Mon.Feb 20, 2023

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The Economics of a United States Divorce

Pragmatic Capitalism

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene got a lot of attention over the weekend when she stated that the USA needs a “national divorce”: I try to remain as objective as possible [ … ]

Economics 189
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The trouble with Google

The Reformed Broker

One of the biggest stories in the markets so far this year is the $100 billion in lost market cap ripped out of Alphabet’s stock when it became apparent that the search giant was going to be under siege by Microsoft’s push into AI. How did such a successful, innovative business like this suddenly find itself in this position? Maybe it wasn’t so sudden.

Marketing 190
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The Economics of a United States Divorce

Pragmatic Capitalism

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene got a lot of attention over the weekend when she stated that the USA needs a “national divorce”: I try to remain as objective as possible [ … ]

Economics 173
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Adviser links: swapping video for audio

Abnormal Returns

Podcasts Emlen Miles-Mattingly & Dasarte Yarnway talk about the value of a client service calendar. (onyxadvisornetwork.com) Brendan Frazier talks with Dave Yeske about the day that financial planning changed. (wiredplanning.com) Daniel Crosby talks with Adam Holt, CEO & Founder at Asset-Map Holdings, about how to be use advisor technology. (standarddeviationspod.com) Frazier Rice talks health care planning with John Samuels, founder of Better Health Advisors.

Startup 130
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Register Now: Sneak Peek Into Close Automation SkyStem Web Demo

Technology is rapidly changing the way accountants perform and manage month-end activities. Spreadsheets, email, and shared drives no longer have to slow us down. Join us as we present a "sneak peek" recorded demo of SkyStem's month-end close solution – ART. In under four weeks, your team can start reaping the benefits of month-end close automation by vastly reducing spreadsheets, cut down on reconciliation work, speed up the month-end close, and better manage your remote team.

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10 Presidents’ Day Reads

The Big Picture

My back-to-work morning train WFH reads: • Super Bowling for cash with the NFL’s club of billionaires : Spending for last week’s Super Bowl came in around $15 billion; yearly league revenues are approaching $20 billion. League profits are likely to keep growing given the popularity of this sometimes brutal and increasingly lucrative sport. ( NY Post ) • “This Is Not an Invasion of the Aliens”: How UFO Mania Went Mainstream : Mysterious aerial phenomena have been generating serious news coverage

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Don’t Underestimate the Importance of Your Mindset Toward Your Finances

Integrity Financial Planning

The concept of retirement planning is simple. Despite changes in the economy or in life itself, the concept of planning your retirement has remained unchanged. We work, save, retire, and repeat for generations over. But while the concept may be the same, the puzzle has begun to evolve. In other words, individuals and families currently saving for retirement are facing challenges that were previously never considered.

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An Ongoing Stimulus in the Economy For Years to Come

A Wealth of Common Sense

We bought our first home in late 2007. Our rate at the time for a 30 year fixed was something like 6.25% or 6.5%. It didn’t seem high at the time but then again we didn’t have 3% rates in the rearview mirror to compare it to. Housing prices were obviously a lot lower back then as well (and going even lower for a few more years after that).

Economy 84
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Business Tax Return Deadlines: Your Guide as an Independent Financial Advisor

XY Planning Network

8 MIN READ There are a million things to keep track of when running a business. There are customers and employees, marketing and keeping an eye on industry trends, cash flow and compliance. With these come a number of different dates to keep track of, which as a small business owner or a solopreneur can get overwhelming, fast. It’s easy to prioritize items that are more enjoyable than others (prospect lunch or update ADV … hmmm), or those that have an immediate impact on our day-to-day operation

Taxes 72
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Talk Your Book: Investing in Quality Growth

A Wealth of Common Sense

Today’s Talk Your Book is brought to you by Jensen Investment Management: We had Kevin Walkush, Portfolio Manager at Jensen Investment Management on the show to discuss investing in quality businesses. On today’s show, we discuss: Jensens quality thesis What Return on Equity is Sector dynamics within the quality factor Discounted cash flow assumptions How to react when the facts change Forward-looking funds vs backw.

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2024 Lending Outlook: Innovations and Evolutions in the Financial Sector

As we step into 2024, the lending landscape evolves rapidly with technology, regulations, and market dynamics driving change. For banks and financial institutions to stay competitive and meet the evolving needs of their customers, these drivers must be understood and engaged with. Lenders can anticipate significant transformation fueled by technological advancements, regulatory shifts, and changing consumer behaviors.

