Financial Planning

Flying Monkeys: The Market’s Sudden Fear The market found Trump’s 4/2/25 Wednesday night speech scarier than I found the flying monkeys in the Wizard of Oz as a kid — Mark Struthers The general consensus among clients and friends—even those who support the president—is that this was avoidable. This is a self-inflicted wound — anonymous client (she may have gotten it from TV) Toto, we are not in Kansas anymore Part of the Wizard of Oz-like fear isn’t just the intensity of the reaction but…

The Oedipus Effect The Oedipus Effect refers to the phenomenon where a prediction or belief about an event influences behaviors in a way that causes the prediction to come true. The term is inspired by the story of Oedipus in Greek mythology, where attempts to avoid a prophecy inadvertently lead to its fulfillment. “What walks on four feet in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three at night?” The answer is man. But what may be more of a riddle is why what makes America so strong also…

Tariffs & Transitory: Insights from the Latest Fed Meeting “Inflation can be volatile month to month, and we do not overreact to one or two readings that are higher or lower than anticipated.” — Fed Chair Jerome Powell In the Fed’s latest meeting, they left interest rates unchanged at 4.25%-4.5%. But what mattered more was what he said. The stay-the-course tone was well-received by the market, with the battered S&P 500 up 1.1% at the close. The Fed left interest rates unchanged, as expected,…

Tariff Tantrum Boy, That Escalated Quickly – Ron Burgundy How quickly things changed. Concerns over tariffs, inflation, a slowing economy, and even the s-word… stagflation have changed everyone’s mood. Sentiment dropped like a rock From Y-Charts So did PE Ratios (price you pay for earnings) From Y-Charts The first two and half months of the year have seen the tech-heavy Nasdaq down almost 10% and the S&P 500 down over 5%, both well off their all-time highs, if not in correction territory,…