Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria wreaked havoc within a few weeks of each other. Houston was hit with historic rainfall from Harvey, and much of Florida was ravaged by wind damage from Irma. But Puerto Rico suffered the most out of the Caribbean islands with Maria making landfall in September. The U.S. territory was already
August 2017 Recap
September 7, 2017 By
It’s hard to stay focused on a lot of things, including the markets, in the face of the human tragedy like what we’ve witnessed from Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath over the last few weeks in South Texas, in the greater Houston area, and into Louisiana. For the people who lived through it, the storm
July 2017 Recap
August 4, 2017 By
It’s becoming more common to hear the Bears calling for a big drop. Why do they say that? Well, first they hope to be right, which earns a lot of street cred. It’s an easier call to make because risk increases as asset prices move higher. Stocks have come a long way from the first
June 2017 Recap
July 6, 2017 By
It’s said that timing is everything. And that’s true. But really, it’s bigger than that. Time – itself – is everything, and truly the world’s best companies are finding ways to give you more of it. We got pretty lucky last month in our feature of Amazon (timing is everything!). Possibly the most buzzworthy news
March 2017 Recap
April 7, 2017 By
What a difference a year makes. Do you recall how 2016 started? The United States’ Federal Reserve announced the first interest rate hike in years in December of 2015, and the S&P 500 would then plummet almost 11% over the following 8 weeks. At the same time, Japan and a number of European countries initiated
February 2017 Recap
March 7, 2017 By
Wayne Gretzky, a National Hockey League Hall of Fame inductee, is probably the greatest hockey player of all time. He had a storied career even though he lacked overwhelming size or strength; in fact he was a good 30 pounds lighter than the average player of his time. On the ice, he showed great stamina
January Recap
February 3, 2017 By
INTERESTING TIMES … As Chinese New Year celebrations wind down, it’s fitting to recall an expression that has been attributed to the Chinese for generations. The expression “May you live in interesting times” has an origin that is, ironically, interesting itself. Regardless of its origin, upon closer examination, the expression seems not to be a
September 2016 Recap
October 6, 2016 By
You know it’s the fall in North Texas when your kid comes home from school with tickets to the State Fair of Texas. The Fair just kicked off its 130th year, and it’s a pretty big deal in these parts with a number of attractions drawing hundreds of thousands of people every year. The State
June 2016 Year-to-Date and Monthly Recap
July 7, 2016 By
Knocked Down but Not Out Markets have been treated like a punching bag over the first half of the year, taking blow after blow from a host of issues. The utter collapse in commodity prices wreaked havoc across world markets that struggled to adjust to the rapid change. The surging U.S. dollar hurt large U.S.
Then and Now: The Crash of 1987
It wasn’t quite the Kennedy assassination, “9/11”, or the O.J. verdict, events where time seemed to stand still for a few moments. But don’t tell that to the Wall Street traders and advisers who lived through “Black Monday,” the bloodiest day in stock market history, October 19, 1987. On that day, the Dow Jones Industrial