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Over the last several months, the U.S. equity markets have staged impressive rebounds to recoup most of the losses that occurred in late February and March. After a peak-to-tough decline of approximately 37% for the Dow, 30% for the Nasdaq, and 34% for the S&P 500, the major indexes have rallied approximately 38%, 40%, and…
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Over the last several weeks we have seen a dramatic turn of events in the financial markets. After a relatively calm start to 2020, the current environment has been characterized by uncertainty, fear, nervousness, and high volatility surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak and its resultant impact on the economy and financial markets. Despite our best efforts…
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Raskob Kambourian Financial Advisors would like to congratulate Phillip B. Kaiser, CFA, CMT, CFP® on his outstanding performance in the Financial Forecasting Challenge hosted by the CFA® Societies of the Western U.S. on the forecasting site Good Judgment® Open (www.gjopen.com). The objective of the yearlong competition was to accurately predict the outcome of economic and…
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When I was younger, one of my favorite activities during a sick day or school shutdown day was watching game shows on television. I enjoyed the enthusiastic contestants, fun games, and high stakes on the line (high stakes for me at the time). A couple of my favorite shows were Family Feud and The Price…
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The above email has several signs that indicate fraud. Item 1 is the suspicious email address from the sender. Items 2 and 5 express urgency as well as a threat. Items 3 and 4 offer a gift in exchange for personal information. Item six is an attachment that could create a virus in your computer,…
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Benefit Increase. Monthly benefit checks have been increased for 2019 by a cost of living adjustment. The cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. Due to these increases, the average monthly retirement check will have been increased $39 from the 2018 level. The maximum…
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1. “Uncle Sam wants you to be healthy! If you quit smoking, you can write off any smoking cessation products or programs. Have a life-threatening medical condition like diabetes, high blood pressure, or heart disease? If a doctor signs off on it, you can write off diet/fitness products, classes, and programs. One person was able…
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I was cleaning out my closet this weekend and happened to come across some old books. In addition to accounting and economics textbooks long forgotten, I came across some paperbacks spanning a range of business topics. Included in the mix was the book Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco by Bryan Burrough…
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It has been said there are two certainties in life: death and taxes. These days another certainty can be added to the list: a reduction in the federal funds rate at the July Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. According to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, futures traders are pricing in a 100% probability that…
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In recent months there has been much debate about whether the U.S. economy is heading for a recession. While there is no denying a slowdown is taking place, we believe the U.S. economy remains healthy and the probability of a recession is low. Our assessment is based on a review of the factors affecting the…