What is happening with the economy and the markets? Is there any good news out there?

To say that 2022 has been a challenging year is an understatement. Starting with the first few days in January, this year has proven to be one of the most difficult in recent memory. We’ve experienced the terrible tragedy of the war in Ukraine, sky-high inflation figures that have not been seen since the Reagan administration, soaring energy prices around the globe and significant market declines across all major stock indexes.

So, is there any good news out there?

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Are You an Owner or a Renter?

Most times when you hear this question, it pertains to your primary residence. Do you own your home, or do you rent? While we could offer opinions on the subject and debate the pros and cons of each, the question I’m posing is not about your current living situation…it’s about your investments.

So, when thinking about your investments, are you an owner or a renter?

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The Election and the Stock Market

The months leading up to a presidential election is one of my least favorite times. The non-stop political ads, the unsolicited phone calls and text messages, and the never-ending arguments on social media can be stressful and overwhelming. It almost seems the election season tends to bring out the worst in some people.
But this Benedict Brief is not about personal preferences, it’s about the election and the stock market. We’ve received a lot of questions over the last few weeks regarding this topic, so we thought we should share our thoughts on the subject.
A typical question is something like, “Should we get out of the market before the election?”
Most of you probably know our answer to that question, but let’s look at some facts and history:

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The Dreaded March Statement

As we are all painfully aware, this month has been an exceptionally difficult time in the investment markets and could go down as one of the worst months in stock market history.  The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to spread causing global economies around the world to literally shutdown in an effort to contain the virus.  In addition to the thousands of virus-related deaths, the economic impact is unprecedented and the uncertainty of it all has taken its toll on global investment markets.Read More

The fears surrounding the Coronavirus outbreak have been building for the last few weeks, but those fears just hit the market this week. The markets have experienced a sharp selloff this week resulting in a 10% correction in the broad S&P 500 Index, it’s quickest correction in history.
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• Bull Market or Bear Market?
• 70% income tax rate?
• Pay My Mortgage Off?

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