Stay up to date on current financial events and commentary with our weekly blogs.

Slower Growth in Q1...Because of the shutdown and government actions growth has been uneven...will start to balance out during 2022 and beyond.

Housing: Heartburn, Not a Heart Attack. It is true that national home prices have soared in the past couple of years. However, so have construction costs.

We Are All Keynesians Now...The way out is to cut spending, cut tax rates, cut regulation, and tighten money enough to stop inflation. Because in the end, Keynesian policies don’t create wealth…free and open markets do.

Inflation Games. Inflation is a political lightning rod... Politicians blame war, or COVID, but the simple explanation is just too much money creation.

What the Feds "Should" Do. There is a time and place for gradualism in monetary policy, particularly when the unemployment rate is still above normal or when inflation is only a little above the Fed's long-term target. This is not that time and place.

It’s the Money! With every passing month, politicians and economists try to blame inflation on anything but excess money growth.

Will Russian Sanctions Lead China to Sell U.S. Debt? The US debt that China owns is more problematic for China than it is for the US. Moreover, if China sells US debt because it fears sanctions, then it will likely sell European debt as well. In the end, it’s not the US that has a problematic conundrum.

Thoughts on Ukraine. So far, things haven't unfolded as many thought they would. Supply-chain issues for the Russian military and formidable opposition are slowing Russia's advance. In addition, more sanctions and military help from countries around the world have given many hope that hostilities end early with Russia falling well short of its goals.

Sticking to Our Targets, For Now...The bottom line is that the winds of change are blowing hard in 2022: COVID is winding down, borders are in flux, and monetary policy is in for a major and long-overdue shift. In spite of these changes, we think equities are likely to rebound from recent strife and work their way higher this year. The bull market in stocks won't last forever. But, for now, it isn't at an end.

Russia and Rate Hikes...The financial markets have been on tenterhooks lately for two main reasons: Russia and rate hikes.