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In recent weeks, investors have endured the kind of volatility not seen since the initial days of the pandemic. Whenever markets swing to and fro, it’s understandable that investors feel the pull of their emotions. A rebound after a down day for stocks, like we saw last Thursday (August 8), may give investors hope for a quick end to the volatility. It may also create fear of a “dead cat bounce,” where the rebound is a prelude to further declines.
I’m deep in my book writing work discussing federal debt when I see a tweet that simply epitomizes the entire genre. Full disclosure: My priors on federal debt are that I don’t know where the line of too much should be drawn, but I do know that none of the terrible things we were warned about over the past 50 years due to excess debt have come to pass.
Fannie reported results for Q2 2024. Here is some information on single-family Real Estate Owned (REOs). Fannie Mae reported the number of REOs decreased to 7,179 at the end of Q2 2024, down 10% from 7,971 at the end of the previous quarter, and down 17% year-over-year from Q2 2023. For Fannie, this is down 96% from the 166,787 peak number of REOs in Q3 2010.
The office of the CFO is rapidly evolving, with more and more demands being placed upon the finance and accounting team each year. Join us in this webinar, where we share 8 things to NOT do when it comes to helping the CFO office advance in supporting the business. Learning Objectives: This course objective is to understand how best to support an organization's finance leadership.
In 2024, more Americans than ever are celebrating their 65 th birthdays. 1 As they reach the traditional retirement age, many are looking at their financial future with some degree of trepidation and doubt. What’s behind this lack of financial confidence? For many soon-to-be retirees, the primary concern is not having a source of steady income that will last throughout retirement.
Top clicks this week Good luck trying to figure out the stock market these days. (sherwood.news) The stock market is not economy, and vice versa. (awealthofcommonsense.com) On the differences between individual bonds and bond funds. (humbledollar.com) What to do the next time the stock market tanks. (tonyisola.com) You may be surprised by what Olympians eat.
Here are a few measures of inflation: The first graph is the one Fed Chair Powell had mentioned when services less rent of shelter was up around 8% year-over-year. This declined and is now up 4.6% YoY. Click on graph for larger image. This graph shows the YoY price change for Services and Services less rent of shelter through July 2024. Services were up 4.9% YoY as of July 2024, down from 5.0% YoY in June.
Key Takeaways: According to the USDA, the average age of principal farm operators is over 58, and many do not have children willing or able to continue the farming tradition. 1 Your farming clients will want to utilize a will, durable power of attorney, advanced medical directive and possibly a trust. Unlike other businesses, farms are often deeply intertwined with legacy and identity.
Our story so far : Stuck at home over the pandemic, it was a perfect time to revisit a pastime of my youth – buying cheap beater cars, and turning them into something fun and worthwhile. Only this time, I have a lifetime of experience with what does and doesn’t work well, along with a somewhat more generous budget. All of this got restarted about a decade ago; I was personalizing a 2013 flood salvage-title Rubicon ; it reminded me how much fun it was to do these little projects.
Speaker: Dylan Secrest, Founder of Alamo Innovation and Construction Digital Transformation Consultant
Construction payment workflows are notoriously complex when you consider juggling multiple stakeholders, compliance requirements, and evolving project scopes. Delays in approvals or misaligned data between budgets, lien waivers, and pay applications can grind progress to a halt. The good news? It doesn't have to be this way! Join expert Dylan Secrest to discover how leading contractors are turning payment chaos into clarity using digital workflows, integrated systems, and automation strategies.
From the MBA: Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey Mortgage applications increased 16.8 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending August 9, 2024. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 16.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.
Companies Mars Inc. is buying Cheez-It maker Kellanova ($K). (wsj.com) Tilray Brands ($TLRY) has acquired four craft breweries from Molson Coors ($TAP). (finance.yahoo.com) Finance How much of the work of a junior analyst can be done by AI? (ft.com) Reverse stock splits are usually a last ditch effort. (sherwood.news) Fund management Ten questions for Vanguard's new CEO Salim Ramji.
Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" - this week's edition kicks off with the news that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that a total of 26 broker-dealers, investment advisers, and dually-registered firms agreed to pay combined civil penalties of almost $400 million for failing to maintain and preserve required records for "off-channel" communications, signaling the regulator's interest in cracking down on text messages and other communi
In the climb from contributor to leader, the rules quietly change. If you’re aiming for the summit, the air gets thinner—and what got you here won’t be enough to get you to the top (a concept first popularized by Marshall Goldsmith in his book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There ). What made you successful early in your finance career—technical accuracy, sharp analysis, flawless execution—won’t be what carries you to the next level.
The BLS reported this morning: The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) increased 2.9 percent over the last 12 months to an index level of 308.501 (1982-84=100). For the month, the index increased 0.1 percent prior to seasonal adjustment. CPI-W is the index that is used to calculate the Cost-Of-Living Adjustments (COLA).
