Why Stocks are a “Harder Call” Now

Stocks seem to be facing more of a dichotomous near-term outlook than at any I time I can remember. They’re always “hard to figure out” of course, even when we don’t think they are, but right now they seem even harder to figure out than usual, if that makes any sense. The bearish case is…

Economics 2014

  Funny ’cause it’s true – but perhaps it’s getting better: America’s baby bust is easing—but there are few signs U.S. women are having more children. The nation’s fertility rate flattened out in 2012, after four years of hefty declines, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The latest findings, which…

Leaving CAPE Town

The most controversial topic in the entire investment industry over the last few years has been whether or not the CAPE Ratio has any practical use whatsoever from a real-world investing standpoint. My opinion, which I will argue below, is that it does (or it can) have a use, but with loads of caveats and…

Every Eight Years, Your Chances of Dying Double

So get busy living. The trouble with New Years Resolutions is that, about halfway through January, we often find that the urgency is beginning to fade, that the wind’s already been puffed out of our sails. I talked about why I set goals rather than resolve against any previous behavior here. And here’s yet another…