If we follow the weather person – March is in like a lion with all the turmoil in the banking markets. We can only hope it will be out like a lamb. We are not customers of Silicon Valley Bank or First Republic though we have done business with Signature – three very different stories with sadly […]
Author: David Clamage
What was Old is New
History really does repeat itself – after all, we live on an enclosed social/political/ecosystem without a pipeline to another planet. That results in a finite number of things we can do and the resulting outcomes. For example, Mikhail Gorbachev was running out of money with a teetering economy and he needed to be better friends with […]
Should I Borrow Money Today?
If you search for “debt” at www.brainyquote.com you will find over 20 pages of suggestions including some of my favorites: Home life ceases to be free and beautiful as soon as it is founded on borrowing and debt. Henrik Ibsen – the same man that wrote “Peer Gynt” and “A Doll’s House” The United States can pay […]
Calculating Interest Rates: #4 of 4: The Swans on the Economic Lake
This will be my 4th post on the very convoluted topic of interest rates. There are so many factors that can and do influence their movement – from Jay Powell and the US Federal Reserve to the Right Honorable Jeremy Hunt, MP, as Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer to the market giants like Goldman Sachs and […]
Calculating Interest Rates: #3 of 4: What is in the Crystal Ball?
Interest rates continue to be in the top news items: Russia – Ukraine; North Korea; Climate Change; Politics; and, Inflation. Being an economist by education, I can even find a way to relate all of these factors to the cost of money and that would be more opinion than fact. Remember, if you line up […]
Calculating Interest Rates: #2 of 4: The Muni OBJ
There are few higher profile topics in todays’ news than interest rates: We’re reminded of the tremendous global impact Paul Volcker had from 1979 thru 1987; we learn even more about the Federal Reserve and their influence on our lives since Federal Reserve Chair Powell is following that same playbook working to rein in inflation; […]
What to expect when trying to approve a lease
We like getting questions and it was asked if we could talk a bit about the process to approve a lease. So, breaking that down to (a) Muni – Large and Small; (b) App[lication] Only commercial; (c) Full Package Commercial; and, (d) Structured Transactions, let’s start with the Muni or MUSH market – Municipal, University, School […]
If You’re Not Moving… You’re Standing Still
I can think of a few things I don’t like: Going to the dentist, bad sushi, and moving! I moved this past month and while things have settled down a bit, it was no fun. Dealing with the service providers we use for things like the Internet and phone were dismal experiences and some of our suppliers – […]
The Price of Inaction
We are all guilty of indulging in the comfort of “the same old thing”. We drive the same route to the office, drink our coffee the same way – a Bialetti and vanilla milk for me, and use the same “tried andtrue” techniques in running our businesses. However, are they really tried and true or […]
What is stagflation and why should you care?
John Maynard Keynes gave us the definition of inflation for the modern era adding a few causes and cures. One cure is printing enough money to create growth and jobs to promote economic growth. Well, we have printed money! In 2020 alone we poured some $5 Trillion into the economy or enough money to lay $100 bills end to […]