June 2, 2020 Waiting for the Next Shoe to Drop It is difficult to address issues in the context of “getting back to normal” in the midst of a never-seen-before pandemic like we are experiencing.  Yet that is what most of us yearn for, to get back to normal. The financial markets have breathed a collective sigh of relief as well, as lockdown restrictions have been

April 30, 2020 Flattening the Curve or the Economy? The economic shutdown is intended to slow the spread of Covid-19 and flatten the rising curve on the graphs of Covid-19 cases, but it is also flattening our economy. The financial crisis in 2008 did not destroy industries, but the current economic shutdowns are going to do much more damage to our economy. This makes it a

March 31, 2020 The Month That Changed Everything I think the virus going around has something in common with the Harry Potter villain, Lord Voldemort, who was “He Who Shall Not be Named” in those books. Every week or two the virus gets a new name. First Wuhan, then Coronavirus, then Covid-19, and now SARS-CoV-2. I wish they would pick a name and stick with it!

March 3, 2020 A Black Swan Named COVID-19 A few hundred years ago, Europeans could not imagine a swan being any other color than white, because they had never seen a black swan until explorers returned from Australia with one.  A black swan event is something no one can envision until it happens, sort of like the Fukushima nuclear accident, the 9/11 attacks on the World

February 4, 2020 Coronavirus and Your Investments If you are like me, you are thinking that it would be optimal if the Coronavirus stayed contained over in China and didn’t bother us over here in the US. The virus may not become a health issue here as it is in China since we have a well-developed public health system. But it may become a financial issue