RichC | December 18, 2024
The Federal Reserve is less sure about how much it’ll keep cutting rates after agreeing to a reduction this Wednesday afternoon. Chair Jerome Powell admitted that the decision was a close call (see WSJ and rate chart from 2000-2024 below). The latest cut, approved by 11 out of 12 Fed voters, will lower the Fed’s […]
RichC | November 30, 2024
Perhaps it is just me, but this leftover video of a press corp reporter begging for President Biden to make a comment on a recent trip to South America had me laughing. Rarely do I feel sorry for the media, but in this reporter’s case, I do. 😊
RichC | November 22, 2024
This past week, while digging up answers for tax planning for a Barron’s Advisor group that I participate in, I searched for the standard 2024 deduction changes based on age, etc. At the top of my Brave Browser search (their Leo AI engine), which I’ve found helpful several times, pop the summary below: This recent search […]
RichC | November 14, 2024
After a great visit with Taylor in Florida last week for his planning conference, he’s right back into the hornet’s nest in trying to find the best way to navigate economic growth and housing development in his township. The battle lines are being drawn between fairly large housing developers and builders who are growth focused […]
RichC | November 13, 2024
Obviously the economy ranks high as to why incumbents were on the losing team when it comes to the November 2024 election. But for me, it’s the same as it was back in 1992 when James Carville said, “It’s the economy, stupid” … although this go around it could be argued that social issues played […]
RichC | November 6, 2024
Finally the 2024 Presidential Election is over (the White House and U.S. Senate flips to Republican control) … but America is still waiting to see who will control the House of Representatives. It has been a taxing election for American voters and likely even those just watching overseas. Both allies and adversaries are wondering what […]
RichC | November 4, 2024
Most people can answer to the “4 years ago” question (below), but a more important question in my view would be, “Do you think you and your family would be better off under a Harris or Trump presidency in the next 4 years?” Both presidential candidates have leadership records to run on, so compare wisely […]
RichC | October 23, 2024
My daughter Katelyn forwarded me this impressive fireball image and earthsky.org article with a YouTube video captured by people from Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and even Western NY (she hinted that it was “blogworthy” … so what is a dad to do? Share it, obviously). 🙂 The meteor (??) was clearly seen streaking over Lake Erie […]
RichC | October 3, 2024
Although I’ve never fancied myself a journalist or a writer, in today’s socially connected world, it is interesting to see news and opinion evolving closer to the people. Citizen journalism is really real, now that all of us can share our thoughts on a variety of subjects, not the least of which is politics. An […]
RichC | September 27, 2024
Hurricane Helene hit the Florida Panhandle, Georgia and the Carolinas with a furry as a category 4 storm. The early damage looks heavy, not to mention the death count (22 from the WSJ article as I post this). Currently in SW Ohio we are getting heavy wind and rain (not sure when I’ve seen this […]
RichC | September 22, 2024
The number of times that the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 has come up in conversation recently had me interested to know just what is so good or evil about it. To even have Former President Donald Trump declare he “hasn’t read it or even cares to know what is in it,” yet it still has […]
RichC | September 18, 2024
Investors and traders on Wall Street started today in a pensive mood as all impatiently waited for the much telegraphed “first rate cut since 2020.” Market journalists debated if Chairman Powell and the Federal Reserve board members would see the slowing economy as a sign that their tightening polices had stifled inflation enough to managed […]
RichC | September 11, 2024
In trying to do something a litte different in remembering September 11, 2001, I saw the help of AI just to see what today’s tech tools can offer. Most of us have certain memories seared into our minds of where we were and what we were doing. I found it interesting to see what artificial […]
