After two big outliers in a row (2021 was 3rd wettest monsoon, 2020 was 2nd driest on record), 2022 was comfortably “normal” (Exhibit 1). Exhibit 2 shows monthly rainfall in 2022 compared to Normal. We started off with a fairly good June, followed by pretty dry July (-51% compared to normal), a solid August (+42%) and a mediocre September (-39%).
Plan By Numbers Blog
Financial Planning simply illustrated by numbers, at our companion blog written by Denis Smirnov.
Market Update 09/29/2022
In the past two weeks the market decidedly took a sharp turn for the worse. The world seems to be falling apart with out-of-control inflation, the war in Ukraine, UK enacting suspect fiscal policies, Europe in the midst of energy crisis and contentious midterm elections at home.
Where is Your Cash?
This table shows rates on select cash alternatives as of 8/29/2022. Traditional banks are still paying nothing, which is unlikely to change anytime soon. FDIC-insured cash deposits at most brokerage firms aren’t particularly appealing either with 0.25% at Schwab. With a little extra work, moving your money to a High Yield Online Savings account, such as Ally or Marcus, might be a good option for many savers.
2022 Mid-Year Review
This time of the year I like to look through some of my performance spreadsheets to see how things are going in various investment areas.
What’s Eating Bonds?
In this post I look at how bond prices have reacted to recent Fed policy changes
What’s the Fed up to These Days?
Fed’s toolkit in fighting inflation – what can they do, what have they done so far, what are they likely to do in the near future.
2021 Review: Economy Edition
Labor market recovered in 2021 and has become very tight. GDP saw a robust increase while inflation hit 40-year high. Housing remained very strong despite rising interest rates.
Let’s Talk About Inflation
If you are a gas guzzler-driving renter with six kids who eats bacon-wrapped steak at every meal, is allergic to vegetables, often stays at hotels and buys another used truck every 6 months, you are screwed. If you are a 65-year old electric car-driving vegetarian homeowner, you are sitting pretty.
2021 Review: Sectors, Stocks & International
In a major change of leadership, energy, real estate and financials had a phenomenal year. On the bottom of the table we have gold miners (gold price dropped in a high inflation year), biotech and internet which slowed down after years of torrid growth.
2021 Review: Significant Events and Major Asset Classes
Reviewing major stories of 2021 and how they affected the major asset class performance