Americans currently aren’t having enough children to replenish the population. Fortunately, immigration should be able to make up some of the domestic shortfall. What is the cause of this? Is it economic in nature? Or is it societal? Essentially, why are Americans waiting longer to have children and having fewer of them? What are the financial implications of more or less children? Are there any long term consequences?

In this week’s Trading Perspectives, Sam and John discuss America’s birthrate woes. Will the pendulum ever swing back the other way? Or will our society’s focus on individualism lead to future population decline?

At a recent presentation, someone asked John what kept him up at night. Was it the debt ceiling imbroglio? The Federal Reserve? The potential for a recession? War in Asia? War in Ukraine?

With so many different problems from which to choose, what keeps you up at night? Is it one of these things or something completely different altogether?

In this week’s Trading Perspectives, Sam, Courtney and John discuss their greatest fears for the present and the future. Are there any generational or gender differences?

Currently, four of the five big professional sports leagues are in action. While these depend on the common man for success, the money the athletes make is anything but common. The numbers boggle the mind. The question remains: “how much longer will the American public continue to pay the bills?” After all, a trip to the ballpark for a family of four can be an expensive undertaking.

In this week’s Trading Perspectives, Sam, Courtney and John discuss the runaway salaries professional athletes make. Will they continue to help foot the bill?

While the rate of inflation has recently gone down, prices remain higher than where they were this time last year. Will this impact any summer vacation plans? If so, how? Will more folks have staycations? Or will people make more PB&Js to take to the beach while on vacation? After all, the wallet might not be as thick in 2023.

In this week’s Trading Perspectives, Sam, Courtney and John discuss how higher prices have impacted their personal travel plans for the summer. You might be surprised by the results.

The US dollar has been the preferred reserve currency and method of international exchange since the end of WWII. How much longer can this continue? After all, the rest of the world wants a say about how the global financial system works. But is there an alternative to the greenback? Also, should Sam and Courtney get euros and pounds now or later?

In this week’s Trading Perspectives, Sam, Courtney and John discuss the global currency markets, the best way to exchange currencies for the average traveler and whether the U.S. dollar will ever falter.

Over time, the government has gotten more involved in the lives of American citizens. It seems there is a law, ordinance or tax on just about every action and transaction we make. While the argument is always that they are in “the public good,” at what point should that supersede individual rights? Are there any generational or gender differences in opinion?

In this week’s Trading Perspectives, Sam, Courtney and John discuss governmental involvement in their day-to-day lives and what, if anything, they would do differently.

Recently, Bud Light has made a lot of headlines for using social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney to promote its product. This has unleashed a firestorm of opinion on the role of influencers in general. Are they effective? Are they cost efficient? Are they the wave of the future as marketing departments get more granular in attracting specific demographics?

In this week’s Trading Perspectives, Sam, Courtney and John discuss the use of social media influencers and the impact they have on their purchasing decisions.

Anyone who has been in the market for a new or used car lately knows they have gone up sharply in price. Inventories are still extremely low for both and borrowing costs are substantially higher. Can potential buyers still get the car of their dreams? Or is the dream becoming a nightmare? If so, when will it end? Will car prices ever come back down to a manageable level?

In this week’s Trading Perspectives, Sam, Courtney and John discuss the sticker shock in the car industry. Will this impact their buying decisions? For how long? After all, they could all be in the market for a new vehicle if the price is right.

The U.S. labor markets have been incredibly strong for the last couple of years. However, a few months ago, cracks began to show as tech companies started to let workers go. For a while, the job losses seemed relatively contained to the sector, but they seem to be popping up everywhere. How much longer will it be before they hit your industry and your town?

In this week’s Trading Perspectives, Sam, Courtney and John discuss the recent increase in layoff announcements. Is this a serious long-term problem? Or is a logical readjustment to slower rates of growth?  

It seems every movie is a sequel or another rendition of long established characters and stories. The same could be said for music as well. Is our entertainment industry in a collective funk? Why do we keep seeing the same old same old, but only with new actors? Has creativity bottomed in the United States? If so, what does that say about the future? Or is there something else happening?

In this week’s Trading Perspectives, Sam, Courtney and John ponder why everything seems to be a remake. John also realizes just how old he really is.