Did you ever wonder why so many people didn't get out before the dot-com crash?

It's an important question to ask yourself, especially if you believe you'll know exactly when to get out before any potential correction in today's AI and semiconductor stocks…

Don’t Build That Data Center in My Backyard

The race to build AI infrastructure is running into an obstacle that many investors probably didn't see coming: local communities. Across the country, residents are…

Is Crypto Weakening One of America's Most Powerful Weapons?

One of the United States' greatest geopolitical advantages isn't its military, it's the U.S. dollar.

Roughly 90% of global foreign exchange transactions involve the U.S. dollar. That dominance gives the United States enormous leverage…

Even with oil off its recent peak, you still may not see cheaper airline tickets.

You might assume that with the decline in oil prices, jet fuel costs are also declining, and airlines will pass those savings on to travelers through lower ticket prices. Oil and jet fuel prices have indeed come down, but don't expect airlines to slash fares anytime soon…

Letting Air Out of the Investment Portfolio Balloon Before It Pops

At one point or another, we've all seen a balloon inflated until it finally bursts. The same thing can happen to an investment portfolio…

Is AI creating the next memory boom... or setting up the next bust?

SK Hynix just pulled off the largest foreign ADR listing in U.S. history, pricing its American depositary receipts at $149 and raising $26.5 billion. That isn't just a fundraising event…

Financial Planning: Simple vs Compounding Interest Loans

Many people assume that choosing a simple interest loan over a compound interest loan will dramatically reduce the amount of interest they pay, but in most real-world lending situations, the difference is minimal. The reason is…

Companies Discussed: Caterpillar Inc. (Ticker: CAT)

Competition for AI Is Coming From a Surprise Source That Could Pressure U.S. Companies' Prices and Profits

We tend to focus on the major AI companies in the United States and assume they will be the long-term winners. However, one competitor that cannot be ignored is China. Chinese companies are making rapid progress in artificial intelligence, and they could become a serious challenge to…

The Business of Kids' Sports Is Changing and it May Not Be for the Better

Private equity has made its way into nearly every corner of the economy, and now it's becoming a major force in youth sports. The Aspen Institute has estimated that youth sports are now a $40 billion industry in the U.S, which is likely why private equity is now targeting the space. That's raising serious concerns about what happens when maximizing investor returns becomes…

Bitcoin Company Strategy Is in Trouble

Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, changed its name after the company essentially became a leveraged bet on Bitcoin rather than a software business. As management shifted its focus almost entirely to buying Bitcoin, it dropped the "Micro" from its name to reflect that new identity.

CEO Michael Saylor spent years promoting Bitcoin and telling investors…

Upper-middle-class Americans may not be as financially secure as they would like

Upper-middle-class Americans, generally defined as households earning between $150,000 and $250,000 per year, may be in a stronger financial position than most, but many are becoming increasingly pessimistic about the future.

You may be surprised to learn that 86% of upper-middle-class Americans do not believe their children will have a better life than they have. Just seven years ago…

Did The Recent Jobs Report Tell the Whole Story?

At first glance, this weeks jobs report looked fairly uneventful. The U.S. economy added 57,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in June, and the unemployment rate fell to 4.2%. This was below the estimate of 115k, but it does follow three strong months of payroll growth.

After looking through the report, there are several numbers that raise some important questions…

The biggest risk in AI may not be the technology, it may be the economics.

This week, Bradley Tusk and Ed Zitron raised important questions that investors shouldn't ignore.

Bradley Tusk (founder and CEO of Tusk Ventures and a venture capitalist) made an interesting observation: investors are treating frontier AI models the same. But China's AI companies are proving that powerful models can be developed much more cheaply and improve much faster than many expected. If lower-cost models continue to narrow the performance gap, AI models could become increasingly commoditized, making it much harder for companies spending hundreds of billions of dollars on infrastructure to earn…

Financial Planning: Trump Account Investment Options Released Ahead of $1,000 Seed Funding

Trump Accounts are expected to receive $1,000 of government seed money as soon as the 4th of July. If you have a child born in 2025 through 2028, you can apply online now at trumpaccounts.gov. This is basically a retirement account with a caveat, contributions can be made on behalf of children even if they don’t have earned income. However extra contributions are made on an after-tax non-Roth basis so no upfront tax deduction and no tax-free growth. Instead contributions establish…

Companies Discussed: Meta Platforms, Inc. (Ticker: META)

Want the New iPhone 18 This September? Be Prepared to Pay More…. A Lot More

The iPhone 18 is expected to be released in just a few months, and if current estimates are accurate, consumers could be facing some serious sticker shock. One of the biggest reasons is the ongoing battle for semiconductor components. The rapid buildout of AI data centers has created enormous demand for…

Bad News: The Dollar Is Strong Again

Some people may read that headline and think, "What's the problem? Isn't a strong dollar a good thing?" Not necessarily. A strong dollar sounds positive, but the reality is more complicated. The U.S. dollar is now at its strongest level since May 2025. While that may feel good on the surface, a stronger dollar can create challenges for the economy…

Can Alphabet/Google Take Some of Nvidia's Market Share?

Nvidia currently controls roughly 90% of the AI computing chip market. Whenever a company dominates an industry to that extent, it creates an opportunity for competitors to enter with comparable products at lower prices. That's exactly what Alphabet's Google is attempting to do with its artificial intelligence chips…

The Dow’s Alphabet Move Is a Sign of Weakness, Not Strength

The Dow Jones is once again proving why it has become one of the most outdated and least useful stock market indexes in America. This week S&P Dow Jones Indices announced that Alphabet will be added to the Dow, replacing Verizon. The financial media is treating it like the Dow is finally modernizing itself for the AI era. I see it differently. This is not leadership. It is not vision. It is not smart index construction…

Fed Stress Test Confirms the Strength of U.S. Bank Balance Sheets

U.S. banks once again came through the Federal Reserve’s 2026 stress test looking structurally strong, even under an intentionally severe economic downturn scenario. The results continue to reinforce one of the most important post-financial-crisis themes: large banks today are built to withstand a shock that would have been destabilizing in prior cycles…

What Is Quantum Computing All About?

Quantum computing is the next big step in the evolution of computing, and there’s no way around it: it’s a complex subject. But it’s also one of the most important technologies being developed today. If your son or daughter is in high school and unsure what they want to study in college, they may want to consider quantum physics, engineering, or computer science with a focus on quantum …

Financial Planning: Accessing Home Equity

Homeowners tapped an estimated $47 billion of their roughly $11 trillion of home equity during the first quarter of 2026, the highest first quarter total since 2021. There are three primary ways to borrow against that equity. A cash-out refinance replaces your current mortgage with a…

Companies Discussed: Netflix Inc. (NFLX)