RichC | September 10, 2024
Since July’s “swim with my iPhone 7 Plus,” I’ve been using my friend Jeff’s older backup iPhoneXS (2018). Having a “Plan B” has been most appreciated after my attempt at saving a buck and buying a refurbished iPhone 15 Pro. Thankfully the reseller refunded my “Plan A” purchase in full since it was a struggle […]
RichC | September 7, 2024
As the US Presidential Election looms, we still really don’t know how Kamala Harris intends to govern — it’s been 1-1/2 months since President Biden stepped down. And many of us have questions: What are her policies? From a few appearances … by that I mean ONE interview … are we expected to believe the her […]
RichC | August 6, 2024
As an amateur market follower, I have watched economic indicators that signal boom and bust cycles for years. One of the more insightful signals is the spread between treasury yields (inverted yield curve) … especially the 10 and 2 year treasuries. An inversion has been a good indicator of a recession … as posted a […]
RichC | July 25, 2024
The indices took a dive on Wall Street on Wednesday as the Magnificent Seven tech stocks that have lead the stock market recently, sold off after Alphabet $GOOGL(parent of Google) and Tesla $TSLA disappointed with earnings. As a WSJ live post put it, “the thrashing wiped out hundreds of billions of dollars in market value […]
RichC | July 23, 2024
The political news this past weekend, after a successful Republican Convention in Milwaukee WI, was that President Joe Biden finally succumbing to pressure and bowed out of his 2024 re-election campaign. For most paying attention, it has been clear for sometime that age was catching up to him. Most in the know, saw the obvious […]
RichC | July 20, 2024
Every once in a while when reading a favorite 3-column news website for “political animals,” TheHustings.News, I will reply with a comment — especially when I receive an email from the editor who ask me to add a “right column” post or comment. 😉 So this week as a non-writer, I responded while watching the […]
RichC | July 16, 2024
Semi-surprised at the VP pick by the almost GOP nominee, Donald Trump (later this week), but for those who would like to see someone younger, JD Vance from our area of SW Ohio is not a bad choice. I enjoyed learning about his background from both his book, Hillbilly Elegy … and movie by Ron […]
RichC | July 14, 2024
Yesterday’s failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Butler Pennsylvania will forever be burned in our memories and another dark stain in our divisive politics (unfortunately it has happened throughout history … no matter the country). The soon to be Republican nominee for POTUS (the GOP convention is this week in Milwaukee, Wisconsin), was targeted […]
RichC | July 3, 2024
Yes it is hurricane season … and yes, the water temperatures are above historic norms … but climate change alarmists pretending to be CNN journalists are blaming fossil fuels directly. This isn’t factual or sound science. There are those who study climate change and global warming who hypothesize that the use of carbon-based fuels and […]
RichC | May 31, 2024
It is Tech Friday, but because I’ve already prepared and posted, I still wanted to highlight the newsworthy headline story regarding the politically motivated trial against former president and the likely Republican candidate for president, Donald J. Trump. So opted to test the relatively “new to me” AI client (Perplexity.AI) by asking: Can you summarize […]
RichC | May 19, 2024
It is time to face the inevitable that working later in life is not a reality for most people. As I commented on a Barron’s article last week, you “better have a Plan B or even a Plan C” in case there is a health concern that prevent working later in life. From personal experience, […]
RichC | May 15, 2024
U.S. inflation eased slightly in April, with a key measure of price pressures slowing to its lowest level since spring 2021. The consumer-price index, a gauge for goods and service costs across the U.S. economy, rose 3.4% in April from a year ago, the Labor Department said Wednesday. So-called core prices that exclude volatile food […]
RichC | April 24, 2024
RichC | April 16, 2024
Last week when reading and posting about Berkshire Hathaway investments and Warren Buffett from Kiplinger, I also snipped a “Best Time to Book a Flight” sidebar.
