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Saturday, May 9, 2026

The US economy added 115,000 jobs in April, more than the ~55,000 expected. The report was an encouraging sign that the labor market has stabilized, coming off a strong number in March. The unemployment rate remained at 4.3%....

Saturday, May 2, 2026

There's a lot to unpack from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting this week. This was likely Jerome Powell's final meeting as Chair, but he commented that he will remain on as a Fed governor as President Trump's...

Saturday, April 25, 2026

EconomyI've been out of town all week with Lauren and the kids at Rosemary Beach, Florida enjoying some time away from the office after we wrapped up our first tax season. Did I plan my family vacation intentionally around a quiet week...

Saturday, April 18, 2026

The producer price index (PPI) rose by 0.5% in March, the second consecutive month-over-month increase of 0.5% but well below expectations for a 1.1% increase. Excluding food and energy prices, the index was up just 0.1%. While...

Saturday, April 11, 2026

Inflation rose by 0.9% in the last month, according to the latest consumer price index report out Thursday. The jump was largely attributed to a 21% increase in gasoline prices, which accounted for about three quarters of the...

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Saturday, April 4, 2026

There was some good economic news from the Bureau of Labor Statistics - there were 178,000 jobs added to the economy in March, far surpassing the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 59,000. Job gains were seen in health care and...

Saturday, March 28, 2026

Despite the generally gloomy sentiment around the economy right now, there is a bit of encouraging news: continuing claims for unemployment insurance fell to a near two-year low this week. These claims represent the number of...

Saturday, March 21, 2026

A key inflation reading came in quite a bit higher than expected this week. The Producer Price Index (PPI) measures wholesale inflation that producers of goods are experiencing, and there's a clear link between PPI and the...

Saturday, March 14, 2026

Inflation for the month of February rose in line with expectations, up 0.3% from January and clocking in at 2.4% over the last year. Core inflation (which excludes food and energy prices) rose by 0.2% for the month and...

Saturday, March 7, 2026

The US lost 92,000 jobs in February according to Friday's report from the Labor Department. The expected number was a gain of 50,000, so the actual results were very disappointing but reflects just how muddy the picture is when...

Saturday, February 28, 2026

The 10 year treasury rate continued to decline this week, dipping below 4%. This represents a little more than a quarter percent decline in rates in the last few weeks. Rates have moved lower recently reflecting an increased...

Saturday, February 21, 2026

The economy grew at a slower-than-expected pace in the fourth quarter, expanding by just 1.4%. The government shutdown which ran from October 1 through November 12 was blamed by the Bureau of Economic Analysis at least in part...

Saturday, February 14, 2026

We had a one-two punch of economic data this week, and the Fed has to like what they saw. Early in the week, the January jobs report showed nonfarm payrolls rising by roughly 130,000, comfortably ahead of expectations (~70,000)....

Tuesday, February 10, 2026

Most business owners spend decades building their company, but very few plan how they’ll eventually transition out of it. Exit planning isn’t just about selling. It’s about creating a business that is valuable,...

Saturday, February 7, 2026

EconomyWeekly claims for unemployment insurance came in higher-than-expected, but some of it was written off as related to the major winter storm that rolled across the country recently. The company Challenger, Gray, and Christmas puts...

Saturday, January 31, 2026

As expected, the Fed left rates unchanged when they convened at their latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting. The current Fed Chair, Jerome Powell, will see his term end on May 15, and President Trump announced his pick...

Saturday, January 24, 2026

Not much in the way of breaking economic news this week, but a scheduled revision to the gross domestic product (GDP) for the third quarter of 2025 showed the economy grew slightly faster than previously reported. In more...

Saturday, January 17, 2026

Inflation rose less than expected in December, coming in at an annual rate of 2.7% (2.6% excluding food and energy prices). This weeks consumer price index (CPI) report showed that, while inflation doesn't appear to be...

Saturday, January 10, 2026

The "slow hire, slow fire" labor market continued through December, according to the Friday's jobs report. For the month, the economy added just 50,000 jobs - fewer than November's 56,000 and below economists' expectations....

Saturday, January 3, 2026

The number of Americans who filed for unemployment insurance last week declined from the previous week to 199,000. In addition, the number of Americans who are receiving unemployment insurance also declined. In the upcoming...

