The cost of money drives everything. It ultimately determines the price of your home mortgage and that complex inverted lease funding your next solar project. It can accelerate growth and employment on to the Rocketship Inflation or crush them into dust. These are unassailable facts. What is not so clear is where those rates are going under President Trump’s […]
What to do when you really need your project approved!
Getting your next project approved is a bit like dating: You need to present yourself positively and professionally at the first night out ‘cuz you do not get a second chance to make a first impression. Candidly, this rule of thumb applies to the full range of project applications we see from the $30 Million transaction we’re […]
Forecasting the Economy v. Ski Season
I live in Colorado and ski season accounts for $4.8 billion of our state’s annual economy. It supports more than 46,000 year-round jobs and generates $1.9 billion in labor income so it’s darned important to us – including my aging knees that have been skiing since I was a kid. So, when I get it in […]
Will it be a Crash Landing or a Greaser?
Many of you know I’m a recreational pilot proudly holding a license since 1979 and with the emphasis on “recreational”, I fly on severe clear days: No clouds for me! Now the joke in flying is any landing you walk away from is a good landing…and I disagree: I’ve always worked hard to let the wheels of my Piper […]
Evaluating Hard Equity Loans: The Importance of Hurdle Rates in Equipment Financing
I have a good friend in Denver that makes “hard equity” loans on commercial real estate – something like 50% loan to value and at fairly high rates. It’s a tool that investors and developers can use when they’re in a hurry or have a deal outside the scope of a bank. And he always looks the […]
The Election Year Blues
George Soros once said “Markets are constantly in a state of uncertainty and flux and money is made by discounting the obvious and betting on the unexpected.” and there are few things in life more uncertain than an election. George went to the London School of Economics, a nice pedigree and it’s widely known the wealthiest […]
At the End of 2023…
Wow…this was quite the year! I’ll spare you the visits to the politics, wars and similar rips to the fabric of humanity. I will try and focus on some good old fashioned economic bon mots: Starting with the famed 10 Year Treasury benchmark…it’s been quite a ride: …and then the all too oft mentioned inverted yield curve […]
Forecasts Are More Art Than Science
According to our friends at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, a seven-day forecast can accurately predict the weather about 80 percent of the time and a five-day forecast approximately 90 percent of the time. However, a 10-day—or longer—forecast is only right about half the time. EA Sports boasts a 50% accuracy for the NFL and […]
Not My Bank
For those of you who remember, Bailey Savings & Loan might have gotten a lousy credit rating in today’s world causing a run on the bank due to Uncle Billy misplacing $8,000. On August 7th, Moody’s downgraded[i] the following banks and you can see what happened to their stock: Now in and of itself, that’s not a […]
The Dog Days of Summer
The internet is full of myth and mystery – fact and fiction so you need to take your own grain of salt to this origin to “The Dog Days of Summer”: Ancient Greeks noticed that Sirus—which they dubbed the “dog star” as it is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major—appears to rise alongside the […]