Insights

Notes on markets, money, and the long view. The Weekly Update from Anton, plus press, and the occasional essay.

Investing

Consumers Climb Wall of Worry

The University of Michigan released on Friday their Surveys of Consumers reports. In these reports they identify consumers’ sentiment and confidence based on surveys they conduct each month.

Anton BayerFebruary 25, 20255 min read

Investing

Positive but Rocky Start for 2025

It seems investors entered 2025 with guarded optimism. Interest rates and inflation are stable, and household finances continue to improve. The labor market continued to add more workers, slowly reducing the millions of

Anton BayerFebruary 18, 20257 min read

Investing

Manufacturing Orders Up and Job Availability Down

The US economy continues to improve in many areas which would indicate continued positive momentum and continued growth. Today, our focus will be on the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Turnover (JOLTS) rep

Anton BayerFebruary 5, 20256 min read

Investing

Market Fragile After Two Year Rally

After two consecutive years of robust US stock market gains, investors are nervous about stock values and meeting high growth expectations, especially in the tech sector. For reference, the major indices' two-year run ha

Anton BayerJanuary 28, 20256 min read

Investing

Freedom is the Secret Sauce of America

We have mentioned in past UPdates the importance of monitoring the financial health and sentiment of US consumers. The primary reason is that American spending represents a whopping 67.9% of America’s Gross Domestic Prod

Anton BayerJanuary 21, 20255 min read

Investing

Staying in the Sweet Spot

The US economy has had two extraordinary consecutive years of stock market gains. What happened to the recession analysts and major media pundits warned investors in 2022? Although many sectors and indices did not match

Anton BayerJanuary 15, 20256 min read

Investing

Start the Year Strong

It may be just physiological, but I really enjoy January. Granted it’s just another 30-day period like any other month. But January is motivating to me because it’s the start of a new year to achieve new goals and experi

Anton BayerJanuary 8, 20255 min read

2024

Investing

Small Businesses Owners Turn Optimistic

For the past three years, small business owners have been struggling with economic and social issues that have limited their ability to grow. Each month the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) publishes

Anton BayerDecember 17, 20246 min read

Investing

Shopping, Shopping, And More Shopping

My daughter loves to shop. In fact, her two love languages are shopping and someone is paying for it. Apparently, at least the shopping part is also a language of love for a lot of people. Adobe Analytics reported that b

Anton BayerDecember 11, 20244 min read

Investing

Homes for the Homeless

Late Friday afternoon on November 29, 2024, 61 of us traveled from San Antonio to Reynosa, Mexico to volunteer for Strategic Alliance to build three houses for three related families all living in small shacks.

Anton BayerDecember 4, 20248 min read

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