From the Desk of Our CIO

In the mid to late 1700’s, Britain became tea obsessed. The East India Company began importing tea from China, paying

The US construction industry primarily relies on softwood lumber for building construction. Roughly 70% of this lumber is grown and

Last night, President Trump invoked emergency powers to announce new global tariffs. The policy sets a minimum tariff of 10%

In our commentaries we consistently wax poetic about America’s dominant global position. In our December 2020 commentary, “Is Our Empire

At Fountainhead, we actively integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into our operations. I consistently use it to edit correspondence, and we

Happy New Year! The first successful cross-country road trip was taken by Dr. H. Nelson Jackson with his chauffeur, Sewall

The US was, by many measures, the most powerful “empire” in history post-WWII. The US used their unparalleled global position

I had the privilege of hearing a wonderful speaker recently who indirectly touched on a cornerstone of America’s fierce individuality.

In mid-September, the Federal Reserve Board (“Fed”) began an easing cycle, lowering the Federal Fund rate by 0.50%.1 The move

Our economy is heavily consumer driven. According to the World Bank, consumer expenditures account for 68% of our Gross Domestic

August is traditionally a vacation month in America, a time when families travel together to enjoy new experiences and bring

US markets (i.e., S&P 500) experienced their worst sell-off in roughly two years amid a global market sell-off. It is

Innovation is a theme we speak about a lot at Fountainhead. It is not merely exciting given new discoveries and

In November 2021, the market became aware of a way to capture enhanced, risk-free returns through a little-known government program

On November 6, 2024, roughly 40% of the nation will wake up horrified because their preferred candidate lost the election.

With a significant number of advisors, roughly 37%1, positioned to retire within the next decade, the value of one’s financial

Within both our recent commentaries and podcasts, we have focused quite a bit on the expectation and effects of US

We are a consumer-led economy. And boy, do we do a good job consuming! As of 2022, the United States

On a recent international trip, I watched Golda and All the President’s Men, two movies based on historical events that

I remember visiting my uncle’s house in the early ‘90s and watching with fascination as my cousin, 15 years younger,

Mongol Empire Khagan-Emperor Kublai Kahn wanted to be more like his dad and grandpa, Genghis Khan, spurring on wars that

There has always been “international” trade of physical goods, knowledge, and concepts. Just two famous examples are the great library

The job of the Federal Reserve (“Fed”) is to maintain a healthy and stable economy and financial system. Generally speaking,

The average purchase of a residential dwelling in the US consists of 20% down and 80% in loans[1], typically taken

The China – US relationship used to be quite simple: China produced anything and everything we wanted, cheaply and well-made.

As the consumer goes, so goes the economy. A lot of attention has been justifiably spent on inflation, corporate health,

Ever wonder how a yield on a loan is determined? Let’s say my neighbor thinks he has the best business

The United States has thankfully diverted a default by raising our debt limit. Our national debt stood at $31.4 trillion,

A new world order was established with the conclusion of World War II (“WW II”), with America firmly set as

In one of the largest heists in history, Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated South America in the late 1570s and stole

When Paul Volcker took over as Fed Chair on August 6, 1979, he meant business. Two months later Mr. Volcker

Moore’s Law was actually a prediction, not a law as we tend to think of them. The long-term prediction was

One of the prevailing investment themes of 2022 was rising interest rates, and their impact on financial markets. To put

The spectacular descent of once prominent companies can surely grab media headlines and investor attention. Fraudulent blowups like Theranos and

Our analyst team was on a call recently where a well-respected (to us) manager thought inflation would remain heightened because

The Fed is attempting to knock down inflation – and there are signs that it is beginning to work –

Globalization as we know it seemed to have hit its peak around a decade ago. Global trade as a percentage

On June 14, the national average for regular unleaded gas was $5.016 per gallon. As of August 1, the average

The mind is a powerful thing. We have heard the saying, we know it to be true, and we can

A surprise European Central Bank interest rate hike followed by a “bad” print on a closely watched inflation gauge created

Throw a pebble in a still lake and you create a ripple. As one moves further from the center, the

It was late 1940, some of the darkest days of the war for Great Britain. The Luftwaffe was indiscriminately bombing

In Smokey and the Bandit, Burt Reynolds wins a challenge by illegally taking alcohol over state lines in a big

First, our hearts go out to the 40 million plus citizens of Ukraine. It is impossible to imagine or feel

The market has become quite complicated lately, with several negative events coming to the forefront of investors’ focus, muddling the

A front-line chicken processing plant job is among the less desirable positions available. One must stand all day on an

The global supply chain has been built over the course of the last few decades to maximize profit through providing

Alibaba (BABA), a Chinese company primarily focused on e-commerce, is frequently compared to Amazon (AMZN), an American company with a

For this Advisor Coaching Call we will be discussing how to Segment Your Book to SCALE Your Business.

True story: A father and son are caught stealing a TV. There is no question they did it. The father

Serfdom in Europe was destroyed by the Plague. It was destroyed because there were too few serfs to do the

New cases of Covid have unfortunately increased over the last few weeks as the Delta variant has become the dominant

It’s always a bit scary when going onto one of those travel sites, like Expedia, with the goal of booking

“If you’re not prospecting, you’re dying.” While a bit bold, that one liner mentioned in a recent Fountainhead sponsored webinar

In one of our first Explorations we had shared the following chart which illustrates that, at least historically, the longer

How exactly is productivity defined and why has it been so lackluster as of late?

The first thing one learns in Economics is the Supply & Demand curve. It is so simple yet so powerful

Janet Yellen has made history. She is now the only person to serve as both the head of the Federal

Immediately following the end of World War II, the US dominated as no empire had in the history of empires.

Thank God for technology. My children can attend school, socialize with friends, and waste away their days watching an infinite

Money is a human convention. Populations need to be convinced one way or another that currency has value.

The good news is that 2020 is almost over. The bad news is that calendars are a human convention and

America shut down for business rather quickly once it was evident that COVID was on our shores.

Tesla is a hot name for good reason. They are changing the world and hopefully for the better. They are

Over the last 10 days of July, President Trump warned 6 times that the election would be inaccurate and fraudulent

After a ho-hum start, 2020 is turning out to be a historical year. Possibly one talked about for a long

Dring up Avenue of the Americas there is no traffic, almost no people beyond sporadic groups waiting on food lines

COVID-19 (Coronavirus): Current and Future Implication

On Monday, February 24, world markets took a large one day hit due to fears that COVID-19 would become a

Having issued a COVID-19 Update just last week and with everyone in the world laser-focused on the spread and immediate

Will the Coronavirus have the ability to trigger a global economic slowdown resulting in a dip in financial markets?