| As a Demographic Investment Advisor, our philosophy is to be proactive and not reactive.. Our investment strategy is demographically based on a blend of years of experience and just plain common sense. We spend significant hours each week researching, reviewing portfolios and analyzing demographic trends. This allows us to construct properly managed portfolios that get results. |
| It is this skill and preparation that guides us when we work with our clients. We can only hope, for your sake, your advisor is doing the same for you! If not, all we can say is "Don't you deserve a 2nd Opinion?" We can help people you know through this shake-out period. Now is the time to talk with them about our "market neutral" strategy for protecting their hard earned dollars. Won't you help by introducing them to us so they can ... take advantage of our Free 2nd Opinion Offer. Please call us at: (734) 261-4011. |
|
Kentucky State Workers Retiring
to Lock in Benefits
Ahead of Pension Crisis ...
|
|
Retirements increased by 20% over the same period last year.
|
Kentucky's 2 main pensions are 58% and 15% funded, and moving the wrong direction. The Bluegrass State hired a consultant to suggest ways out of the fiscal mess, and the proposals were difficult, to say the least.
The proposal to eliminate the use of sick day and leave accumulation to boost pension benefits makes sense and would stop workers from gaming the system. The consultant also recommended removing all cost of living adjustments going back 20 years. That one's going to hurt. Current retirees could see their checks cut by up to 25%.
Obviously, current workers see the writing on the wall. There's not enough money to pay everyone all the system promised, and they think they have a better shot at preserving their pensions if they count as retirees instead of workers.
|
The Aftermath of Hurricane
Harvey Comes Into Focus...
|
The storm dumped 33 Trillion gallons of water on the U.S., leaving behind more than 200,000 damaged homes and 600,000 damaged vehicles.
|
Houston must move more than 8 Million cubic yards of debris, and residents must rebuild.
Every step of the recovery requires investment, which will benefit a wide range of service providers and retailers. Home Depot and Lowe's are obvious, so are General Motors and Ford. But AutoNation and CarMax will also get a boost, as will Michael's and other general retailers as consumers buy everything from picture frames to barstools. And don't forget Clorox. Officials told Houston-area residents to bleach everything ... clothes, walls, garage floors, etc. ... to disinfect the soaked items ... heck of a way to jump start an economy!
|
Oil Inventory Increased
4.6 Million Barrels, Gasoline
Fell -3.2 Million Barrels
...
|
The numbers reflect the adverse effects of Hurricane Harvey on the Houston area.
|
More oil and less gasoline tells the story. The U.S. pumped 500,000 barrels of oil into the economy from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, but the move was unnecessary. We have plenty of crude. The hurricane shut down refining... for a few days. Houston is getting back up to speed. This is very different from what happened during Hurricane Katrina. Back then, most U.S. oil production was in the Gulf of Mexico, so the storm shut it down for weeks. Now, production is mostly inland, coming from frackers, who were unaffected by the recent storm.
Hurricane Irma shouldn't affect the price of oil or gasoline because there are no refineries in Florida. That doesn't mean there won't be any fuel issues. The price might not change, but there probably won't be any fuel to buy for a few days.
|
This Week's Events Reviewed
In Next Digest
|
The 2nd week of September is light on economic reports. The only numbers of note will be on inflation and industrial production. The economic news will likely center on the continued aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and the cleanup following Hurricane Irma.
|
|
Our Demographic & Economic Digest provides an excellent opportunity for timely dialogue. I value your opinion and feedback and would love to hear from you. What do you think?
Sincerely,
Bob
Robert A. Hardies, CFP, MS, ATP
Financial & Portfolio Advisors, Ltd.
|
|
|