Saturday, December 27, 2025

The economy grew at a faster-than-expected pace in the third quarter, according to the most recent data. The Bureau of Economic Analysis finally released the overdue gross domestic product (GDP) report, which showed economic...

Saturday, December 20, 2025

If the Fed was looking for validation that last week’s rate cut was warranted, it may have found it in the latest inflation report. Prices rose less than expected in November according to the most recent consumer price index...

Saturday, December 13, 2025

As expected, the Fed cut rates this week by 0.25%, the third rate cut this year. The Fed began cutting rates 15 months ago when it's target range was 5.25% - 5.5%. As a result of this week's announcement, that range is now 3.5%...

Saturday, December 6, 2025

For the final jobs report before the Fed's meeting on December 10, the ADP report showed a surprise loss of 32,000 jobs for the month of November. Larger businesses added jobs but smaller companies with less than 50 employees...

Saturday, November 29, 2025

As we wait for the government to complete its reboot and start dishing out economic data again, the mood continue to drift in favor of another rate cut on December 10. Over the last several days, a few of the voting members at...

Saturday, November 22, 2025

The Labor Department announced that it was cancelling the release of several economic reports, including the October jobs report as well as the October inflation report. It did, however, publish a much delayed September jobs...

Tuesday, November 18, 2025

The IRS just dropped the new 401(k) contribution limits for 2026, and good news most of them are going up. The employee deferral limit will rise to $24,500 in 2026 (up from $23,500 in 2025). This applies across the board to 401(k),...

Saturday, November 15, 2025

The bad news is we didn't get the October inflation report because the government was shut down. In fact, the White House says we may never see either the inflation data for last month. The Bureau of Labor Statistics did say,...

Saturday, November 8, 2025

While we didn't get the "official" jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics this week, payroll processing company ADP put out their own report showing the US economy added 42,000 jobs last month. This was the first...

Saturday, November 1, 2025

The Fed lowered rates this week by 0.25%, a move that had been expected and priced in to markets. Beyond the rate cut, there were some interesting side plots that took place at Wednesday's announcement. For starters, there were...

Saturday, October 25, 2025

Inflation data for the month of September was released Friday morning after being delayed a couple weeks. The report showed that while inflation remains above where the Fed would like it to be, we're not reaccelerating, and...

Saturday, October 18, 2025

The drought of economic data lingered this week as the shutdown of the federal government continues to deprive us, and perhaps more importantly the Fed, of the usual string of reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics,...

Saturday, October 11, 2025

We're in the second week of the government shutdown, which means we're still in a blackout of economic data reports from the usual federal agencies. There's not much to discuss from the past week, so let's look ahead to what's...

Saturday, October 4, 2025

Due to the federal government shutdown, we didn't get our regularly scheduled jobs report for the month of September. Instead, this week we have to rely on alternative sources, primarily from private companies and the Federal...

Saturday, September 27, 2025

I'll give you three data points from this past week that highlight the complexity of what the Fed is tasked with doing. Number one: The US economy grew more than previously thought in the second quarter, with the latest gross...

Saturday, September 20, 2025

As expected, the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by 0.25% on Wednesday. The cut comes in response to a labor market that has slowed significantly over the last few months. Despite inflation remaining above the Fed's...

Saturday, September 13, 2025

We had two significant economic developments occur this last week which illustrate how complex the Fed's job is. Remember, the Fed has been given two mandates: keep inflation low, and keep the labor market healthy. First, we...

Saturday, September 6, 2025

The August jobs report was released Friday, and even with low expectations, it was a disappointment on par with the Chiefs game last night. For starters, we only added 22,000 new jobs in August. For reference, in 2024 we...

Saturday, August 30, 2025

The latest report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed the broad US economy grew by 3.3% last quarter, bouncing back from the previous quarter's decline of 0.5%. Year over year growth of the economy sits at a rate of 2...

Saturday, August 23, 2025

Temperatures are beginning to drop, football is back on TV, and the kids are back in school. That can only mean one thing - it's rate cut season. Every year, the Fed holds its annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming in late...

Saturday, August 16, 2025

Inflation rose in line with expectations for the month of July, with the consumer price index (CPI) rising by 0.2%. Core prices, excluding food and energy costs, rose a bit more by 0.32%. A decline in energy prices helped keep...

Saturday, August 9, 2025

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported marginal growth in the service economy last month, slightly below what economists had forecasted. The report suggests that nonmanufacturing employers were slow to hire and...

