Finding Gems in Financial Trends
Insightful Research and Gradings Analysis by Smith's Financial Blog
The Demographic Reckoning: Colleges and the Future of America’s Economy
October 16, 2026By Scott B. MacDonald, Ph.D.Chief Economist Demographics, Higher Education, and Future Economic Paths: It was H.G. Wells, author of The Time Machine and War of the Worlds, who stated, “History is a race between education and catastrophe.” In the early part of the 21st century his words have…...
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Inflation, Elections, and Busy Geopolitics
October 16, 2026By Scott B. MacDonald, Ph.D.Chief Economist Summary: To put it mildly, times are challenging. Inflation is up, voter moods are ugly, and the geopolitical landscape is increasingly more daunting. Volatility for markets is coming from many directions – the ups and downs of the AI industry; the playing…...
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High Hopes on the Economy and FDI
October 13, 2026By Scott B. MacDonald, Ph.D.Chief Economist Summary: The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta (as of October 6th) puts 3rd quarter real GDP at a robust 3.7%. Although this is slower than earlier reads, the pace is still strong, helped along by resilience among upper-income household consumers, strong investment,…...
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Smith’s Infrastructure Funding Alert: The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act expires Oct. 1
What’s Next?On October 1, the U.S. Congress is expected to give a short-term extension of the surface transportation law through December 11th. What Happens? The most immediate impact is going to be the Division J funding cliff: the extension does not carry forward the IIJA’s advanced appropriations. AND, there is…...
The Daily Grind
No Calm Before the Storm If you blink, you will have missed something. The bull market continues to snort ahead. Bond markets are seeing considerable new issue, which is being gobbled up. The key narratives shaping markets are inflation (which is showing a little abatement) and labor markets (which recently…...
Market Commentary
James Kellum, Jr., Executive Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said, “As summer continues to scorch much of the country, the municipal market is feeling the heat as well. Municipal supply remains ablaze, spreading across the calendar faster than a wildfire in dry brush.” According to the S&P Global Market…...
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- Wildfire - 37 uncontained large wildfires burning in the Northwest
- Severe Weather - Hurricane Lala caused flash flooding that swept away 100 homes on the big island of Hawaii.
- Disease - Measles outbreak in 47 states. 2,566 cases reported
- Economic - U.S. Unemployment rate is 4.1%, not seasonally adjusted and the economy lost 23,000 jobs in July.
- Economic - The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.67% as of August 13, 2026, down from last week when it averaged 6.69%.
