To Inform: Wow, what a week in the financial markets.  This week saw three big market-moving events: 1.  July 31, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 0.25% in a move that was widely expected.  Before and after the announcement, the market was generally flat but had a sharp negative reaction during Chairman Powell’s press […]

To Inspire: We’ve been discussing the power of forming good habits as a way to live lives of purpose, passion, and joy. There’s another kind of habit that also is essential to living this kind of life – the habit of living with humility. If greed is the root of all evil (as the Bible […]

To Inspire: We came across this post on Guideposts.org.  Written by Roberta Messner, it offers 9 tips for living a satisfying life.  We’ve reprinted the post below – enjoy! Source: vimeo.com   Health. Happiness. Success. It’s what we all seek in life, what we’ve been told leads to a satisfying life. Too often, however, these […]

To Inform:  The stock market is currently in the midst of quarterly earnings season.  As of July 25th, 61 companies within the S&P 500 are reporting their earnings for the 2nd quarter, and next week, 160 companies are reporting. So, with the stock market hovering around record highs, earnings growth for U.S. companies must be […]

To Inspire: We continue our study of building better habits as shared in James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits. Let’s continue our discussion of the two-minute rule.  Clear calls these small habits gateway habits because they lead to the important habit that moves us towards the best version of ourselves. Recall Clear’s example of Twyla Tharp […]

To Inform: One question I (Travis) get often from people who know what line of work I’m in is “what’s driving the market?”  The financial certifications I studied years ago would suggest the answer to that question should be corporate earnings, cash flows, valuations, and economic growth.  Lately though, the conversations seem to gravitate toward […]

To Inspire: We continue our discussion on habits that move us closer to our own personal version of a great life.  In today’s WealthNotes, we discuss the “2-minute rule,” as shared by James Clear in his book, Atomic Habits. The premise is that it is tempting to pursue a new habit by starting too big. […]

To Inspire: I (Matt) am reading a fascinating book, Building A Story Brand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen, by Donald Miller. Source:  www.buildingastorybrand.com   The overall strategy he shares is powerful and can be applied broadly, including, even, our personal lives.  To illustrate, let me share the principles he uses – principles that […]

To Inform:  This Friday and Saturday, the G20 Summit of world leaders is being held in Osaka, Japan.  President Trump is already in Osaka as this note is being typed and multiple global issues will be discussed including global climate change, North Korea denuclearization, and tensions with Iran. Source:  www.G20.org   Perhaps the biggest focus […]

To Inspire: Source: www.csw.osu.edu   Mark and I attended a reception last night in celebration of the 100th anniversary of OSU’s College of Social Work, founded in 1919.  Our father, Joe Palmer, was an alum of the College and a member of their Hall of Fame.  The event was held in a large hangar at […]