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At lunch a few weeks ago, a friend of mine said he didn’t want his son to be average. I was struck by his comment because all his kids do well in school and they’re exceptional athletes. I then spent some time pondering the word – average. What is average?

The hot topic this week is the yield curve, or more importantly, the inverted yield curve. What the heck is a yield curve?  It’s a collection of interest rates, or yields, plotted on a chart. Rates begin with the one-month U.S. Treasury Bill and end at the 30-year U.S. Treasury Bond. The curve plots all points in between.

The fall foliage in New England is amazing – full of splendor and beauty. I lived in Connecticut for a few years and the color of the fall leaves were always spectacular. However, they eventually fell off the trees and someone had to pick them up.  

Financial planning is important, but life planning is better. A financial plan indicates a finite service, a one-time event. Life planning takes financial planning to a higher level. It’s enduring, vibrant, and active. It’s proactive. It’s forever, and forever is a long time!

Having the right map is paramount if you want to arrive at your destination. Navigating the high seas and distant lands requires a detailed map, so does driving across town to pick up a gallon of milk. A map of Los Angeles is of little use in New York. A ski map of Crested Butte provides no guidance on Mt. Bachelor.

Cash is King! The King is Dead! Long live the King! An unusual thing is happening this year – cash is outperforming stocks and bonds. Allocating your investments to T-Bills has been a winning trade this year.

When interest rates start to rise, stocks will fall. Not only will they fall but our economy will tumble into a recession. Corporate credit will evaporate. Home ownership will cease. All dire consequences.

It’s true, rising interest rates do cause economic headwinds. But rates have been rising. In fact, they’ve risen a lot over the past couple of years.  

Most markets have struggled during the months of October and November causing angst and worry among investors. Media commentators, reporters, and online personalities are bellowing from their pulpits about the pending doom in the markets and economy. If these experts were asked to help contain a fire, they’d bring kerosene.

The Wall Street Journal reported on a firm that went belly-up due to “bad bets on energy prices.” The firm, OptionSellers.com, sold options on future contracts and they suffered a “catastrophic loss” on their trading strategy.[1]

At the beginning of each football season every NFL team has high hopes of winning the Super Bowl, even the Cleveland Browns. Enthusiasm and expectations are high.