Appalachia Service Project – Life in Perspective Appalachia Service Project – Life in Perspective By Cali Howe This past June, I had the opportunity to travel to West Virginia as part of a Pembroke Youth Service Project in the heart of the Appalachia Mountains. During my week-long stay, I worked alongside a dedicated team to build a wheelchair ramp …
2025 Second Half Outlook
The second half of 2025 is underway. And now that we’ve enjoyed our final Fourth of July festivities before the big Bisesquicentennial celebrations next year (250 years is hard to believe – I can still remember standing on the side of the road in back in 1976 watching the Bicentennial Wagon Train Pilgrimage roll by as it wrapped up its …
The Power Strain
The explosive rise of artificial intelligence has made semiconductors the new oil, but electricity may become the new constraint. As demand for data centers surges, driven by large language models and the companies that are building them, America’s power grid is being pushed to its limits. The U.S. is beginning to face a growing energy crisis, compounded by geopolitical tensions …
How Times Change
It all seems very bizarre. I was born in 1973, so three ubiquitous kid fears were subconsciously ingrained into my adolescent and adult subconscious. One is an irrational feeling of alarm at the sight of nuclear power plant cooling towers (Three Mile Island accident in 1979). Another is the omnipresent threat that the world will be spontaneously obliterated by global …
The Monday Minute: Retirement vs. Non-Qualified Accounts: Key Differences in Naming Beneficiaries
When it comes to estate planning, naming beneficiaries on your investment accounts is a powerful tool because it helps assets pass directly to your heirs, avoiding probate. But how you name beneficiaries can vary depending on whether the account is a retirement account or a non-qualified (non-retirement) account. For retirement accounts such as IRAs and 401ks, beneficiary designation is essential. These …
Jaws
“That’s some bad hat, Harry” – Chief Martin Brody, Jaws, 1975 It is the golden anniversary for the summer blockbuster. The movie that began the wave of packing theaters during the summer was Jaws, which is still the seventh highest grossing movie of all time on an inflation adjusted basis. The genius of the film that captivated audiences during the …
Water
“The water understands Civilization well; It wets my foot, but prettily, It chills my life, but wittily, It is not disconcerted It is not broken-hearted: Well used, it decketh joy, Adorneth, doubleth joy:” – Water | Ralph Waldo Emerson (1867) It’s been an outcome that has been vexing many market analysts and investment pundits for much of the spring. The …
Diamonds and Downpours: When Baseball Meets Monsoon Season | US Wealth Management – Howe
Diamonds and Downpours: When Baseball Meets Monsoon Season Diamonds and Downpours: When Baseball Meets Monsoon Season By: George V. Howe As many of you know, I am a youth baseball coach to my son Nolan and his merry band of misfits. And the way this year is going, I’m going to add “meteorologist” to my title. For the record, …
Summertime Playbook
Although summer does not officially begin until June 20, my mental view of seasons is grouped by the months. Summer: June, July, August; Fall: September, October, November; Winter: December, January, February; Spring: March, April, May. So with summer already getting underway in this writer’s mind, it’s a good time to look ahead to the key themes to watch across the …
Ulysses
“The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks: The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends, ‘Tis not too late to seek a newer world” –Ulysses, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1842 For more than a decade, the U.S. stock market has resoundingly dominated its global developed international and emerging/frontier counterparts. But …