Finance Explained
S3-5: What Drives Gas Prices?
Gas prices have been on a roller coaster ride in 2022. In the first half of 2022, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drove energy prices to their highest point in well over a decade. Ongoing supply chain disruptions, lingering from the pandemic, and shuttered refining capacity translated those oil prices into all-time high gas prices at…
Read More >>>S3-4: Q3 GDP Surprise, Bear Market Rally & A Deep Dive on How to Get Scholarships for College
As October neared its close last week, markets rallied to post positive monthly returns for just the third time this year. Is it a bear market rally or have we seen the bottom and are we on our way to recovery? Behind the rally? We had a positive Q3 GDP surprise and a range of…
Read More >>>S3-3: What is OPEC, the Labor Market & A Deep Dive on the Importance of Understanding Our Economy
It was another eventful week for the markets and global economy last week. OPEC+ made waves economically and politically with its announcement to cut oil production, major employment releases sent mixed messages on the labor market, and more on the Twitter / Musk buyout as the saga continues. To learn more on all of these,…
Read More >>>S3-2: Bear Market, the British Pound & A Deep Dive on Estate and Will Planning
It feels like I start every week off this way lately, but last week was a newsworthy one for financial markets in many ways. All major US stock indices – the Dow, S&P 500, and the Nasdaq – are all firmly in bear market territory. Market volatility continues to remain high, and last week was…
Read More >>>S3-1: Is the US Economy Currently in a Recession?
After my annual summer hiatus, there’s one question I have been getting more than any other: are we in a recession? By traditional historical measures, knowing what happens during a recession, the short answer is likely yes. But the official group that declares recessions has not yet, so what are they waiting for? Here are…
Read More >>>S2-20: Market Free Fall, April Inflation & Deep Dive on Why is Childcare So Expensive
Last week, we saw the 6th consecutive week of down markets, with both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ hitting new lows, as investors continue to digest the latest Fed rate hike and last week’s April inflation numbers. Catch it all on this week’s podcast, along with a deep dive on the childcare dilemma featuring three…
Read More >>>S2-19: Bear Market, Q1 GDP Miss & A Deep Dive on Cryptocurrency and NFTs
Last week, we saw the 4th consecutive week of down markets, with April performance coming in as the worst month since March 2020 for the S&P 500, and the worst month for the NASDAQ since 2008. The week also included an expected decline in real GDP for Q1 2022, adding credibility to investors’ recession concerns.…
Read More >>>S2-18: Market Correcting, Housing Update & A Deep Dive on US Agriculture and Rising Food Prices
On this week’s episode of Finance Explained, the market had its third consecutive down week this month and is now in correction mode and headed for bear market territory. I’ve got the latest on the housing market through March, as the spring selling season starts to pick up. And this week’s deep dive features a…
Read More >>>Market Update 4-4-2022
Last week, we saw the end of March, the end of the first quarter and the start of a new month. The market eked out a gain for the week, finished up for March, but had its worst quarterly performance since Q1 2020 at the start of the pandemic. In other economic news for the…
Read More >>>Market Update 3-28-2022
Last week, the market rallied for the second week in a row, finishing the week up +1.8%, up +3.9% for March thus far, but still down -4.7% for the year. The big story of the week, however, was a major move in interest rates. Learn just how much interest rates are increasing, what’s driving it,…
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