Underperform...

So much of the bull market in risk assets over the last nine years was linked to Federal Reserve stimulus put in place to save the economy during the financial crisis. 

Low rates and other easing measures fueled a boom in stocks by enabling companies to borrow and aggressively buy back their own shares. A lot of the easy money injected into the system found it’s way into stocks because there was no alternative, lifting equity valuations to high levels.

All assets have underperformed in 2018 simply because the Fed is hiking Interest rates and reducing the balance sheet.

That’s why the market fell to new lows  specifically when Fed chief Jerome Powell said the unwinding of the central bank’s balance sheet would continue at its current pace.

We’ve been in an economic expansion for the past seven to eight years, which is already very long. A recession is likely to come within the next two years.”

Cyber...

The United States and three allies chastised China for economic espionage.

Prosecutors charged Zhu Hua and Zhang Jianguo in hacking attacks against the U.S. Navy, the space agency NASA and the Energy Department and dozens of companies. The operation targeted intellectual property and corporate secrets to give Chinese companies an unfair competitive advantage, they said. 

Britain, Australia and New Zealand joined the United States in slamming China over what they called a global campaign of cyber-enabled commercial intellectual property theft, signaling growing global coordination against the practice. 

The hackers breached the networks of Hewlett Packard and IBM, then used the access to hack into their clients’ computers. 

Nothing is new here !... Just a thought. 

Empathy...

Promise...

President Donald Trump took to Twitter Thursday with an extensive defense of his decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria, framing it as a campaign promise kept amid growing bipartisan backlash from lawmakers.

"Does the USA want to be the Policeman of the Middle East, getting NOTHING but spending precious lives and trillions of dollars protecting others who, in almost all cases, do not appreciate what we are doing?" Trump tweeted. "Do we want to be there forever?" 

The president also claimed in a separate tweet that "Russia, Iran, Syria & many others are not happy about the U.S. leaving." 

As the American leaves, the area will calm down dramatically.   Just a thought.

Consuming...

 

Raising the kids is so consuming that it can occupy all the oxygen of a marriage. As a result, It’s easy to ignore, gloss over or not deal with the dysfunction of your marriage.

Parents are preoccupied by the everyday life of their kids, including grappling with grades and school, transporting them to soccer practice and possibly helping them gain acceptance into a good college.

Kids leaving home is a major milestone in life,  and forces couples to reevaluate their life and their marriage.   What have I done with my life? Am I happy in my marriage? 

Furthermore, resentments often foment over the many years of a long-lasting marriage. Your spouse “feels as if he’s holding you back. You’re trapped in this unsatisfied situation.  

Many couples strive to patch things up and reinvigorate the marriage. “Both people have to be committed to wanting it; it won’t work if one is ambivalent.

Peace...

The latest talks between the Taliban and a U.S. peace envoy on the war in Afghanistan focused on the withdrawal of NATO troops, the release of prisoners and halting attacks on civilians by pro-government forces.

U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, tweeted that talks held this week in the United Arab Emirates were "productive."   The UAE talks also involved Saudi, Pakistani and Emirati representatives.

The insurgent group controls nearly half of Afghanistan, and are more powerful than at any time since a 2001 U.S.-led invasion. They carry out near-daily attacks, mainly targeting security forces and government officials.

The Taliban have refused to meet directly with the Afghan government, viewing it as a puppet of the U.S.

Pull...

The White House has ordered the Pentagon to pull U.S. troops from Syria immediately. 

President Trump, who has long wanted to withdraw troops from the war-torn region, said that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is defeated and therefore, there is no reason to be there. 

Mr. Trump has long expressed a desire to withdraw troops from the war-torn region, but had been urged against rapidly withdrawing U.S. armed forces. The president recently replaced his former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph Dunford, who opposed the immediate removal of troops, with Gen. Mark Milley.

Let whoever wants the war going stay.

Time...

Trickle...

Anger...

Being on the receiving end of somebody else's hostility can be stressful, so it's important to be assertive with these people to stop their stress from entering our emotional boundary.

• Remember the problem is them, not you.
• Don't try to fix them. ...
• Stay cool. ...
• Focus on their behavior rather than arguing.  ...
• Take a timeout. ...
• Put safety first. ...
• Don't try to intervene in a physical altercation.
• Let them discredit themselves by their foolishness.