Have You Caught Pokémon Go! Fever?
By Jon Aldrich “Wait! There is a Pikachu next to that table over there!” My 14 year old son shouts excitedly. “A what, where?” I answer back. “There is a Pikachu by that table, I have to go catch him.” he says with glee. I look over there and don’t see any so called Pikachu’s…
Read MoreBREXIT? IT BREMAINS TO BE SEEN.
By Jon Aldrich June 23rd is going to be a big day in Britain, and maybe for the rest of the world. This is the day the general population of Britain votes on whether the country will continue to be a member of the European Union (EU)? Since we have had catchy names for some…
Read MoreYour Smart Refrigerator might be a Computer Hacker
By Jon Aldrich Your refrigerator might be sending you spam e-mails. Your smart thermostat might be allowing hackers access to your wireless network. Could your coffee maker be giving you more than just a caffeine boost? In late 2013 and early 2014, a smart refrigerator was pinpointed as one of the devices used by computer…
Read MoreSell in May and Go Away? Not so Fast.
By Jon Aldrich Well May is here and spring is its normal unpredictable self here in Northern Illinois, with one day in the 80’s and the next in the 40’s. It is also strange this year, because the Blackhawks aren’t playing anymore and the Cubs and White Sox are both in first place. Strange days…
Read MoreSaved by Zero, or Less Than Zero?
By Jon Aldrich Back in 1983, the British New Wave Band, “The Fixx” released a popular song titled “Saved by Zero“. The song was about a Buddhist mantra that life is not so much about amassing material possessions, but of experiences along the way, and that the goal is how great it is to get…
Read MoreHave You Checked Your Credit Recently?
By Jon Aldrich Almost daily we hear reports of hackers stealing personal information either from large data breaches at places like Target or Home Depot or via e-mail scams and even with old fashioned phone calls to unsuspecting victims with someone claiming to be from the IRS demanding money or credit card information. More recently,…
Read MoreTHE SKY IS FALLING!
By Jon Aldrich European banks are having problems again! China’s economy is headed for a hard landing! Central Bankers have lost control of their control of the markets by resorting to negative interest rates! Oil and commodity prices keep crashing signaling global recession! The U.S. is headed for a recession as well! Presidential candidate Bernie…
Read MoreDoes A Bad January Mean A Bad Year in 2016?
By Jon Aldrich I probably don’t need to remind you that January was not a real good month for the stock market. The S&P 500 was off 5.07%, the Dow was off 5.5%, and other areas such as Small Company U.S. stocks and Foreign stocks were off anywhere from 6% to 10% as concerns about…
Read MoreRecessions, The Stock Market & Inverted Yield Curve, Oh My!
By Jon Aldrich Stock markets around the world continue to struggle and many are in panic mode right now. The chart of the stock markets looks eerily similar to the image above. The S & P 500 index is down almost 10% since the start of the year which signals a “correction”. Remember, 10% is…
Read MoreChina Redux
By: Jon Aldrich It was just a few months ago, back in August, when the world was ending because the Chinese stock market was spiraling downward, with the government clumsily intervening to no avail. The crash in the Chinese market and the worries about the Chinese economy slowing down and bringing the rest of the…
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