Your Survival Guy

Preparing your investments and family for when disaster strikes.

Compensation was paid to utilize rankings. Click here to read full disclosure.

New Rate Boost by Bumbling Fed Still Asleep at the Wheel

By

Money-Truck-1024x789Are you shocked? You shouldn’t be. The Fed’s mini-quarter of a point increase in interest rates yesterday was long-overdue—we’ve been saying so for years (read here, here, here,and here)—and the three more increases expected for next year fall well short of our 4% target. Why? Because the 90-day Treasury needs to get to 4% and it needs to get there pronto, plain and simple.

The North Star, as Dick Young refers to the T-Bill, which has been lost in the night sky for years now, is beginning to flicker (see the big jump in rates on the chart below).

Life Comes at You Fast. Slow It Down with My Friday Email. It’s Free.

It’s been a long-cold winter. Retirees and savers have been paid squat, a savings tax no-doubt, from a misguided zero-point-zero percent interest rate experiment. Those living on Main Street have been the ones footing the bill, not NYC Wall Street banks.

As far as Yellen and Co. are concerned, they can thank President-elect Donald Trump for the early Christmas gift—the Trump rally. And this is just the beginning. A Trump White House will provide the much needed confidence a politicized Fed needs to make its stair-step-to-heaven quarter point increases (should be much faster) to get the North Star shining bright, for all the world to see, again.

t-bill-yield

The following two tabs change content below.
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Instagram profile

E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West (RIP JB) and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Instagram profile

Latest posts by E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy (see all)

Recent Posts from YourSurvivalGuy.com

Digital Dollars: A Warning Where You’re the Prey

In my conversations with you, you voice your concerns about the digitization of the dollar. Clearly, there are publications out there warning the sky is falling. It’s unsettling at best. Then, over the holidays with your family and friends, you bring up the subject, and the person you’re talking with doesn’t have a clue. Life […]

You Can See Where Big Government Is Headed

Read Your Survival Guy’s Digital Dollars: A Warning Where You’re the Prey, and you can see where big government and big states are headed. That’s why I want you to look for your peace of mind in a Super State. You’ve read lately about the Supreme Court case Moore vs. U.S. in a couple of posts […]

You Can’t Escape a Digital Dollar

You don’t need to dig too hard to see how big states want to keep you locked in. That’s why Your Survival Guy wants you to find your Super State. The digital dollar is their collar. In a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, James Freeman highlights Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s calls to make New York even […]

Don’t Make Moves You Might Regret

The pressures of the holidays are building. Don’t let this infiltrate your investments by making moves you may regret. Don’t buy mutual funds right before a distribution you may owe taxes on next year. But do consider making moves where you might benefit from spreading tax obligations over several years. Life Comes at You Fast. […]

Listen to What They Say about YOUR Money

You recently read about how the Supreme Court could stop a wealth tax before it even starts. That’s scaring some politicians because they already consider that wealth to be theirs. Just look at this headline from USA Today: “This couple is fighting $15,000 in taxes. Their case could cost Washington trillions.” Cost Washington trillions? The […]

Is It Almost Riot Season Again in America?

In City Journal, Christopher Rufo wonders if radical left-wing activists are preparing to incite riots in 2024 the same way they did in 2020 in order to shift the narratives of the presidential campaign. He writes: The resurgence of public protests in support of Hamas has revealed a disturbing truth: the left-wing rioting following George […]

Your Key to Retirement Wealth

When you look at your lifetime of earnings, you realize your key to retirement wealth is keeping what you’ve made. Too many investors are separated from their money by looking for markets to make their dreams come true. The arithmetic of portfolio losses makes it difficult to rebuild the wealth you earned the hard way […]

HARDSHIP WITHDRAWAL: Do You Have Emergency Funds?

According to a new study by Fidelity, Americans are increasingly turning to their 401(k)s to withdraw money in what are known as hardship withdrawals. As explained by Fidelity “Hardship withdrawals are only available to workers experiencing an “immediate and heavy” financial need as defined by the IRS. They are only allowed to withdraw funds to […]

EVERGRANDE: The World’s Most Indebted Property Developer

You have read about how investors in Evergrande, the world’s most indebted property developer, are “counting on the commies” for help as the company is restructured or potentially liquidated. A long-delayed liquidation hearing was scheduled for Monday, but it was once again delayed. Leaving creditors with little understanding of what they can expect from Evergrande […]

Risk and Reward: An Efficient Frontier

Originally posted July 26, 2018. The Efficient Frontier, created by Harry Markowitz in 1952, measures the efficient diversification of investments that delivers the highest level of return at the lowest possible risk. Investors must consider the trade-offs between risk and reward in their portfolios. You can see on the chart below an efficient frontier line […]

Stop America’s Zombie Apocalypse before It Starts

Your Survival Guy has unfortunately experienced the discomfort and uncertainty of a prolonged natural gas outage. When gas service went out in much of Newport, RI, back in 2019, it took days to recover, and many people in town faced significant hardship. Your Survival Guy and Gal did just fine, but it was a real-time […]

Small Government Just Works

You have read a lot on Your Survival Guy about how states that treat residents like customers rather than like piggy banks to withdraw funds from are winning. Your Survival Guy’s 2023 Super States features a group of states that put residents ahead of politicians’ personal agendas by focusing on lower taxes, and smaller government. […]

Locking In a Generational Opportunity in Fixed Income

UPDATE 11.30.23: Have you added fixed income to your portfolio yet? After over a decade of loose monetary policy, some investors have forgotten about the benefits of fixed income in their portfolios. Some younger investors have come into adulthood having never experienced bond yields worth sinking their teeth into. Now they can. Don’t miss a […]

RIP Charlie Munger: Keeping It Simple Never Goes out of Style

You may have read that Charlie Munger, the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, has passed away. Munger was a legend in the world of investing, and was known, as Jason Zweig of The Wall Street Journal explains, “for his straightforward advice to business leaders.” Zweig writes: Business and financial leaders made frequent pilgrimages to Los […]