When 2023 began, stocks were off their all-time highs by nearly 20%, inflation hovered above 6%, and the Fed was in the midst of its most aggressive rate hike cycle in decades in an attempt to bring inflation down towards its 2% target. The Fed signaled that more rate hikes were on the horizon for […]
Last week, Fitch ratings agency announced that it was cutting the U.S. debt rating by one notch, from AAA to AA+. Fitch joined S&P rating agency which previously downgraded U.S. debt similarly back in 2011, ironically under similar circumstances surrounding political infighting around raising the country’s debt limit. Let’s dive a little deeper into why […]
The purpose of an annual wellness (or physical) exam is for your doctor to evaluate your overall wellness and provide important information about the condition of your health each year. The exam consists of a series of tests and checks to get a general sense of how your body is doing. Often, your doctor will […]
As we discussed last week, becoming wealthy isn’t easy. Neither is being healthy. Accumulating wealth, like a disciplined diet, requires us to make hard choices in the moment. We have to prioritize our future selves over our desire for instant gratification. There is a recipe for success that applies as much to a strong diet […]
It was the investment book that started my love affair with saving, investing, and the markets. My dad gave me The Millionaire Next Door when I was a teenager. Back then, being a millionaire had even more cache than today — thanks a lot inflation. Ever since I was young, my dad preached about the […]
It’s been 554 days since the S&P 500 hit its last all-time high on January 3 last year. That’s a long time that investors have been “down” waiting for the market to recover. This includes a 25% decline in the middle of last year. It’s easy to feel negative, or bearish, about stocks in these […]
By Scott Highmark President and Principal of Mosaic Family Wealth In 2002, pastor Rick Warren authored the popular book, The Purpose Driven Life. A book about pursuing purpose in life, grounded in faith and values, has sold over 50 million copies worldwide and has been translated into 137 languages. The quest for purpose has long […]
We already cracked the myth here that stocks rarely, in fact, return anything close to 10% per year, except over the long run. The long-term average return for stocks has a tendency to lead us to believe that most stocks go up over time. Sadly, in fact, they do not. Our friends at J.P. Morgan […]
When cooking a steak, everyone has a preferred temperature and most people tend to be pretty picky. If it’s undercooked, it feels like bloody, raw meat. If it’s overcooked, you might as well use it as a dog biscuit. We like it just right. The Federal Reserve has the challenging task of being the U.S. […]
Google “US debt ceiling 2023” and you’ll find more than 100 million results. It took months of finger pointing, political power plays, and economic brinksmanship to finally reach a deal to extend the debt ceiling for another two years. Millions of articles and news segments were devoted to a topic that ultimately was much ado […]