you’re not alone. With prices trending higher, inflation has become a dominant narrative over recent months. On one end of the spectrum are those that believe we are moving towards a prolonged period of inflation. On the other end are those that...
Vaccinated or not? That is the question… The global economy continues to recover from the halt in operations caused by the pandemic. All signs point to a global recovery, but it will not be synchronized, as the reopening still depends largely on the ability of each country to achieve immunity. After making great strides in the fight against COVID-19, the planet now faces a new enemy: The Delta variant. In advanced economies, where vaccination campaigns...
A Hot Summer in Perspective Does a mild spring herald a hot summer for the economy? It seems so. The considerable savings surplus accumulated since the start of the pandemic highlights the potential for a strong recovery in aggregate demand in the quarters to come, provided consumer confidence is met. Judging by the latest figures on the matter, everything suggests that this will be the case. The economic heatwave that looms this summer could prove...
Planning a Family – What to Save for Right Now The decision to move forward with your plans to start a family is a joyous one, but it can also lead to increased stress, especially if your financial house has not been “child-proofed”. Considering that, on average, the estimated cost of raising a child now exceeds $300,000, there’s little margin for error for most young families that have other important financial goals to achieve. But...
Business Succession Planning 101 The death of a partner or major stockholder in a business can have devastating effects on both the business and the deceased partner’s surviving family. The business is concerned with gaining control of the deceased partner’s interest at a fair price so that it can continue operations without interference from the surviving family members. The family members are most concerned with receiving as much money as possible for their interest in...
Does Your Portfolio Embrace Market Volatility? Many investors, especially those still reeling from the 2008 – 2011 stock market roller coaster ride, have developed a low tolerance for volatility. As a result they have moved a significant portion of their investments into bonds or other fixed yield vehicles. What many investors may not realize is that wholesale switches from one asset class to another in order to avoid volatility, can actually increase it. Secondly, for...
Keeping your Credit Safe – Are Credit Monitoring Services the Answer? We learned from legendary bank robber, Willie Sutton that the reason he robbed so many banks was, as he put it, “obvious ... you go where the money is and you go there often.” Today, the real money exists not in banks, but in cyberspace among the trillions of bits and bytes that hold the keys to the massive digital vault guarding our most...
Leave your Legacy through Planned Giving There comes a point in life where you want to begin sharing or gifting all the things you’ve collected over the years—stories, wisdom, financial wealth, etc. And unlike the Ancient Egyptians believed, you cannot take your worldly goods with you when your light goes out. You can share your stories and wisdom in a manifesto or through funny tales to your family, but what about your material assets? Like...
Why Women Make Better Investors than Men When it comes to admitting that women are better at certain things, men have a difficult time conceding any degree of supremacy. One of the more contentious debates in the gender stakes is over which is the better driver – the male or female of the species. Of course, as with any contest of proficiency, establishing superiority is contingent on what exactly is being measured. While, men will...
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Your Financial Review January 2021 While few will miss 2020, all will long remember this past year that began amidst bombings between the U.S. and Iran, featured the worst pandemic in over 100 years, that sparked a recession as brief as brutal. During the year, we have witnessed the spectacular effectiveness of coordination between monetary and fiscal authorities in times of crisis as well as a succession of historic highs and lows, sometimes quite unusual...
All Eyes on Washington After a sharp rise in August, the U.S. stock market showed increased volatility in September. Early in October, the likelihood of a fiscal stimulus package announced before the presidential election was quite low. In fact, Trump even announced this week he had scrapped talks with congressional Democrats over another financial aid package to help support the economic recovery in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Two days only after this shocking...