Ben Carlson

Animal Spirits: The Historic Surge in Unemployment

We’re still doing two episodes until things calm down. We discuss: Scary economic data is finally here Will the government need another round of fiscal stimulus? Whey “I don’t know” is the right mindset at the moment What’s the best case scenario for this? The wide range of economic and market outcomes What do you…

Animal Spirits: The First Thing to Go in a Crisis

Another week in quarantine so Michal and I continue to record Animal Spirits from the comfort of home. We discuss: Why the end of this crisis will only look obvious in hindsight How long until people start losing their patience? Why fiscal stimulus is so important right now The U.S. response to this crisis shows…

How Does the Market Crash Impact Retirees?

This can be a scary time for those who have never lived through a market crash. But young people and those still in the accumulation phase will eventually come to realize that lower prices are a good thing for new savings. For those approaching retirement or already in retirement a market crash poses an even…

Random Thoughts on the Crash As We Catch Our Breath

Some random thoughts as we get a couple of days off from paying attention to the markets: Will the winner-takes-all only get worse from here? One of the big worries before the current crisis hit, which seems rather trivial at the moment, is the growing concentration at the top of the stock market in just…

What If You Buy Stocks Too Early During a Market Crash?

I know of a professional trader who foresaw the Great Recession, went to cash in the summer of 2008 before things got crazy and came up with a wonderful plan to put his money back to work at the lows. He planned on putting his cash into a simple S&P 500 index fund in 25%…