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 Good morning TAG Talk faithful!As the days have gotten shorter in 2024, current events have also gotten more relevant for our newsletters. The flavor of the week is a burgeoning dockworker strike that has shut down 14 east coast and gulf coast ports. This standoff pits U.S. Maritime Alliance (known as USMX) against the International Longshoremen’s Association (known as ILA) which represents roughly 25,000 striking workers at the ports that are currently closed. At issue is the expiry

  Good morning TAG Talk readers! It has been a while since we last delivered our thoughts to you, hasn’t it? Ultimately, the markets have performed well, the economy has been marching onward, and we lacked a meaningful subject to highlight for you. The Election is less than 2 months around the corner, and that definitely feels like a worthy subject to chat with you about. Typically, we receive more than a few calls from clients with angst about what

 Happy New Year TAG Faithful!2024 has arrived in style with the potential for interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. At their mid-December meeting, Fed Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stated that he and his governors had decided to hold the Federal Funds Rate for overnight deposits steady at the current 5.25%-5.50% target, with a projection for at least three rate cuts in 2024. These cuts are projected to be measured in 0.25% (quarter percentage point) increments. Assuming that The Fed s

  Good afternoon TAG Talks Faithful,I don’t think I’ve ever attempted to write on a more difficult subject than the Israel/Hamas war. On one side, we feel that it is important to inform you of economic implications, and on the other side we fully appreciate the strong visceral feelings caused by the entire Israel/Palestine subject. Bear with us as we briefly discuss what we think we know about the economic implications for you as an investor. 

 As we march towards another presidential election cycle, and exist in perceived uncertain times, the “Gold bug” mindset has risen in popularity again as folks are bombarded by advocates for the lustrous yellow metal. Gold has been incredibly important to societies worldwide for over a millennium, and today we will talk through a bit of the history as well practical considerations for and against owning gold.  

 Pardon the mild clickbait title of this blog, but within it are two questions often asked about Artificial Intelligence. As a buzz term, “A.I.” means a variety of different things to different people. To some, A.I. is the bringer of the end times and a danger to the human race, while more opportunistic Generation Z individuals have embraced A.I. as a helpful tool for doing homework. Through the uncertainty of what A.I. really is and what it can become to society, I would like t

The Fed Funds Rate Is the Backbone of Bank Lending/BorrowingThe U.S. Federal Reserve (we’ll call it “the Fed”) is tasked with the dual mandate of achieving stable prices and to maximize employment. When necessary, the Fed manipulates The Federal Funds Rate as well as the money supply to find the right balance between those two goals. The Federal Funds Rate is the benchmark that commercial banks use to lend their excess reserves to each other on an overnight basis.We have had re

Written by Dan Rodbell, Director of Investment Strategy In this month’s market commentary, we’ll be discussing the current debt ceiling standoff. With more of a commentary touch on the political intrigue involved, we’ll cover the potential outcomes of whether or not we raise the debt ceiling before a default occurs. We believe this topic merits a discussion because the outcome has the  potential to drastically impact the health of the United States’ economy as well as