My colleague, Wenny Gorman, explained in her recent blog on inflation that as prices rise, consumers are more inclined to make their purchase today as opposed to waiting.  This is because in an inflationary environment, prices are rising which means the same purchase will require more money in the not too distant future.  With deflation, … Continued

Inflation is the sustained increase in the general price level of goods and services.  As inflation rises, every dollar buys a smaller amount of goods.  For example, if the inflation rate is 2%, then a $1 loaf of bread will cost $1.02 a year from now. The consumer-price index is a broad gauge of inflation.  … Continued

As of December 15th  the average price of a gallon of gas in Michigan had fallen to $2.43 and crude oil prices fell to less than $60 a barrel (over a 37% decline this year) for the first time since July 2009.  The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced last week that it … Continued

This might be nearly everyone’s single most important financial objective.  But the historical sources or retirement security are under pressure, leaving you with more of the responsibility for your own long term financial security. The recently completed pension deal associated with the resolution of Detroit’s bankruptcy has shed a new light on the problem and … Continued

The November 4, 2014 elections – called the mid-terms – had little immediate impact on the stock market following the release of results.  Of course, the stock market is a “discounting mechanism” meaning stock prices adjust immediately and continuously based upon expectations.  It was widely predicted well in advance of Election Day that republicans would … Continued

The average price for gasoline in the U. S. is currently below $3.00 per gallon.  Moreover, the Energy Department recently predicted that the average price of gasoline in the U. S. will be below $2.94 a gallon in 2015, a 44% decrease from their previous outlook, issued just a month ago. That may sound like … Continued

The whole issue of corporate tax rates has boiled to the surface, in conjunction with a recent uptick in relocations overseas. Known as inversions, some U.S. firms employ these in an effort to reduce their overall tax liability.  The entire issue of corporate taxes, tax rates and the appropriate treatment of foreign income are properly … Continued

Investors typically seek to identify opportunities for achieving appropriate returns by assessing the outlook based on anticipated free market forces.  Government subsidies and/or mandates tend to distort free market forces with the potential for unexpected results. This phenomenon – government interference in the market process – is so wide ranging as to make it difficult … Continued

It seems that a lot of the debate over climate change/global warming is in part centered around definitions and in part about grants and agendas. The useful debate should be, is it better to try to slow the pace of climate change or prepare to live with the “inevitable”? In an effort to clear the … Continued

The issue of a new minimum wage is back in the headlines with action contemplated in the Senate.  While much of the discourse is political, investors should recognize that businesses have different business strategies and that changes in wages are likely to be more material to some than to others. Differences in business models are … Continued

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal suggested that some of the relatively weak recovery in jobs can be attributed to low interest rates and their affect on corporate investment decisions.  While it is true that many companies are currently flush with cash and very low interest rates further encourage capital investment to increase … Continued

The Affordable Healthcare Act (ACA) has triggered a significant increase in discourse on the issue of “health insurance”. This may be something of a misnomer. Wikipedia defines insurance as ”the equitable transfer of the risk of loss, from one entity to another in exchange for payment”. Let’s look at some familiar examples, auto, home and … Continued