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National Defense & Transition!
I wrote about America’s national defense on the Sunday before Trump 2.0 Inauguration Day (https://kotokreport.com/national-defense/). Many thanks to readers for their varied viewpoints and responses. Here are some additional observations. First, a disclosure: I hold a defense-sector ETF exposure in my personal investment account. I’m not recommending anything, just disclosing. What you read here is…
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Lee Zeldin, HFCs and the New Year
(The following was first published on The Kotok Report website and via LISTSERV. For details, visit https://kotokreport.com/.) I wish all readers a healthy and happy new year. Let’s get to a very specific item that may impact every one of us in 2025. President-elect Trump has proposed former New York congressman Lee Zeldin to head…
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France, Turmoil, Credit Spreads
(The following was first published on Cumberland Advisors’ website and via LISTSERV. For details, visit https://www.cumber.com/.) The political disruption in France has implications for the euro and for world financial markets. France is the second largest economy in Europe; Germany is first. It was one of the original six countries that participated in the Maastricht…
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How Lame Are the Ducks?
David R. Kotok, December 1, 2024 (The following was first published on The Kotok Report website and via LISTSERV. For details, visit https://kotokreport.com/.) We wish all readers a safe and successful Thanksgiving weekend. We’re about to enter the ‘’lame duck” congressional session. Will we have 3 weeks of chaos or clarity? Let’s look at the…
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Changes Coming for Financial Services
David R. Kotok, November 20, 2024 (The following was first published on The Kotok Report website and via LISTSERV. For details, visit https://kotokreport.com/.) Financial market agents are paying close attention to the coming reorganization of the new Congress – for good reason. Changes are coming and they may be big. Here’s a link to the…
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Putin Expansionism in the New Era of Trump
David R. Kotok, November 8, 2024 (The following was first published on The Kotok Report website and via LISTSERV. For details, visit https://kotokreport.com/.) “America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate,” the 78-year-old president-elect said to a roaring crowd of supporters. Today we start with an issue: geopolitical tensions. Will Trump 47 be Chamberlainesque,…
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President Proposes; Congress Disposes. Maybe?
David R. Kotok, November 3, 2024 (The following was first published on The Kotok Report website and via LISTSERV. For details, visit https://kotokreport.com/.) “It is the duty of the President to propose and it is the privilege of the Congress to dispose.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt (https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/franklin_d_roosevelt_396937) So, the president proposes and the Congress disposes.…
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Deficits & Interest Rates
David R. Kotok, October 30, 2024 (The following was first published on Cumberland Advisors’ and The Kotok Report websites, and via LISTSERV. For details, visit https://www.cumber.com/ or https://kotokreport.com/.) There are many factors which impact interest rates, and the federal deficit and the total federal debt are only two of them. That said: The political rhetoric…
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FedNow
David R. Kotok, October 6, 2024 (The following was first published on The Kotok Report website and via LISTSERV. For details, visit https://kotokreport.com/.) A rule of thumb is that when politics gets inserted into the management of your money, be very careful and watch the money. We’ve seen that with ETFs like ACVF or ESGU…
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A Report from Camp Kotok by Bill Kennedy
David R. Kotok, August 25, 2024 (The following was published on The Kotok Report website and via LISTSERV. For details, visit https://kotokreport.com/.) Bill Kennedy is a regular invitee in Maine and the Chair of the Global Interdependence Center (https://www.interdependence.org/). He published this excellent summary of our gathering in Maine. I thank him for permission to…