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In 1945 John Huston, who had just directed The Maltese Falcon, produced a documentary about the Allies’ fight to break through the German army’s “Winter Line” in southern Italy. The film was called The Battle of San Pietro. It documented the retaking of a single, heavily defended town, and covered the events of just nine days.1 But…
Legendary infomercial pitchman Ron Popeil wasn’t just the inventor of the Chop-O-Matic, the Pocket Fisherman, and Mr. Microphone. He was also the creator of one of the greatest slogans in marketing: “Set it and forget it.” He used this tagline to sell his Showtime Rotisserie & BBQ, which moved more than 8 million units in the…
Before the devastating tsunamis of 2004 rolled over the coastlands around the Indian Ocean, local animals seemed to sense the coming disaster. Eyewitnesses reported that elephants moved to higher ground, flamingos abandoned their low-lying nesting areas, and buffalo stampeded to a hilltop—in some cases hours before the deadly waves struck.1 Scientists are still trying to…
The recent high inflation numbers have cooled a bit. Last month the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data release indicated prices are increasing at a 5% annual rate. This was a significant decrease from last summer’s spike of 9.1%.1 The CPI is based on an amalgamation of prices paid by consumers in 243 categories across 32 geographic…
Gold has been fascinating people for thousands of years.1 It never rusts or even tarnishes. And it’s soft enough to be worked into beautifully intricate designs. No wonder ancient rulers wanted their crowns, scepters, and even thrones covered in gold. Gold has been used as a currency for thousands of years. And in more recent times…
The chance of winning a billion-dollar Powerball jackpot with a single ticket are mind-numbingly small. The odds are roughly 1 in 302.6 million. Put that into a calculator and you get .0000000033.1 By comparison, your chance of being struck by lightning in any given year is 1 in 1.2 million, more than 250 times greater.2 Part of…
A friend tells the story about asking his neighbor to help him jumpstart an old car. The neighbor, who had pulled his truck into position to provide the power, took the jumper cables out of our friend’s hands and proceeded like he had done this procedure a hundred times before. He attached the black cable…
Many of us have lived through financial downturns that economists call recessions. But there’s a more serious kind of downturn that the experts call a depression. So, what’s the difference between the two? Economists often disagree on exact definitions. But there is an old joke they like to tell: A recession is when your neighbor…
Since late last week, there has been a bit of market turmoil related directly to the banking sector; more specifically, that federal regulators closed the 16th largest bank in the US, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). There is more than a little media coverage of the situation, so we won’t over-editorialize the situation or get too…
A friend recently returned from Ireland with a few scary stories. He and his wife had rented a car for a few days to explore some castles. Several of the old fortresses, they were told, were haunted. But ghosts in the towers were not the cause of their hair-raising experiences. It was the country roads…
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Memorial Day: It’s Our Duty to Remember – Presented by Mark K. Lund, Financial Advisor in Utah
In 1945 John Huston, who had just directed The Maltese Falcon, produced a documentary about the Allies’ fight to break through the German army’s “Winter Line” in southern Italy. The film was called The Battle of San Pietro. It documented the retaking of a single, heavily defended town, and covered the events of just nine days.1 But…
The Downside to Target Date Funds – Presented by Mark K. Lund, Financial Advisor in Utah
Legendary infomercial pitchman Ron Popeil wasn’t just the inventor of the Chop-O-Matic, the Pocket Fisherman, and Mr. Microphone. He was also the creator of one of the greatest slogans in marketing: “Set it and forget it.” He used this tagline to sell his Showtime Rotisserie & BBQ, which moved more than 8 million units in the…
Before the devastating tsunamis of 2004 rolled over the coastlands around the Indian Ocean, local animals seemed to sense the coming disaster. Eyewitnesses reported that elephants moved to higher ground, flamingos abandoned their low-lying nesting areas, and buffalo stampeded to a hilltop—in some cases hours before the deadly waves struck.1 Scientists are still trying to…
Quarterly Client Letter – 2022 Q4 – Provided by Mark K. Lund, Financial Advisor
Every January, it’s typical to reflect on market data from the year past. You’ll see the results in your own quarterly reports, as well as across the usual flurry of broad market analyses. Even when the numbers aren’t what we’d prefer—which has certainly been the case for 2022—we look at them anyway. It’s good to…
If They Can Predict the Weather, Why Not the Stock Market? Humans have always had a strong desire to know the future. Soon after writing was developed in ancient Mesopotamia the Babylonians began using it to catalog thousands of auguries—observances of natural phenomena that they believed could predict major events.1 We still want to know…
The difference between planning ahead and worrying ahead When was the last time you watched the entire safety demonstration by an airline cabin crew? If you’ve traveled enough, you could probably stand up and give most of the presentation yourself. Using props like a seatbelt, an oxygen mask, and a lifejacket, the attendants talk about…
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