I recently finished reading "Wealth, War and Wisdom" by Barton Biggs (Amazon link: here). This book looks at how various stock markets (US, UK, Germany, France, Japan and others) reacted to the events surrounding World War Two. This book is a must read for any stock market nerd - a perfect blend of general history …
Two Charts to Watch in 2022
So much has already happened in the financial markets thus far in 2022, it's hard to pick only a few charts that will help us understand what the rest of the year may bring. However, this five-year chart of the German 10-year government bond yield paints an interesting picture. German ten-year yields had a positive …
What To Expect In 2022
With 2021 winding down, all eyes are on what will happen to markets in 2022. Let's start with the very basic fact that no one knows what the future holds - but it sure is fun to guess! I would think that COVID's effect on markets in 2020 and 2021 would have humbled the most …
Enjoy The Ride
It has been one heck of a ride in US stocks since the "Covid Crash" lows. The S&P 500 index* is up just shy of 100% since March 23rd 2020. In 2021, the S&P 500 continues to rise and has yet to sell off more than 5% at any point - offering a very smooth …
The Only Winning Move
Have you ever seen the movie War Games (1983)? The film, which stars Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood, and Ally Sheedy, follows David Lightman (Broderick), a young hacker who unwittingly accesses a United States military supercomputer programmed to predict and execute nuclear war against the Soviet Union*. At the end of the movie (spoiler alert!), the supercomputer realizes that the many different scenarios (games) involving …
The Naperville Financial Planner 