Womack Investment Advisers

The next time you hear a 30-something complaining about how much tougher it is now than in earlier generations, well…maybe they’re right. Deutsche Bank analyst Torsten Slok distributed a research note showing the overall decline in earnings power for 30-year old Americans over the last several decades.   In the note, Slok stated that the “percentage of children earning more than their parents has been falling steadily since 1945.” In 1955, 70% of 30-year-olds were earning more than their parents.   Today, just 50% are expected to earn more—and that number is trending down.   Bloomberg recently used data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis to show that today’s 30-year-olds are “weighed down by student debt and stagnant wages.”   Slok’s note corresponds with separate data from research firm Axios that showed more of today’s 30-year-olds are living with their parents, paying higher college tuition, taking on more debt, and buying fewer homes...

In 1869, the first recreational camping guide, Adventures in Wilderness, was authored by minister William H.H. Murray and became a bestseller. The book’s success may have owed something to a new train route that made the Adirondacks more accessible. Time.com reported his practical guide offered advice on important topics: “For sleeping, he describes how to make ‘a bed of balsam-boughs.’ On what to wear, he suggests bringing a ‘felt hat,’ ‘stout pantaloons,’ and a ‘rubber blanket or coat.’ For warding off woodchucks, ‘a stick, a piece of bark, or tin plate shied in the direction of the noise will scatter them like cats.’ As for wolves, his technique would likely not pass muster with fire wardens: ‘touch a match to an old stump and in two hours there will not be a wolf within ten miles of you.’” His book inspired Kate Field to try camping, and she became an early advocate of land preservation. She wrote for the Adirondack Almanac in 1870. A more recent article in the p...

Womack Weekly Commentary July 30, 2018 The Markets Economic growth in the United States was strong during the second quarter. Gross domestic product (GDP), which is the value of all goods and services produced in the United States, grew by 4.1 percent. That’s the fastest growth in four years, reported the BBC . The news was received with varying levels of enthusiasm. President Trump said the gain is “an economic turnaround of historic importance” and thinks the economy should continue to grow rapidly, reported Shawn Donnan in Financial Times . Economists were less certain. They think second quarter’s GDP gains were underpinned by one-time factors. These included high levels of profitability attributable to last year’s corporate tax cuts and an increase in exports as U.S. producers and their buyers abroad tried to avoid upcoming tariffs, reported Financial Times . Another consideration is the business cycle. The business cycle tracks the rise and fall of ...