Published on March 2nd, 2021 The pandemic that started in 2020 accelerated a popular work trend that had not been widely embraced by employers before then: working from home (WFH). According to a recent survey by SmallBizGenius, 4.3 million remote workers in the U.S. have an arrangement where they…

Published on February 23rd, 2021 The pandemic has become a new variable in deciding when to retire. Some near-retirees lost their jobs and decided to go ahead and turn in the towel. Others were focused on the health risk and determined it was better to retire while they were…

Published on February 16th, 2021 The last month of 2021 was filled with lots of new information — the new omicron variant of the coronavirus first hit U.S. shores, along with cautions that its level of vaccine resistance is best mitigated by a booster shot.1   As to be…

Published on February 9th, 2021 It seems that millions of taxpayers still have not received their tax refunds from 2020 and even 2019.1 A major reason is due to the defunding of the IRS. Between 2010 and 2019, the department’s funding was cut by 20% in inflation-adjusted dollars, which…

Published on February 2nd, 2021 “Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” – Samuel Beckett   “You always pass failure on your way to success.” – Mickey Rooney   “Mistakes are the portals of discovery.” – James Joyce1   “Failure is success in progress.” – Albert Einstein2   “Success consists…

Published on January 26th, 2021 Conglomerates are parent companies that own a number of large subsidiaries. They became popular back in the 1960s with corporations like ITT, LTV and GE, to name a few. In recent years, behemoth American conglomerates have spun off, sold off and pared down.1  …

Published on January 19th, 2021 Inflation was already on the rise before we learned about the omicron variant. Now on top of supply-chain shortages and transportation disruptions, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell recently observed that a resurgence of COVID-19 cases could reduce the consumer-driven boom we’ve enjoyed for the…

Published on January 12th, 2021 The general outlook for equities is positive toward the end of the year and into 2022. Stocks performed relatively well through the autumn earnings season and, as a general rule, the fourth quarter tends to be the best one for stock performance. While the…

Published on January 5th, 2021 Not surprisingly, some of the most notable investors in America founded well-known investment companies. For example, John Templeton, whom in 1999 “Money” magazine called “arguably the greatest global stock picker of the century” founded Templeton Funds, best known for its international fund lineup. Thomas…

Published on December 29th, 2021 Across the board, we’re seeing the capitalist principles of supply and demand both drive and curb U.S. economic activity. As more people have emerged from their hermit-like existence throughout the past year and a half, consumer spending is shifting from goods to services. For…