October is always a month of change. For those of us living in the Northern hemisphere, it’s when summer finally gives way to autumn. The colors change. The days get shorter and cooler. It becomes “football weather”. And for sports fans in the U.S., the final week of October is just about as good as it gets: the NFL and college football seasons are in full swing, the World Series is underway, and the NBA and NHL regular seasons are just starting up. The end of October also means Halloween is upon us and the holiday seasons of Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner. For many, this is the beginning of the best stretch of the year. Interesting, Halloween is the second most expensive holiday, after Christmas. According to the National Retail Federation, Americans will spend about $6.9 billion on Halloween this year. That breaks down to $74.34 per person. Americans will spend $350 million alone on costumes ... for our pets! Amazing.
September 2015 Recap
Selenology
Both a lunar eclipse and a super-moon made for a dramatic celestial show on the evening of the final Sunday of September. A super-moon occurs when the moon’s orbit brings it closest to Earth, and a lunar eclipse leaves the moon with a rusty, reddish color.
Photography by Dan Drummond
It’s interesting that only theories explain the creation of the moon. The most commonly accepted theory is that another planetary mass that orbited our sun collided with Earth long ago, and the collision sent pieces of Earth and the other planetary mass into orbit around the Earth, eventually forming the moon. There are obvious ways the moon affects the earth, such as how its gravitational pull causes our ocean tides. There are subtle effects from that ancient collision, like how it caused the Earth to slightly tilt on its axis. Regardless of the moon’s origin, there is no arguing that there is a distinct relationship between the planet we call home and that pale white, barren body orbiting us day after day.
August 2015 Recap
Clarity
Investors are looking for clarity in the face of multiple uncertainties, more uncertainties than most typical investors can bear. What is going on with China? Exactly how strong is the U.S. economy? When will the Fed increase interest rates? And when will oil prices stop sliding? These are all tough questions to answer. In this newsletter, we will start in the East and move West to reflect on market activity in August and our outlook going forward.
July 2015 Recap
The Usual Suspects
Did you know that 2014 was the warmest year on record? Most of the U.S. enjoyed a cooler start for the summer this year, but right now it’s pretty hot for us in North Texas. Still, it's probably not a bad time to go somewhere even cooler in these last few weeks of the summer, a place like Europe where our U.S. dollar buys you more. Looking to the southern part of the Eurozone, great discounts are still available, whether you are considering a vacation there or investing in their markets which are crumbling like ancient architecture. But you won’t beat the heat. In this newsletter, we are going to spend most of our time reviewing last month's themes, as they truly still applied to July.
The default that launched 1,000 headlines
November 2015 Recap
Contrast We celebrate and give thanks each year in November, but this November was a month riddled with somber events all over the world. Friday, November 13th was an especially dark day for those affected by the horrific terrorist attacks in Paris, and Europe as a whole continues to struggle to handle the inflow of