When unique or noteworthy events happen in the world, we offer our take via our Financially Speaking articles.
U.S. Unemployment
Rising Unemployment Rate? The U.S. unemployment rate has been rising. It is up 0.8% since early 2023. Often, rising unemployment is a worrisome sign that a recession could be coming. As you may know, we have been suggesting over the past several months that the risk of recession is rising, and higher unemployment does help
Market Gyrations
Recent Market Fluctuations The S&P 500, our preferred market reference, hit its last peak on July 16, 2024, at 5,667.20. Since then, it has been on a steady decline, and on August 1, it took a more substantial downward turn. In the following days, it continued to decline until August 5. The complete pullback from
Political Turbulence
Political Turbulence in the U.S. Election On July 21, 2024, President Joe Biden dropped out of the Presidential election race culminating this coming November. At the same time, he gave his full support and endorsement to his Vice President, Kamala Harris, to fill his spot at the top of the election ticket. The announcement was
U.S. Economy
U.S. Economy – Apparently Clear Sailing The U.S. stock market, as measured by our preferred index of the S&P 500, has been remarkably strong this year. In January, even as markets were concerned about inflation readings (December had an annual inflation reading of +3.4%), markets generally were positive. As a reference, the S&P 500 started
U.S. Economy – Debt and Deficits
Debt and Deficits We’ve seen several articles and news stories recently about the debt and deficits in the U.S. economy. Much of this recent reporting is likely driven by the high levels seen for both deficit and debt and comparing those amounts to history. In this issue of Financially Speaking, we want to investigate these