The Delta variant could take a toll on economic growth. There was some good news last week. The 7-day moving average of COVID-19 cases in the United States declined. The bad news was that the rate of infection remained about 99 percent higher than it was one year ago. As Delta variant infections surged across […]
Stagflation isn’t trending, but it was mentioned in quite a few headlines last week. Stagflation is a portmanteau of ‘stagnation’ and ‘inflation.’ It occurs when a country experiences slow economic growth along with high inflation and high unemployment. In the United States: Economic growth was strong during the second quarter; 6.5 percent year-over-year, according to […]
“Raise your words, not your voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder,” advised the Persian poet Rumi. Last week, Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell’s words helped grow the week’s equity market returns. In his speech at the Economic Policy Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Powell confirmed that the United States economy had […]
Charlemagne is a legend. He was an 8th century Frankish King who fought and won most of Europe before becoming the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. He also led the Carolingian Renaissance, a golden age for scholarship and values, during which a new system of writing was established. Music flourished. Libraries and schools […]
Nobody likes paying taxes. It’s a fact that has helped inspire and alter human behavior throughout history. You don’t have to look far to find ways taxes have affected human decision making. For example, taxes are the reason: Brick size was standardized in Great Britain Ironically, to pay for the war in the American colonies […]
April is Financial Literacy Month. It’s also National Canine Fitness, National Fresh Celery, and International Guitar Month (among so many other designations), but let’s not get distracted. So, what is financial literacy? In 2008, the President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy defined financial literacy as “the ability to use knowledge and skills to manage financial […]