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: Biden says he is visiting Ukraine to mark one-year anniversary of Russian invasion

MarketWatch

In a statement released by the White House, President Joe Biden said he is visiting Ukraine to mark the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion. “As the world prepares to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, I am in Kyiv today to meet with President Zelenskyy and reaffirm our unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity,” said Biden.

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Beware of Stealth Tax Increases in SECURE 2.0

Advisor Perspectives

Although most of the SECURE 2.0 changes won’t take effect until 2024 or later, there are things that advisors should keep in mind, particularly for clients who fall into one of these three broad categories: retirees, savers, and small-business owners.

Taxes 75
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Weekly Market Insights – February 20, 2023

Cornerstone Financial Advisory

Mixed Results As Interest Rate Concerns Grow Presented by Cornerstone Financial Advisory, LLC Growing concerns about further interest rate hikes, prompted by fresh economic data, reversed early-week gains and left stocks mixed for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.13%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 fell 0.28%. The Nasdaq Composite index advanced 0.59% for the week.

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Another overlooked risk assessment problem

Norman Marks

Following up on last week’s post, there is one major problem that I haven’t talked about before. Too many want to quantify every risk in dollars (or other currency) as if they were equal. But they are not. Maybe they avoid the trap of multiplying one possible impact by its likelihood.

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Banking on Loyalty: Holistic Financial Advice for Unparalleled Business Growth

Speaker: Joe Buhrmann, MBA, CFP®, CLU®, ChFC® Senior Financial Planning Practice Management Consultant eMoney Advisor

During an era of evolving consumer preferences, the banking sector is undergoing a profound shift. As customers continue to broaden their perspectives, banking professionals must support their customers' financial wellness by providing holistic financial advice that aligns with individual goals and circumstances. Without adapting, financial institutions will find that loyalty may crumble amid uncertainty.

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Episode 35: Are Microchips the New Oil?

Advisor Perspectives

Microchips are the foundation of the modern economy, but what are the geopolitical implications of this new power player? In this episode of The Active Share, Hugo spoke with Tufts University associate professor Chris Miller, author of the book Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology , about the decades-long, globe-spanning battle to control one of the world’s most critical resources.

Economy 52
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Tuesday: Existing Home Sales

Calculated Risk

Weekend: • Schedule for Week of February 19, 2023 Tuesday: • At 10:00 AM ET, Existing Home Sales for January from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The consensus is for 4.10 million SAAR, up from 4.02 million. From CNBC: Pre-Market Data and Bloomberg futures S&P 500 futures are down 10 and DOW futures are down 85 (fair value). Oil prices were up over the last week with WTI futures at $77.13 per barrel and Brent at $83.90 per barrel.

Sales 52
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How Will You Handle Your Retirement Transition? with Susan Bradley, Ep #184

Financial Symmetry

Retirement is one of the most significant changes that you will manage in your life. It takes not just careful financial planning, but also careful life planning as well. My guest today, Susan Bradley, is the author of Sudden Money and the … Continued The post How Will You Handle Your Retirement Transition? with Susan Bradley, Ep #184 appeared first on Financial Symmetry, Inc.

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NAIFA Welcomes New Member John Profitlich

NAIFA Advisor Today

With almost 30 years in financial services, there is one aspect of the industry that John Profitlich understands very well: every day is a new market. This key understanding is what keeps him motivated to deliver customized banking and lending solutions to financial professionals as Director and Northeast Regional Business Development Officer for The Bancorp Institutional Banking business.

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Transforming Lending: Understanding the Power of Digital Platforms

Digital platforms can provide you with plenty of solutions, yet many are still intimidated by them. It's time to end that worry and embrace what could make a major difference for your bank. Understanding how they work and how to best utilize them for your banks is key toward success. In this article, Biz2X breaks down all things digital platforms, including the many advantages of embracing them.

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Indicators suggest economy is still running hot: Weekly Economic Review & Outlook

Nationwide Financial

Consumer inflation cooled only mildly in January, leaving prices to continue climbing far too rapidly for the Fed. Additionally, retail sales kicked off the year with a large jump, suggesting the very tight labor market and solid income growth is supporting more-than-healthy consumer activity. These data strengthen the argument that further tightening of monetary policy is needed to reduce demand, but the question of how much remains.

