As I have been saying, things are pretty good, economically speaking, as we approach the end of the year. At the same time, there are some significant risks in the next couple of weeks that we need to keep an eye on.

As we approach the end of 2017, I have been thinking a lot about 2018. Right now, there is quite a bit of good news out there. Hiring continues to be strong, people are earning and spending more, business investment is finally picking up, and the rest of the world economies have started growing again. And, of course, stock markets around the world have done very, very well in 2017.

With the Thanksgiving holiday, last week was a relatively slow and short one in terms of economic data. Let’s jump right in.

One of the major issues in the financial world is active versus passive investment management. The terms themselves are a bit of inside baseball, but it might help to think of them like this: Active managers say they are smart enough to beat the market and try to do so. Passive managers, on the other hand, say no one can beat the market and so just own it.

Many of us were under the assumption that we could go into the holiday season with Europe pretty much checked off the risk list. The economic news is good and getting better, and the major elections that have caused so much angst have passed. Not so fast, bub.

Is recent weakness in the markets owing more to political risks than to economic ones? Today, I appeared on CNBC's Power Lunch to share my thoughts, including the potential effects of tax reform and political conditions abroad.

Last week was a busy one on the economic front, and the news was good to very good. Retail sales were in line with expectations, despite some headwinds, while industry and manufacturing did very well in bouncing back from the hurricanes. Plus, the housing industry showed signs of acceleration. Let’s take a closer look.

With the passage of the House’s tax reform bill, the Republicans have moved significantly closer to one of their key political goals. Of course, the Senate bill still needs to pass that chamber, and then the reconciled bill must pass both chambers. But the fact that the fractious Republican factions in the House have come together is a signal that passage is a real possibility. For the first time, in my opinion, the odds are now better than even. So, let’s take a look at what we know so far—and what these bills could mean for you.

Taking another page from the “things people may not understand” book, today I want to talk about the yield curve. Why? The immediate reason is a spate of coverage in the press about how the inversion of the yield curve may be a signal of trouble ahead, which has prompted questions from clients and advisors. So, let’s take a look at what the yield curve is and how we should analyze it.

Yesterday, I did an interview with TheStreet where I stated that I thought the market had some more room to rise before the end of the year. Given some weak days and rising fears that the rally could be breaking down, I thought it would be worthwhile to outline exactly why I think that—and what I will be watching for to see if I need to change my mind.