by John O'Connell | Feb 24, 2023 | Big Picture, Blogs, Canada, E-Commerce, Investing, Stocks, Technology, United States
Rich Companies Get Richer When Things Get Tough. Sometimes it is helpful to think of companies like teams competing against each other. There are big, strong, elite teams and there are wannabes. Recessions are viewed as bad by investors because profitability is...
by John O'Connell | Feb 24, 2023 | Big Picture, Blogs, Canada, Disruption, Financial Planning, Investing, Stocks, Technology, Top Ideas, United States
Much has been made of the big layoffs happening in the big mega-cap companies. Some believe that these companies hired too much or built too much during the pandemic. It’s an interesting criticism when you consider how much these companies supported the whole...
by John O'Connell | Dec 29, 2022 | Big Picture, Blogs, Canada, Financial Planning, Investing, Stocks, United States
If there’s one word that encapsulated the stock market this year, it would be “unpredictable.” In a way, “awful” would also work. The 20% year-to-date collapse in the S&P 500 Index is the worst year since 2008. Happy holidays, indeed. I wrote at the end of last...
by John O'Connell | Nov 20, 2022 | Big Picture, Blogs, Canada, E-Commerce, Financial Planning, Investing, Stocks, United States
A widely followed U.S. Federal Reserve survey gauging economic activity was released this past week. The news would have you worry about impending doom. The facts are that the model estimate for real GDP growth during Q4 is 4.4% today, up from 4.0% on November 9....
by John O'Connell | Sep 27, 2022 | Big Picture, Blogs, Financial Planning, Investing, Stocks
Inflation is the most spoken word when discussing the state of the economy these days. To kill inflation, interest rates are raised to the point where business and consumers spend less. This causes people to lose jobs. The combination of reduced spending and growing...