Candy The demand for candy ebbs and flows over the calendar year. There are specific peaks around Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween, and Christmas. Before these holidays, you can pick up candy with special shapes or wrappings that reflect the season — reds, pastels, black and orange, green and red. Despite their outside decorations, the candy…
Clarity It became abundantly clear last Wednesday evening that there was a giant gap between what traders expected to happen to U.S. tariff policies and what actually happened to U.S. tariff policies. And traders don’t like negative surprises. The irony is that for months traders have been clamoring for clarity over seemingly random tariff proclamations,…
Fans This could be a long and painful year. As of this writing, the Milwaukee Brewers are 0-4. The number of pitchers they have on the injury list exceeds the runs they have scored in three out of those four games. They are, on average, surrendering 12 runs per game. The only good news right…
In Search of Perfection Ahhh, perfection! The ever-elusive goal of getting everything correct all the time. Given the powerful advances in technology and data analysis, one would think that we must be incredibly close to capturing perfection. The immense capabilities of artificial intelligence to gather applicable data and synthesize it into concisely correct answers must…
Turbulent Times The air is warm, and the sun is shining! Well, it was for a week at least. Spring is right around the corner, which means Spring Break is here or near. During this interlude from normalcy, millions of Americans will be flying south, searching for favorable weather and enjoying time with family and friends!…
DC I know it is a really tough question, and it may be a bit personal. However, I have to ask . . . which DC are you right now? Washington, DC, is the source of much market angst at the moment. The primary culprit is the on-again, off-again, delayed-again, and immediately implemented tariff policies.…
Overruling Retirement Life is complicated enough without Congress and the Internal Revenue Service trying to help us save for and inherit individual retirement accounts. It all started simple enough. In 1974 Congress passed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (commonly called ERISA) and created the first Individual Retirement Account (IRA). The contribution limit was the…
Turning Point We have arrived at the turning point. The signs of spring are starting to outweigh the winter scene. Sandhill cranes and American robins — the early birds of spring — have arrived. There is now a faint glow in the eastern sky during my commute in the morning, and I walk outside after…
Risk-Free? At first blush, the phrase risk-free has plenty of appeal. It is easy to visualize a stress-free existence with nary a care in the world. But a risk-free life is an unlivable life. There are always risks, even if you isolate yourself in your home and completely eliminate all tripping hazards. Has your food…
Tax Time Tips We have now entered the thick of it. Tax season is upon us. It is not a season to which we look forward. It is sort of like winter – if you live in Wisconsin you know it is coming, there is nothing you can do about it, and you must just…