RichC | April 13, 2024
Iran has threatened to retaliate for an attack in Damascus, Syria, that Tehran said was an Israeli airstrike on a diplomatic building. The strike killed several top Iranian military officials, including a senior member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds Force. According to the WSJ on Friday, “the U.S. rushed warships into position […]
RichC | April 12, 2024
Who isn’t … or more appropriately wasn’t … fond of listening to the interesting and smooth-toned audio that was part of National Public Radio (NPR) in the previous century. I spent an exorbitant amount of time in my car back then and listened to static-riddled politically conservative radio talk shows on AM radio and liberally […]
RichC | April 6, 2024
The subject line is my questionable twist on the Francis Church response to Virginia O’Hanlon in 1897, Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus (see below). All of us “seeing” inflation month after month really don’t question its existence, but we do wonder how long inflation will continue a higher than the desired two percent […]
RichC | March 22, 2024
Although at this point I’m still sticking with cable for my Internet and television entertainment, the difficulty in watching certain sporting events is increasing. I’m not happy about Amazon locking up Thursday Night Football and did not like having to plan ahead for the NFL playoff game in January, but for the most part … […]
RichC | March 20, 2024
I’m of the opinion that there are three basic issues we Americans need to address when discussing what should be done with TikTok — be it a ban, divested ownership or continue under Chinese ownership and control. The Chinese Communist Party (government) uses the social media platform to collect data on U.S. citizens/user and feeds […]
RichC | March 8, 2024
Google exec Prabhakar Raghavan explained, Gemini “may not always be reliable,” so “we recommend relying on Google Search, where separate systems surface fresh, high-quality information on these kinds of topics from sources across the web.” Google is scrambling to tamp down a political uproar after its recently launched Gemini artificial intelligence app depicted the pope, […]
RichC | March 6, 2024
After recently visiting Sea World in Orlando with our family … and posting on Orcas and Sharks for years here on MyDesultoryBlog.com … this ABC Good Morning America YouTube video of an Orca attacking a Great White Shark was amazing:
RichC | February 29, 2024
If you are a regular reader, then the answer is “yes” … I’ve been a bit distracted from posting regularly on MDB for the past couple of weeks. I promise to get better in March. Part of my distraction has been enjoying down time with Brenda in Florida and with my daughter and her family […]
RichC | February 28, 2024
Court ‘Didn’t Stop Me’ – “ The President ignores the law again as he forgives more student debt. The total is now $138 billion and counting.” WSJOpinion February 23, 2024 article link He’s not really cancelling anything because he’s transferring the debt from the borrowers it benefited to the taxpayers who will finance it with […]
RichC | February 2, 2024
As a long time Apple device buyer and user, I do tend to follow the company’s new gadgets. The Apple Vision Pro VR headset looks interesting, but limited as to what reason most of us would currently spend thousands of dollar to buy ($3500). After reading about it for months and glancing at the pre-release […]
RichC | January 12, 2024
Well then there’s an ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) for that … finally. But now the decision, which one do you add to your investment portfolio? Check out this article on CNBC and chart of ETFs and fees. The bitcoin exchange-traded funds launching Thursday after the SEC’s long-awaited approval come at a wide variety of price […]
RichC | December 29, 2023
The IRS has set the new tax brackets to adjust for inflation beginning in January 2024. The update is to shift higher by 5.4%, but for 2023 taxes that most of us will be filing before April 15 and saw even more “bracket creep” due to the previously year’s inflation. Here are the changes […]
RichC | November 25, 2023
This first story is from my son-in-law Drew, and highlights just how communication for doctors has changed throughout the years. The “pager” is synonymous with doctors as hospitals and medical offices have used them for years to communicate quickly. Sure they pretty much all have cellphones and smartwatches these days (they do also still use […]
RichC | October 28, 2023
What is there about October that upsets people and financial markets? For nearly a century investors get nervous this time of year. Unfortunately watching the market as closely as I do, one would think I would have sold stocks at the first sign of trouble in October. Nope, I expected better from a few of […]
RichC | October 19, 2023
Those who are elected (or strong-armed their way to power) are failing miserably at keeping peace in our world as we teeter on the edge of yet another war. No matter how advance we think we are, human beings are unable to get along with each other. Stock Market Indices market close 10/18/2023 Stock market […]
RichC | October 14, 2023
Like most … but depressingly not all Americans … I’ve been heavy hearted and angry this week after Hamas terrorist slaughtered innocent Israeli civilians (including 27 Americans) and took an estimated 150 hostages back to Gaza. I’m not sure how those who side with Hamas and their backers (Iran) can explain away such horrific murder, but […]
RichC | October 10, 2023
