Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that can be used to buy and sell goods and services anonymously, without the involvement of a bank or government. Transactions are tracked by a network of independent computers using blockchain technology. Recently, bitcoin has received much press, not because of its use as a currency, but because its value appreciated over 20,000% in 2017. What is the underlying reason for the appreciation of bitcoin? More

Investors of bitcoin are not the faint of heart. Their wild ride took them from a low of $739.55 to a high of $19,870.62 in 2017. (Yahoo Finance) During the ride the value experienced swings greater than 5% in a single day on 240 occasions. (That is the equivalent of the Dow Jones Industrial Average moving approximately 1,000 points in a day.) What caused the huge changes in value? Supply and demand, of course! The demand for bitcoin has been a tug of war between speculators and investors who be More

The US economy grew at 2.3% in 2017. It picked up steam in the second and third quarters when growth exceeded 3%. The drop to 2.6% in the fourth quarter is not alarming because the overall strength remains strong. Unemployment has fallen to its lowest level since 2000. Personal incomes are increasing. Inflation remains low, but there are signs inflation is increasing because wage increases continue to outpace inflation More

Mr. Mike Sharples, who serves on our board, recently wrote an intriguing blog that uses a basketball analogy to explain the stock indexes, investment risk, while providing some valuable insights about the future. I enjoy investing and watching basketball (I am too old and short to play), so I wanted to share it with you. Thanks Mike for giving us permission to do so. More