Today the Federal Reserve lowered the federal funds rate by 50 basis points. This was more aggressive than many economists prognosticated. Under the hood, the economy seems to be weakening quite a bit, and the Federal Reserve felt that they were behind the curve on cutting rates. The last two times that the Fed’s first-rate...Read More

I’ve gotten a lot of questions about how Nvidia’s stock price could have dropped after reporting earnings that beat estimates. Over the short-term, stock prices move based on market psychology and emotions, and few stocks generate the emotional response Nvidia. The company has reported some of the most dramatic earnings beats that I’ve ever see...Read More

Due to the rapid ascension of interest rates over the past two years, commercial real estate has seen a considerable decline in prices.  Different sectors of the commercial real estate market such as Office, are clearly more troubled.  However, areas such as multifamily, industrial, and retail are performing much better at an underlying business level. ...Read More

Inflationary data continues to run much hotter than the Federal Reserve has expected.  This inflationary pressure is delaying, if not outright halting the Fed’s plans to reduce interest rates this year.  This is a very negative development given financial markets, had been rallying since October in the hopes of a rate -cutting cycle.  We always...Read More

Last Saturday was the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meeting and there was an interesting quote from Warren Buffett, after selling a chunk of his Apple stock. “I don’t mind at all, given current conditions, building our cash position.  When I look at the equity markets and the composition of what’s going on in the world,...Read More

After working for 20 years in the financial industry, one of the most problematic areas for retirement plans is a lack of long-term care protection.  Many people don’t like to think that they will need it, but roughly 70% of 65-year-old people will need it at some point.  A long-term care insurance policy helps cover...Read More

Over the last 6 months, I’ve had the chance to talk to a lot of people throughout the country, either through being clients of TTCM, or callers into our radio shows. Despite good jobs numbers and a solid stock market, a very large percentage of people are dealing with heightened financial anxiety.  Inflationary pressures are...Read More

As economic data weakens, the stock market is becoming increasingly concentrated, with the AI-driven stocks accounting for the vast majority of gains this year in the indices.  A sign of bullishness is evidenced by the fact that in a Bank of America survey, 53% of money managers see no recession in the next 18 months. ...Read More

Last week I wrote about how the meteoric rise of Nvidia, and other AI-driven stocks was likely reflecting bubble-like conditions.  Since that article, the stock has sold off quite hard, losing over $500MM of market capitalization.  Seeking Alpha has a great note from a BTIG analyst on Nvidia, comparing its meteoric rise to Cisco’s in...Read More

Real estate investments take a variety of different forms. They can be tangible assets bought and managed by yourself or by a 3rd party, such as a property management company. They can also be a more passive security such as a publicly traded real estate investment trust, which has many similar characteristics to a stock...Read More