Welcome

September 2016 Recap

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

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.

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

October 2015 Recap

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.