Saturday, August 2, 2025

Economy The jobs report on Friday had everybody talking, and not for good reasons. For starters, the numbers for July fell short of expectations. We added 73,000 jobs nationwide last month, shy of the estimates for 100,000. More...

Saturday, July 26, 2025

Weekly initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to the lowest level in 3 months, the latest sign of a healthy labor market. Jobless claims had risen steadily, peaking in early June, but have since fallen back down. While...

Saturday, July 19, 2025

Inflation rose last month at an annual rate of 2.7%, according to the latest consumer price index report. Core inflation (which excludes food and energy prices) rose to 2.9%. Both numbers are slightly higher for June than they...

Saturday, July 12, 2025

Economy This was a pretty uneventful week in terms of economic data reports. It's worth noting that initial claims for unemployment insurance have fallen for four consecutive weeks. On the tariff front, this past Tuesday supposed to be...

Monday, July 7, 2025

The recently passed tax legislation marks one of the most sweeping overhauls to the U.S. tax code since the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). While some provisions extend popular elements of the TCJA, others introduce entirely new...

Saturday, July 5, 2025

The labor market remains a strong point for the US economy as evidenced by the June jobs report. There were 147,000 jobs created last month, nearly 40,000 more than economists polled by the Wall Street Journal were expecting....

Saturday, June 28, 2025

There's a lot to cover on the economic news front from this past week. For starters, existing home sales for the month of May came in pretty weak. This was the worst May for existing home sales in 16 years (if you exclude 2020...

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

The first half of 2025 presented no shortage of challenges for investors. From a renewed trade war and market corrections to escalating conflict in the Middle East and mounting concerns over the national debt, it has often felt like...

Saturday, June 21, 2025

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) met this week, and as expected, left interest rates unchanged. Fed Chair Jerome Powell spoke to the press to defend the Fed's decision, citing concerns about a "meaningful amount of...

Saturday, June 14, 2025

Inflation rose by 0.1% last month, less than the expected increase of 0.2%. Core inflation (which excludes food and energy prices) also rose by just 0.1% compared to forecasts of a 0.3% increase. These readings are a positive...

Saturday, June 7, 2025

Friday's jobs report showed continued resiliency in the labor market. In May, 139,000 net new jobs were added to the economy, and the unemployment rate remains unchanged at 4.2%. The downside is the prior two months of jobs...

Saturday, May 31, 2025

Economy The number of people filing for unemployment insurance last week ticked higher to 240,000, above the 4-week average of 230,075. This is the second reading at 240,000 or higher in the last 5 weeks. The number of continuing...

Thursday, May 29, 2025

Let’s face it—working in architecture, engineering, or construction comes with some quirks. You’ve got project-based income that swings hard year to year...

Saturday, May 24, 2025

Fresh data from the National Association of Realtors showed signs of weakness for the housing market. It was the worst April since 2009 for sales of existing homes which may not come as a surprise to those of you following this...

Saturday, May 17, 2025

Inflation cooled slightly more than expected in April, bringing the year-over-year rate down to 2.3%. This is the lowest inflation print we've seen since early 2021. It's also the first inflation print we've seen since the...

Saturday, May 10, 2025

Economy The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) met this week and decided to leave interest rates unchanged on Wednesday. Fed Chair Jerome Powell spoke later at a press conference defending the decision, pointing to inflation that...

Saturday, May 3, 2025

There was a lot of economic data released this week, and as usual it was a mixed bag. Let's start with the gross domestic product (GDP) report. Economists had expected that the economy would have grown slightly in the first...

Saturday, April 26, 2025

Economy Front and center in economic news this week was the increasingly public conflict between President Trump and Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Despite calling the Fed Chair a "major loser" and claiming his exit can't come soon enough,...

Saturday, April 19, 2025

It was a refreshingly slow week in terms of economic news. Of note, Fed Chair Jerome Powell made public comments on both the strength of the labor market and his worries about where inflation may be heading. Starting with the...

Saturday, April 12, 2025

Inflation fell more than expected in March, bringing the annual CPI rate to 2.4% and core CPI to 2.8%. Core prices (which exclude food and energy) rose at the slowest rate in 4 years. Core CPI removes the volatility of food and...

