by Ralph Bender, MBA, CFP® | Business, Politics, Videos, Volatility
The enemy at home is more threatening than the enemy abroad. September 11th drove that point for most of us. Coronavirus is doing it again. When it was in China, it wasn’t our problem. Now it is our problem. The Chinese, Korean, and Italian experiences give us some...
by Ralph Bender, MBA, CFP® | Economic Commentary, Health, Market Update, Politics, Volatility
Been there, done that. In many ways, the current market troubles are no different than previous stock market swoons. I’ve been through a lot of them, and I’ve studied almost all of them during my decades of experience navigating clients through tough times. There’s a...
by Ralph Bender, MBA, CFP® | Economic Commentary, Running Money ®, Volatility
Two related factors threaten the continued economic expansion: global trade uncertainty and business capital expenditures. The stock market never likes uncertainty and while the President keeps the world informed as he plays hardball in trade discussions with other...
by Ralph Bender, MBA, CFP® & Mark R Tracy, MBA | Enduring Principles, Market Update, Running Money ®, Volatility
You may have heard “the stock market is like a roller coaster.” We hear it all the time, but the problem is, it’s a terrible analogy. Roller coasters always start and stop at the same spot. They start by climbing a big hill at the start, and it’s all down-hill from...
by Ralph Bender, MBA, CFP® | Economic Commentary, History, Inflation, Market Update, Oil, Volatility
What do the Watts Riots, Beatlemania, Kennedy’s Assassination, ZIP Codes, the Vietnam War, Cassius Clay’s first World Heavyweight Championship, South African Apartheid and Nelson Mandela’s lifetime prison sentence, Buffalo Wings, Martin Luther King’s “dream” speech...
by Ralph Bender, MBA, CFP® | Economic Commentary, Market Update, Politics, Volatility
Donald Trump has completed his landmark quest and will become the nation’s 45th President after a contentious and often divisive campaign. In addition, the Republican Party has retained control of both houses of Congress. This outcome marks a significant reversal from...
