Week of May 12, 2025 Of the five top-performing common stocks in the S&P 500 from 1990 to 1999 (that are still in business today)—Cisco Systems, Jack Henry & Associates, Qualcomm, Best Buy, and Microsoft— not one delivered extraordinary, sustained performance over the following decade. This prompts reflection on the fate of today’s top performers … Continued

Will California be able to rebuild?  The unintended consequences of blanket opposition to development. In our blog, “No One Wants to Pay“, posted April 9, 2025, we discussed California’s major fire financial losses and suggested that it would be difficult to finance a recovery.  Money is not the only problem.  The California Environmental Quality Act, … Continued

Week of May 5, 2025 The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index is within single digits of its all-time high. As highlighted in the May 3, 2025 CNBC headline, “Buffett downplays recent market volatility as ‘really nothing,’ saying it’s part of investing”—we wholeheartedly agree. What we refer to as the “Trump func” served as the catalyst … Continued

Florida, in response to soaring home owning costs, is considering eliminating property taxes.  Rising home ownership costs, particularly property taxes and insurance are a national problem. See our blog posted February 5, 2025, “Can You Afford a Large Increase in the Value of Your Home?”  Florida’s property taxes are estimated to approximate $55 billion for … Continued

Week of April 28, 2025 The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index closed on Friday, April 25, approximately 11% above its recent low on April 8. Positive developments, including President Trump’s decision not to pursue the removal of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and progress in tariff negotiations, served as the primary catalysts. Given the ongoing … Continued

Wikipedia defines consumerism as a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies.  It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever increasing quantities.  In contemporary consumer society, the purchase and consumption of products have evolved beyond the mere satisfaction of basic human needs, transforming into an activity that … Continued

Week of April 21, 2025 As of January 25, 2025, 175 of the 193 United Nations member countries had a value-added tax (VAT), according to Wikipedia. The United States remains one of the few without such a system. Tariffs share several characteristics with VATs—particularly in their role as sources of government revenue. In both cases, … Continued

In a recent article in The Wall Street Journal titled, “The Clean Energy Revolution is Unstoppable”, the authors suggest that clean energy costs will decline and performance will improve in a manner similar to the evolution of semiconductors and similar technologies. They also contend that large segments of fossil fuel demand will disappear as the expected … Continued

Week of April 14, 2025 Last week, we noted that “the markets have misinterpreted the Trump tariffs as final.” On Wednesday, President Trump announced a 90-day pause on the implementation of tariffs to allow time for bilateral negotiations with countries willing to reduce trade barriers. At the same time, both the House and Senate advanced … Continued

It is completely clear that the wildfires in California have created a massive financial loss that will require billions of dollars to mitigate.  It is equally clear that no one wants to fund what is needed.  While many properties are at least partially insured, the amount of damage to the area’s infrastructure is still being … Continued

Week of April 7, 2025 With the severe equity market sell off last week, we have changed our Domestic Equity Investments Signal from yellow to green. We think that the markets have misinterpreted the Trump tariffs as final. Instead of tariff wars, we’re likely to have a reconciliation and a general reduction in global tariff … Continued

On the most basic level, there are two steps to selling anything: You create a product and then you persuade people to buy it.  If you have a better product or a lower price, your strategy is straightforward.   More likely, you are seeking to differentiate your product from near-identical competitive products.  That’s where branding steps … Continued