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Markets are experiencing heightened uncertainty due to global tensions and recession concerns. For retirees, this can feel especially worrisome. But with the right retirement planning strategies, it’s possible to protect your savings

Saturday, April 5, 2025

On April 2, standing in the Rose Garden, President Trump announced his administrations plans for sweeping tariffs. No country was spared, and the measures were significantly harsher than the market was expecting (and the market...

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Analyzing Market Corrections in the Context of Trade Policy April 2, 2025 Recent market turbulence driven by trade policy concerns has pushed major indices toward correction territory, leaving many investors feeling trapped in a cycle...

Saturday, March 29, 2025

On Friday, the Fed's preferred benchmark for inflation rose slightly more than expected. Their stated target inflation rate of 2% is lower than the current core PCE reading of 2.79%. For context, core PCE in February 2024 was 2...

Saturday, March 22, 2025

Economy On Wednesday, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell announced that the Fed was going to keep rates steady and take it's time as they decide when to cut rates again. He was also optimistic on the current state of the economy,...

Saturday, March 15, 2025

Economy The good news: inflation slowed in February slightly more than expected. Headline inflation and core inflation came in at 2.8% and 3.1%, respectively, for the last 12 months. The expectation was for 2.9% and 3.2%. In a vacuum,...

Saturday, March 8, 2025

The February jobs numbers came in lower than expectations Friday. Wall Street was looking for around 170,000, but the actual numbers of jobs created in February was 151,000. The January jobs numbers were also revised downward...

Saturday, March 1, 2025

Weekly claims for unemployment insurance spiked this week to the highest level we've seen this year. The jump of 22,000 claims from last week represents the highest weekly change since October. Time will need to pass so the...

Saturday, February 22, 2025

It was a relatively slow week of economic news this week, capped by worse-than-expected news in the housing market and on US consumer confidence. On the housing front, sales fell by 4.9% last month from the previous report,...

Saturday, February 15, 2025

Economy Fed Chair Jerome Powell had a date with Congress this week where he defended the Fed's most recent decision to not cut interest rates further. "The truth is, the economy is strong, the labor market is solid, and we have the...

Thursday, February 13, 2025

Investors have encountered multiple market concerns early this year, including tech stocks, interest rates, and government policies. Among these, trade policy has stood out as particularly impactful. President Trump has introduced...

Saturday, February 8, 2025

Let's start by addressing the tariff story concerning Mexico, Canada, and of course China. The Mexico and Canada story began late last week and came to a close (or did it?) a few hours into trading on Monday. For now, it...

Saturday, February 1, 2025

Economy There were no changes to the Fed's interest rate this week when the Federal Open Market Committee met this week. While the result was expected, the press conference was highly anticipated. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has been...

Saturday, January 25, 2025

We had a bit of a break of economic data this week, but things will get busy again soon. Of note this week, the number of people filing for unemployment insurance rose very slightly, suggesting continued strength in the labor...

Saturday, January 18, 2025

The latest inflation data suggests we may be moving in the right direction. While inflation (the consumer price index) increased last month from 2.75% to 2.89%, price increases for items excluding food and energy (core CPI)...

Saturday, January 11, 2025

Economy The jobs numbers just continue to deliver strong results, and this week was no exception. First, the number of people who filed for unemployment insurance last week was at the lowest level since February 2024. We may see these...

Saturday, January 4, 2025

There wasn't a whole lot on deck in terms of new economic data out as it was a holiday week, but the table is set for next week's jobs numbers. On Wednesday, the payroll company ADP will release its data on employment numbers....

Saturday, December 28, 2024

Mortgage rates continued to rise this week, with the 30-year hitting 6.85%, a level last seen over the summer. Hopes were that when the Fed began cutting rates in September, those lower rates would translate to cheaper...

Saturday, December 21, 2024

The Federal Open Market Committee announced a third consecutive rate cut on Wednesday, decreasing the overnight rate by 0.25%. This rate cut was widely anticipated, but what becomes unclear is how the Fed will handle rates in...

Saturday, December 14, 2024

Inflation rose to 2.7% last month, matching expectations. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, came in at 3.3%. We've seen core prices rise 0.3% for three consecutive months now, a sign that getting inflation...

Friday, December 13, 2024

That's a WRAP on the second annual Christmas party at Dogwood! Last year you all helped us collect 122 toys and stuffed animals to donate to the children at Sunflower House. We were asked several times leading up to last night if we...