Companies Brian Niccol has his hands full with turning around Starbucks ($SBUX). (barrons.com) Apple ($AAPL) stock was a much bigger bargain when Buffett first purchased shares. (bloomberg.com) Why Airbus has been unable to take full advantage of Boeing's ($BA) woes. (nytimes.com) Finance It seems the SEC will approve just about any ETF these days. (ft.com) What VC returns look like in the real world.
In the modern era of financial advice, the advicer/client relationship is tightly centered on trust. And because of that foundation of trust, in an ideal advisor/client relationship, mistakes, disagreements, and concerns are surfaced quickly; action items are agreed and acted upon by everyone involved; and everyone feels aligned and accountable to their overall objectives.
The most overlooked, yet most critical, element of transformation is preparing people for change. Automation and AI aren't just technical upgrades, they’re cultural shifts which can challenge identities. That’s why change management isn’t a side project—it’s the foundation. In finance, where precision and process rule, navigating change can feel especially disruptive.
Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Part 2: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-August 2024 A brief excerpt: Yesterday, in Part 1: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-August 2024 I reviewed home inventory, housing starts and sales. In Part 2, I will look at house prices, mortgage rates, rents and more.
Venture capital There is nothing normal about the distribution of angel investment returns. (blogs.cfainstitute.org) How VCs drive media coverage of their portfolio companies. (papers.ssrn.com) Research How long can stocks underperform inflation? (ofdollarsanddata.com) Retail trading frenzies can have real world impacts. (papers.ssrn.com) How much protection do individual investors need?
The weekend is here! Pour yourself a mug of coffee, grab a seat outside, and get ready for our longer-form weekend reads: • The End of Spam: Robocalls and texts… your days are numbered : The industry blasting your phone with spam calls and texts is about to implode. The feds could throw a wrench into the opaque, sometimes sketchy, and incredibly lucrative lead-generator industry. ( Sherwood ) • The Well-Off People Who Can’t Spend Money : Tightwads drag around a phantom limb of poverty, no
More than two dozen broker/dealers and RIAs agreed to pay a combined $392.75 million in penalties, including Raymond James, LPL, Edward Jones and Osaic, among others.
You wouldn’t keep using a 2009 flip phone - so why settle for outdated close processes? It’s time for an upgrade. SkyStem's Guide to Month-End Close Software walks you through what today’s best tools can do (and what your team shouldn’t have to deal with anymore). Get smart, fast, and a whole lot less stressed when it’s time to close the books.
Altos reports that active single-family inventory was up 1.3% week-over-week. Inventory is now up 40.2% from the February seasonal bottom. Click on graph for larger image. This inventory graph is courtesy of Altos Research. As of August 9th, inventory was at 693 thousand (7-day average), compared to 684 thousand the prior week. This is the highest level of inventory since June 2020 ; however, inventory is still well below pre-pandemic levels.
Fidelity Fidelity has released two technology packages for small and mid-sized RIAs. (citywire.com) Hopes are high for the Fidelity/Advyzon service offering. (riabiz.com) Altruist Altruist is shifting more clients onto its own custodian platform. (riabiz.com) The latest in financial advisortech including a look at Altruist' new product offerings. (kitces.com) Advisers Why private equity is going after retail investors: fees, high fees.
I’m a neat freak, so occasionally, I clean out my office and re-organize. While doing so earlier this week I came across an old Life magazine a reader sent me a number of years ago. It’s from June 1962 and the stock market was the cover story: The pictures are fantastic. So was the lede of the story: The signs, like rumblings of an Alpine ice pack at the time of thaw, had been heard.
Where are top advisors focusing in 2025? AcquireUp’s 2025 Industry Index reveals it all. Based on insights from 200+ financial professionals nationwide, discover why 74% say seminars and referrals deliver the best ROI, how automation is helping advisors scale faster, and why only 8% are tapping into niche marketing (a major growth opportunity!). Whether you're refining your client acquisition strategy or scaling your practice, this report gives you the real-world data, benchmarks, and action ste
From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions Housing Starts: Privately-owned housing starts in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,238,000. This is 6.8 percent below the revised June estimate of 1,329,000 and is 16.0 percent below the July 2023 rate of 1,473,000. Single-family housing starts in July were at a rate of 851,000; this is 14.1 percent below the revised June figure of 991,000.
Bonds Bonds are back as portfolio balance. (morningstar.com) Bonds have had a good run of late. (ft.com) Markets Exchange stocks are outperforming. (allstarcharts.com) Have defensive stocks finally stopped going down? (entrylevel.topdowncharts.com) How small cap sector weights differ from large cap. (ft.com) Fund management Index funds have succeeded in spite of the asset management industry.
Do you know how long we’ve been in a recession for since the end of the Great Financial Crisis? Two months. In 15 years, the U.S. economy has been in a recession for just two months! That’s roughly 1% of the time, meaning that since July 2009, the United States has avoided a recession 99% of the time.
Remote finance teams are rewriting how the back-office runs—and attackers are taking notes. Disconnected workflows, process blind spots, and rising cyber threats have become more than just “growing pains”. They’re now liabilities. The challenge isn’t just team distribution, but building resilient systems that protect accuracy, control, and speed across every transaction and touchpoint.
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