Coronavirus Stimulus 2.0 (Summary of Main Provisions)
By Jon Aldrich First off, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah or whatever you celebrate at this time of year. It has been quite a year, as we all know, and hopefully we all come through it healthy and ready for a new beginning in 2021. Of course, lets leave it…
Read MoreBINGO!
2020 is Proving to be a Banner Year for Apocalypse Bingo By Jon Aldrich For most of us, 2020 is going to be a year that none of us will soon forget. It just seems like one awful thing after another just keeps occurring in a year that we’ll all be happy to put behind…
Read MoreElections Have Consequences
How do Stock Markets Perform Depending on Who is in Charge? By Jon Aldrich Many of us watched the raging dumpster fire that passed for a Presidential Debate on Tuesday night. But, then again, hasn’t this whole year of 2020 been a dumpster fire? Maybe a wrestling match between the two would have been better!…
Read MoreRemember When Savings Accounts Used to Pay Interest?
A Look at the Puny Yields on Savings & Money Market Accounts These Days By Jon Aldrich Low interest rates have been around for quite a while, ever since the Financial Crisis of 2008 when rates were lowered to combat the Great Recession. I guess we have got accustomed to getting nil on “safe” money…
Read MoreDo not Fall Victim to “Vishing”
Online Thieves can also use your phone to steal from you By Jon Aldrich Ted received a call the other day. His caller ID read “Social Security Administration”. He figures he better take this call, since it is from Social Security and must be important. The caller on the line is friendly and says there…
Read MoreThoughts from the Lake
Musings from vacation and why Focus did not take any PPP money By Jon Aldrich I am up at the lake this week for some rest and relaxation after a stressful and tumultuous first half of 2020. It has been quite a year and I suspect most of us will be glad to see 2020…
Read MoreNot Out of the Woods Yet
Markets have settled down for the most part, but is it just temporary? By Jon Aldrich Even though we are still in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the quick actions of Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve and fiscal programs such as the CARES Act and the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) provision…
Read MoreDid the Inverted Yield Curve Predict the Pandemic?
Last Year’s Yield Curve Inversion Proves Surprisingly True By Jon Aldrich Do you recall all the hubbub in the media and in print about the Yield Curve Inverting last year and that a recession was probably just around the corner? At the time the stock market was rolling, the housing market was booming and unemployment…
Read MoreHarking Back to the ‘Good Ole Days’
By Jon Aldrich Do you long as I do for the ‘Good Ole Days’? You know, back when life was far simpler, less complicated and not as dangerous as it is today. Back when you could have dinner at your favorite restaurant with a bunch of friends, go see a movie at the theater, catch…
Read MoreStimulus Check Safety
Beware of scammers trying to get you to part ways with your money By Jon Aldrich By now, many that qualified for the Coronavirus stimulus payments have probably received the funds in their bank account. However, if you have not received it, you can go to the IRS site https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus-tax-relief-and-economic-impact-payments and check on its status….
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