Blog Archives

A Slippery Slope

AI Writing Slippery Slope

I’m on a bit of a slippery slope here. I take pride in producing a weekly blog almost without fail for the past 12 years. There are times when I am scratching my head for ideas or not feeling super inspired to write.

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Buckle Up

Trade Wars buckle up

I can’t believe I’m saying this but I kind of miss the days when interest rate concerns were at the forefront of investor concerns, including mine.

Beige Book mentions of _interest rates' or related words_phrases

Now it’s been replaced by trade and tariff fears.

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Indian Wells and the Road to Joy

Indian Wells and the Road to Joy

Last week Heather and I made our annual pilgrimage to the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells near Palm Springs. We also have the great pleasure of being members there as well so we truly understand why it’s known as Tennis Paradise.

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A 21st Century German Blitzkrieg

Germany Blitzkrieg

In a recent blog post I wrote about Trump moving (abandoning?) away from Ukraine as Europe’s Sputnik moment. Germany and France, the two biggest economies in Europe, no longer believe that the United States can be counted on to defend Europe so it’s now imperative they take far more control of their own destiny and not put Europe’s fate in the hands of the United States.

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Confusion and the Need for Second-Level Thinking

Inflation cross currents

Note: I was so absorbed in writing this blog while waiting for my connecting flight home at the Phoenix airport that I only realized after it was too late that I was at the wrong gate and that my flight was changed to a different gate in another terminal.

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Foreign Entaglements and Europe's Sputnik Moment

sputnick moment

President Trump’s meeting with Vladimir Putin and his vitriol against Ukrainian President Zelensky is a Sputnik moment for Europe. On October 4th, 1957, the Russians launched the world’s first artificial space satellite. This achievement was an enormous shock to the United States as the country’s leaders and scientific and military experts thought the U.S.

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Way Too Hot

LA Fires Lost Angeles Fire Sunset Blvd Fire

Last week was so devastating for those who lost their homes in the LA fires. This satellite image and analysis done by Microsoft of an area of Pacific Palisades shows over 2,000 buildings that were damaged or destroyed, with the vast majority being residential.

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Reflecting on 2024

Reflection 2024

With 2024 coming to a close, I thought I would step back and reflect on the year. I find this to be a helpful exercise and hope what I communicate in this blog post will inspire you to do the same. I thrive on continuous learning and doing my best to take an objective look at the decisions I have made and actions I have taken to produce better outcomes for me as time goes on.

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Data (co)-Dependence

recession inflation

Last week was a very bad week for the bond market, with some reprieve on Friday after a better-than-expected inflation report. This is a 5-day chart for the 10-year Treasury. Yields shot up by 0.20% after the Fed cut rates on the 18th and in the aftermath of Jay Powell’s press conference. 

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Donald Sterling and Fatal Flaws: 5 Stages of Tragedy

Fatal Flaw

I felt a little foolish posting this late after the August 2014* announcement that Steve Ballmer was buying the Clippers for $2 billion since I first wrote this draft in the aftermath of the whole Donald Sterling racist diatribe people thought he would “only” get $500 million or so.

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