Author Archive
GDP Rose Only 2% In 3Q, But Media Says That’s Great
Gary D. Halbert Between the Lines The Commerce Department reported on Tuesday that US Gross Domestic Product rose only 2.0% (annual rate) in the 3Q. That was down from 2.1% reported last month and way below the 3.9% rate achieved in the 2Q. Yet despite the small downward revision, some…
Fed Hikes Rate By 0.25% – Surprise, Surprise… No Surprise
Gary D. Halbert Between the Lines I don’t know about you, but I am happy that the two-year rate game by the Fed is finally over. The markets apparently agree that it was high-time the Fed charade about raising rates was over – stocks rallied strongly after yesterday’s announcement that…
Downtrend in High-Yield Bonds Could Hurt Stocks
Gary D. Halbert Between the Lines I have been out of town the last few days tending to my 97 year-old Mother-In-Law who had a heart operation on Monday. Since my wife Debi and I both work full-time at Halbert Wealth Management, we have been tag-teaming her Mom’s care over…
Latest Fed Minutes: December “Lift-Off” Now Very Likely
Gary D. Halbert Between the Lines The Fed released the minutes from the October policy meeting yesterday, and a majority of the members of the Fed Open Market Committee (FOMC) were in favor of a rate hike at the next policy meeting on December 15-16. Most participants anticipated that, based…
All The Candidates Want Tax Reform, But What Kind?
Gary D. Halbert Between the Lines All of the major contenders for the White House next year are proposing tax cuts or increases. All of the leading Republican candidates want to cut taxes in one way or another and eliminate some or all deductions. To no one’s surprise, Hillary Clinton…
Mortgage Debt – The Growing Retirement Dilemma
Gary D. Halbert Between the Lines How long has it been since you’ve seen a picture of someone burning their mortgage agreement after the loan was repaid? It was once a big deal, especially with the Greatest Generation. There was no joy like that last mortgage payment, and many of…