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September 10, 2018
When our girls were young, Saturday mornings would often find us in the kitchen cooking breakfast, so their mom could catch a few extra, much needed winks. Our all-time favorite breakfast was pancakes or flapjacks. It was a somewhat messy process, but the result was usually acceptable. Some of...
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August 22, 2018
A welcomed summer serenity has drifted into the markets over the last couple of months as volatility has crept lower and U.S. equity indexes have quietly tested new historical highs. This subtle rise in US equities has taken place amid unsettling geopolitical events and less than stellar, though...
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July 3, 2018
Markets typically don’t like uncertainty and if there is one word to describe the current geopolitical environment, that would be a good choice. The cascading flood of mixed messages concerning the United States’ trade policies are making it difficult for investors to gain clarity on the prospects...
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June 15, 2018
Wednesday, June 13, the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee (FOMC), as expected, raised the Fed Funds Rate by 0.25% to a target range of 1.75% - 2.00%. Additionally, they indicated a likelihood of four total hikes this year, up from three predicted at their last meeting. This week’s rate hike...
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April 4, 2018
The first quarter of 2018 was a tale of two periods – January, which was great, followed by not so much. In the wake of 2017, the market’s extraordinary gains paired with unprecedented low volatility, was almost too much to expect for it to continue into 2018, yet that is exactly what happened,...
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February 20, 2018
One of the many changes incorporated into the new tax reform bill is an increase in the amount of money a person can give to anyone else and have it excluded from their lifetime estate tax exemption. Starting in 2018 the gift allowance is $15,000, up from $14,000 in 2017.
Additionally, the...