Brad here. When I was younger, I had the oldest, most beat-up car of any of my friends. It was a 1981 Toyota Celica that I bought in 1988 and kept until 1997. Yes, I am cheap. My colleague Tom Scarlata, of Commonwealth’s Investment Management and Research group, is also cheap—which I applaud—as well as thoughtful. His observations and conclusions put some context around spending behaviors we see every day, but might not be thinking about enough. Thanks, Tom!

Brad here. Besides being an economics geek, I am and always have been a science and space geek. As a human, I regard the growing presence of private enterprise in space as a significant breakthrough. As an investor, I’m more than excited by the opportunities presented by exploring space. On the other hand, as a cynic, I’m also very aware of the risks and concerns associated with expanding our boundaries. Tom Ryan of Commonwealth’s Investment Management and Research department does a terrific job outlining the real opportunities, as well as the risks, of investing in the final frontier. Thanks, Tom—ad astra!

Brad here. One of the things we try to do as investors is see into the future. To some extent, we can—but not as much as we wish and often not as far as we think. In today’s post, Brian Glazer, a senior investment consultant here at Commonwealth, takes a look at how to keep those expectations under control.

Last week’s economic updates came in mixed, with solid reports on retail sales and consumer confidence offsetting a modest uptick in inflation and disappointing industrial production results. Given the importance of consumer spending to the overall economy, the positive reports represent a good tailwind for economic growth to start the year. This week, the focus will be primarily on housing-related updates, with forecasts for continued year-over-year growth in this important sector of the economy.

This morning, I stopped to get a card and balloon for my son for Valentine’s Day. I was shocked—once again—at how much the greeting card companies have monetized our need to be loving parents, spouses, and so forth. With these kinds of prices, you would think retail spending would have soared last month. Think again.

My colleague Sam Millette, senior investment research analyst on Commonwealth’s Investment Management and Research team, has helped me put together this month’s Market Risk Update. Thanks for the assist, Sam!

My colleague Sam Millette, senior investment research analyst on Commonwealth’s Investment Management and Research team, has helped me put together this month’s Economic Risk Factor Update. Thanks for the assist, Sam!