The recovery from last year’s break down is complete. Stock prices moved higher last week with the S&P 500 closing at a new all-time high of 2,939.88 on Friday. At that point, the index was up 17.27% year to date and 25.04% from the Christmas Eve low. Economic news continued to support the belief that […]
Read MoreMonth: April 2019
Nonprofit Service by TCK Team Members
Last week, Stephen A. English, C.T.F.A., Chairman & CEO of The Trust Company of Kansas (TCK), shared information in an article titled Charitable Giving is Growing Nicely. In it, we learned that total gifts to charities exceeded $400 billion for the first time ever, totaling $410.02 billion in 2017. We also learned that nearly a […]
Read MoreEarnings Estimates Adjusted Higher
U.S. stocks were flat to slightly higher in anemic trading in the short week ending Thursday. With roughly 15% of companies reporting, the consensus estimate for composite earnings has improved to a decline of 3.8%. Activity will pick up this week as a much heavier flow of Q1 earnings reports begins. Our advice remains unchanged. […]
Read MoreCharitable Giving is Growing Nicely
The nonprofit sector did very well in 2017, according to the June 2018 report issued by Giving USA. Total gifts to charity exceeded $400 billion for the first time ever, totaling $410.02 billion in 2017. Gifts from individuals are the largest component, and were $14 billion ahead of the 2016 pace. All giving sectors grew, […]
Read MoreExpectations, Near and Far
Stocks were putting together a lackluster week until Friday morning when the first Q1 earnings announcements began with a couple of the big banks who reported better than expected results. The positive results suggested to some that the consensus expectation for a year over year earnings contraction of 4%, may be the floor for this […]
Read MoreA Novel Way to Beat Estate Taxes?
The longest recorded human lifespan is 122 years, 164 days. The record is held by Jeanne Calment, who lived in Arles, France. Born in 1875, Jeanne reportedly had an encounter with Vincent Van Gogh at her uncle’s shop. When Jeanne was 90 years old, she had outlived her daughter and her grandson, and had no […]
Read MoreExpectations at the End of Q1
Economic data became more volatile in the final months of last year and the early months of 2019. Some unexpected softness in retail sales and a leveling off of consumer optimism added to the ongoing sluggishness in home sales and business capital investment. The Fed had raised short term rates as the economy grew through […]
Read MoreChoosing an Advisor
A good first step in the process of evaluating a financial advisor is to determine what is at the center of the advisor’s approach. Become skeptical, if the advice you receive begins to revolve around products as the solutions to your achieving your goals. Processes, rather than products, should be the primary approach of a […]
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