Sunday, December 8, 2024

For the third consecutive year, we are sponsoring a toy drive to benefit the children at Sunflower House. This is a cause that is near and dear to our hearts, and one that we have been proud to support since the launch of Dogwood...

Saturday, December 7, 2024

Economy The US economy added 227,000 jobs last month, according to Friday's nonfarm payrolls report from the Labor Department. That number was more than the consensus expectation of 215,000, and suggests continued strength in the labor...

Monday, December 2, 2024

Understanding the Impact of Rising Government Debt on Markets December 2, 2024 The United States Treasury reports that federal debt is nearing $36 trillion, raising concerns across...

Saturday, November 30, 2024

The chances of another interest rate cut next month rose this week as the Fed's preferred measure of inflation (the personal consumption expenditures price index) rose slightly to 2.3%, up from 2.1% the month prior. Core PCE...

Saturday, November 23, 2024

A recent report out from the National Association of Realtors showed home sales rose in the month of October, both on a monthly basis compared to last October. The report was released Thursday, the same day the 30-year mortgage...

Saturday, November 16, 2024

Inflation rose 0.24% last month, bringing the trailing 12-month rate to 2.6%. Core prices, which exclude food and energy, were up 3.3%. This latest news should keep the Fed on track for another 0.25% rate cut when they meet a...

Saturday, November 9, 2024

On Thursday the Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell announced a 0.25% rate cut. Speaking at his press conference later that day, Powell said he was "feeling good about economic activity." He did reference the upcoming...

Thursday, November 7, 2024

What the 2024 Election Results Mean for Your Money November 7, 2024 The 2024 presidential election has concluded with Donald Trump winning the presidency and Republicans gaining control...

Saturday, November 2, 2024

Friday's jobs report left a lot of people scratching their heads and doing their best to rationalize the figures. For the month of October, the US economy added just 12,000 jobs. If that number seems low to you, you're not...

Monday, October 28, 2024

Cost of Living and Retirement October 28, 2024 Eric Sheerin, AIF® Principal, Financial Planner If you’re getting close to retirement or already there, building a solid portfolio is key to enjoying a long...

Saturday, October 26, 2024

This is shaping up to be a pretty poor year for home sales, according to the Wall Street Journal. In fact, the recent reports out on new and existing home sales has us on track to be the worst year for home sales since 1995....

Saturday, October 19, 2024

There wasn't a lot of new economic data released this week to really move the needle one way or the other. According to the CME Group, the odds of just a 0.25% rate cut at November 7 FOMC meeting increased from 89% to 90%....

Saturday, October 12, 2024

The September inflation report was released this week coming in at 2.4%, the lowest point in three and a half years. Contributing to the decline was a drop in energy prices last month. However, prices for food, medical services...

Saturday, October 5, 2024

Economy We saw a better-than-expected jobs report on Friday as it was announced the economy added 254,000 jobs (the expectation was around 150,000). In addition, the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1% from 4.2%. While this good news...

Saturday, September 28, 2024

Coming off a week that saw the Fed lower interest rates for the first time since the pandemic, attention was on the Fed's preferred gauge for inflation, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index. By that measure...

Monday, September 23, 2024

The Federal Reserve's interest rate moves are always a big deal for the markets. There's a lot of talk about when and how much they...

Saturday, September 21, 2024

It was the moment we'd all been waiting for. On Wednesday the Federal Reserve announced it was cutting interest rates by 0.5%. Between March 2020 and March 2022, the Fed held rates at 0%. As inflation crept in following the...

Friday, September 13, 2024

Economy The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the August CPI inflation report on Wednesday, which was in-line with Wall Street's expectations. Inflation rose by 0.2% last month, bringing the trailing one year rate of inflation to 2...

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

Taxes, the Election, and What It Means for Investors Taxes, the Election, and What It Means for Investors September 11, 2024 Eric Sheerin, AIF® Principal, Financial Planner With less than two months to go until the presidential...

Saturday, September 7, 2024

Economy All eyes were on the labor market this week as we got some fresh data. On Wednesday, the Labor Department released its July data which showed the number of job openings is at its lowest point since January 2021. Then on...

Saturday, August 31, 2024

Economy The Fed decided to leave rates unchanged when they concluded their meeting on Wednesday. The decision itself was widely expected, and the most anticipated part of the day was always expected to be Jerome Powell’s press...