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Market Drama

Zoe Financial

Market Drama Featuring Zoe CEO & Founder, Andres Garcia-Amaya, CFA February 20, 2023 Watch Time: 2 minutes Welcome to this week’s Market Drama! Stock Market: The S&P 500 fell 0.28%. Dow Jones was also down. Nasdaq was up for the week. Government bond yields rose for the fourth consecutive week. What drove this market action? (1) January’s Producer Price Index came out hotter than expected.

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Successful Selling Habits for Advisors Who Don’t Want to Sell

Don Connelly & Associates

Many financial advisors resist the notion that they must be good at selling to be a successful advisor. Some go out of their way to distance themselves from the "salesperson" label. That's fine because when you consider the totality of what quality financial advisors do, it doesn't fit the traditional definition of "salesperson." However, that doesn't get around the fact that, regardless of their profession, for anyone to be successful, they must be able to sell.

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Navigating Transitions with Susan Bradley, Ep #184

Financial Symmetry

Retirement is one of the most significant changes that you will manage in your life. It takes not just careful financial planning, but also careful life planning as well. My guest today, Susan Bradley, is the author of Sudden Money and the … Continued The post Navigating Transitions with Susan Bradley, Ep #184 appeared first on Financial Symmetry, Inc.

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Quick Start Guide to a Crystal Clear Close

Did you know automating your month-end close can save up to 40% of the time typically spent on manual reconciliations? CFOs and controllers are leveraging SkyStem's workflow management and reconciliation tool to eliminate costly mistakes, ditch manual reconciliations and close faster. Want to know how they do it? Download our Quick Start Guide to a Crystal Clear Close!

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SECURE ACT 2.0: Using 529 Accounts to Fund Roth IRAs

Ron A. Rhodes

Let’s face it. Most of the funding of 529 accounts comes from higher-net-income parents, and/or wealthy grandparents.

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Macro Snapshot / St. Louis Fed

The Big Picture

Very useful dashboard via the St. Louis Fed, which maintains the fabulous FRED database. With a clean and simple interface, it puts all of the key economic indicators the FOMC tracks — Real GDP Growth, Unemployment Rate, PCE Inflation, Core PCE Inflation, and the Federal Funds Rate — in one convenient location. The Macro Snapshot also dives deeper into three core aspects of the economy: 1.

Economics 301
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Abandoning Surge Meetings To Better Meet Client Needs And Promote Advisor Well-Being

Nerd's Eye View

One of the most important parts of a financial advisor’s value proposition is time spent meeting with their clients. These meetings allow advisors to listen to their clients’ concerns, make planning recommendations, and chart a course for the coming months. And while advisors recognize the importance of holding regular client meetings, there is no consensus about the ‘best’ cadence for them.

Clients 246
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Fannie "Real Estate Owned" inventory increased in Q4; Expected to increase further in 2023

Calculated Risk

Fannie reported results for Q4 2022. Here is some information on single-family Real Estate Owned (REOs). First, a note on the pandemic from Fannie: "In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of legislative and executive actions were taken by the federal government and state and local governments to assist affected borrowers and renters and to slow the spread of the pandemic , including actions that applied to the loans we guarantee.

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The Blueprint for a Customer-Centric Digital Lending Experience

Creating a winning digital lending experience requires plenty of focus on the needs of customers and more. Biz2X Chief Product Officer Aaron Traub covers everything from how to create such an experience, areas to hone in on, pitfalls to avoid, and plenty more in this insightful article. Discover how to utilize new technology without alienating existing customers, what to emphasize when working on your platform, and how to utilize the data at your disposal while not becoming overly reliant on it.

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First time ever more "Built-for-Rent" Units started Quarterly than "Built-for-Sale"

Calculated Risk

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: First time ever more "Built-for-Rent" Units started Quarterly than "Built-for-Sale" A brief excerpt: Along with the monthly housing starts report for January last week, the Census Bureau released Housing Units Started by Purpose and Design through Q4 2022. This graph shows the NSA quarterly intent for four start categories since 1975: single family built for sale, owner built (includes contractor built for owner), starts built for rent, and m

Sales 97
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Housing February 20th Weekly Update: Inventory Decreased 1.5% Week-over-week

Calculated Risk

Altos reports that active single-family inventory was down 1.5% week-over-week. Usually inventory bottoms in early February, so we'd expect inventory to bottom seasonally soon. Here are the same week inventory changes for the last five years: 2023: -6.9K 2022: -1.8K 2021: -10.5K 2020: +4.6K 2019: +6.7K Click on graph for larger image. This inventory graph is courtesy of Altos Research.

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