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 […]
Tag: FINANCE
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 […]
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 […]
How Far Down is the Bottom of the Cliff?
It’s hard to write these blogs sometimes – there so little good news except for my Denver Nuggets winning the Oscar Robertson Trophy for the first time in Denver Nuggets history! Maybe that’s a good sign for the future ‘cuz with politicians vs. business women and men running our economy, we’re not getting any free throws. […]
The World’s Reserve Currency… is not reserved!
Being the World’s Reserve Currency – the US Dollar – has an outsized influence on global affairs. It’s what all the “other” countries hold in their central banks to make sure they can pay their global bills. If you’re buying wheat from Kansas, it’s obvious you’re paying in dollars…what’s not so obvious is that bottle of French […]
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: #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; […]