Hatred runs deep in the middle-east as many in the Arab world have never accepted the State of Israel … which is probably an understatement. I haven’t posted on the “war” (as declared on Saturday by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) at this point since so much is unknown, but television news coverage is 24/7. […]
RichC | August 30, 2023
The good news is that Hurricane Idalia waited until morning to come ashore and did it in a less populated area of Florida, know as the Florida’s Nature Coast. The bad news is that it is low and ill prepared compared when it comes to construction (more manufactured homes and less hardened hurricane capable buildings). […]
RichC | August 8, 2023
Archiving an article from last week’s Barron Magazine which highlighted what I’ve been noticing with homeowner insurance rates on our condo in Florida. When I called the agent about the increase last year, she commented that I should be thankful for the increase as it was on the lower side compared to most. Yikes .. […]
RichC | June 27, 2023
This past weekend I started a new book that I’ve been looking forward to reading since “Saved: A War Reporter’s Mission to Make It Home” was released in March 2023. Benjamin Hall’s book is one I should have purchased in the spring, but since I had a pile of reading to get through, I opted […]
RichC | May 27, 2023
Once again, politicians are taking our US SPENDING and BORROWING problem right to the wire. Everyone knows that eventually politicians will just raise the debt ceiling and borrow more. The Republicans want spending cuts and the Democrats want a “clean increase” so as to be able to pay promised liabilities (previous spending) and we all […]
RichC | May 18, 2023
Most people spend their lives going to school, focused on work and career, raising their family and after 6 decades or so can plan for the day they shift gears and retire. The question arises, what do you want to do and where do you want to live when you aren’t restricted by school and […]
RichC | May 13, 2023
Which airline do you fly most often? We had a bad experience last summer on AirCanada and probably won’t ever flight with them again … on the other hand, we fly Southwest all the time and thankfully didn’t fly during their “meltdown (click charts for larger).” Even after the December 2022 flightmare by Southwest Airlines, […]
RichC | May 4, 2023
While waiting for the big TWO TRILLION dollar company that is Apple ($AAPL) to report earning after hours on Thursday (story), I’m contemplating the likely outcome of accelerated interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. Obviously concluding that “inflation in transitory,” as the Fed Chair commented after the pandemic, was the incorrect assumption … and […]
RichC | April 25, 2023
Although it is not unusual for news organizations to let very popular news opinion personality go … with FoxNews I can recall Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reilly … most regular viewers were probably shocked to see Tucker Carlson let go on Monday (April 24, 2023). It was interesting to hear Glenn Beck comment on it […]
RichC | April 18, 2023
Yup … ENFORCEMENT. … hundreds of IRS applications have been around for at least 25 years and dozens that have been in existence for more than 50. There were also pieces of software running 15 updates behind the current version. Fifteen! That’s like using a new iPhone with the iOS from the original iPhone … […]
RichC | April 15, 2023
For years now I have thought there was something to the Mediterranean diet and in drinking red wine with a meal. I’ve tried to put at least the “red wine” part of this into my regular diet and continue to read articles and studies that promote the positives of antioxidants for the heart — grape […]
RichC | April 13, 2023
There is part of me that can’t help but smile when seeing the new label that Elon Musk’s Twitter put on NPR’s feed. The left-leaning taxpayer-funded media title is partially accurate since tax dollars are used to support public radio and television. At this point with the variety of media news and programming available in […]
RichC | April 12, 2023
Guess when this Fed news came out? High inflation and tight labor markets led Federal Reserve officials to signal they could raise interest rates at their next meeting despite a higher likelihood the economy would enter a recession later this year. Fed officials considered skipping a rate increase at their meeting last month but concluded […]
RichC | April 6, 2023
There is probably a new survey or report out every month or so comparing the cost of living in different areas of the country. I usually gloss over them for one reason or another. Some exclude income taxes, state and local taxes or hefty property taxes. Others ignore lower salaries and some just don’t factor in […]
RichC | March 29, 2023
My daily routine, at least when I’m in town, is to DVR the evening news, “Special Report” at 6PM. I generally watch it and skip the commercials while eating … when it is permitted by Brenda. HA! The daily new wrap-up is probably not edifying since it includes a good dose of disfunctional national politics […]
RichC | March 16, 2023
The South China Sea has become a hotly contested region in recent years, with multiple countries claiming various parts of the sea as their own. China, in particular, has been actively asserting its dominance over the region by building military structures and increasing its naval presence in the area. The WSJ published a detailed article […]
RichC | March 4, 2023
With area code 513 phone numbers in shortened supply in our Southwest Ohio area, “the Public Service Commission of Ohio has approved an all-services area code overlay for the 513 area code, which serves southwest Ohio including the communities of Cincinnati, Cleves, Forest Park, Hamilton, Lebanon, Maineville, Mason, Miamitown, Middletown, Norwood, Oxford, Trenton and West […]