As mentioned last week, the first in-person large conference in some time is going on this week…. It is very nice to see everyone “In Person” …. we had forgotten just how full the schedules are during these events … full day ahead …
Briefly our two most important topics so far!
FOMC – Federal Open Market Committee Thoughts for Today’s Announcment
Just after lunch hour today the FOMC lead by Jerome Powell are set to raise rates (Fed Funds Rates – think overnight checkbook rate) by .75% (75 basis points) ….
The experts here say focus on the future (for the record we have been crowing on looking forward throughout this slowdown see here and here – digressing) as the Wall Street chatter is a step down possibility at the next meeting to a .50% — a firming of the higher .75% increase as the next meeting OR an even softer talk of maybe no .50% would be market moving… again according to our experts…
Cybersecurity – No Email of Social Security or the Like Documents
Condensing this event into one important topic – we all need to make sure we do not send documents with Social Security numbers or the like through email…. the hackers are just too good…
This is more of a reminder for all… but as we enter tax season next year, a good reminder!
Alright, that is it for now, a quick jog and workout… then to breakfast and back in doors for a full scheduld of events today!
It has been nice being remote in a cooler climate….
Many of you know it truly is a working (but it never is work) remote vacation…
Tomorrow we rise before sun and hit the road back to the familiar surroundings…
School beacons not only for our family but for new minted “God Mother” daughter at a super close to home college… neat honor!
Speaking of working vacations, two 5 hour virtual seminars were completed midweek…. one of the most interesting sessions discussed the fact that mailed statements actually have a greater fraud exposure than electronic now… interesting… more to come!
Ahhhh….. today is a Friday heading into a mid month weekend, enjoy and talk next week!
Long time friends and clients who we have communicated with for years, suddenly found some of our email in their spam folder in the last two weeks…. noted yahoo users were especially stricken…
We also have found the same in our folder here at the office and as you guys know we are very strict with our safety and cyber ware…
It’s likely there has been some type of major update due to a new spam or threat… no matter, be sure to check your spam folder for the next few weeks and “Trust” any friend emails that landed there,…
Ahhh…today is a Friday, and after breaking all kinds of records the last two weeks here in the south with temps approaching 100 very early in the season, we are looking at much more normal temps this weekend…
With a lot of questions this week on Tax forms, we thought it time to review estimated delivery dates AND take note of the first round of corrected 1099’s of March 3:
Timing of Available Tax Documentation
Delivery of 1099s: Currently, we expect the first wave of 1099s to begin posting online on January 21, 2022 with Advisor and client notifications going out shortly after. Estimated dates for the waves are below:
Target Delivery Date*
Details
Wave 1
Close of business January 21, 2022
No holdings subject to reallocation (ex. RICs, REITs)
Wave 2
Close of business February 4, 2022
Low risk for reallocation; income reallocations finalized through January 29th
Wave 3
Close of business February 11, 2022
Clients with finalized income reallocations received from January 30th through February 3rd
Wave 4
Close of business February 11, 2022
Remaining clients
Correction Cycles - Begins March 3, 2022 and occurring every 2 weeks through April 14, 2022
Do Not Fall for the Call Microsoft Computer Fraud
They are back, so BE CAREFUL… Within one week we have noted TWO fake Microsoft computer hacks…
Here is how it goes:
Upon turning your computer on you are told to call Microsoft to help “Fix” your ailing computer….
Avoid and report Microsoft technical support scams
Microsoft will never proactively reach out to you to provide unsolicited PC or technical support. If you receive a phone call claiming to be from Microsoft, or see a pop-up window on your PC with a fake warning message and a phone number to call and get your “issue” fixed, it’s better to be safe and not click any links or provide any personal information.
Never call the number provided in the error message. Real Microsoft error messages never include a phone number to call.
Brilliant Fake Cell Call
Ok, so we warned/lectured enough up top… this one ALMOST got yours truly….
Looked very similar to a tennis player parent in my contacts….
Say goodbye to the unknown numbers… looks like they figured out how to impose a fake name-
Ahh…today is a Friday and just a week ago with the frozen tundra…. looks to be almost 80 degrees here…
With travels hopefully opening up … a rather old Cell AND the opportunity to get jet speed coverage (5G+ which I have yet to see connected…grrrr) … longer battery life, the switch was on!
Not sure if the prior switch was smoother or maybe it is our obsession with security i.e. Two Factor Authentication, Authenticators, Face Recognition…
Sure know why they give you 30 days to turn your old cell in!
EEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKK
The amount of Passwords from emails, to websites to log ins is staggering… have them all, but just when the thought of the coast is clear…. “Please Enter Your XXXX!”
Ya, ya, all real world problems, but sure will not upgrade the cell anytime soon again – Wow!
Next week we say good bye to January … a Month End Video is in the cards with some hopeful Inflation analysis, unless of course some thing more important jumps to the front of the line…
Ahhhh…. but that is next week, today is a Friday heading into a weekend… hopefully a chance to wish my 94 year old Father Happy Belated Birthday in person without the family being non symptomatic !
Of coarse …. the keyboard is calling even while out of the office with the 14 year old….
Felt this very important, and the WiFi is pretty good at this location!
Will keep it short, just two important items to tell you!
Washington Goes Home – No Tax Law Changes for 2021 – All Bets Off for 2022
Late last week it was agreed that the House and Senate would adjourn for the year, pushing any tax law changes that you may have heard (there were A LOT… remember often noise) as a 2022 issue!
With some new research ears on the ground in Washington, we hear there may be relief for the SALT tax cap … but never a guarantee on rumors…
On a personal self serving note, WHEW …. the Newsletter can finally not be smacked at the last minute and need to be completely redone … let our New York based printing presses begin … it is done! Yay
Last Minute Cyber Shoppers LOOK OUT – Clever Spam Email
In the span of two days the family received very clever spam emails from the following, each with an enticing link to click…. DO NOT BITE:
Home Depot Confirmation – But we did not make an on-line purchase and thankfully did not click on the hot link to the fake “Receipt”
Ace Hardware – This one was easier as we have not made any purchases at this establishment, BUT the format of the email was the same as the above HD
Best Buy – We have made Holiday purchases at BB (14 year old) but thankfully the email contained only “Best” and no Buy in the header, but the spam email address looked to come from BB
Have a Great “No Tax Changes and Don’t Click Bite” Day!
We are certainly not recommending these as an investment, but we are watching the development of NFT’s and as such, thought it worth giving you a little background on them… of course a great chart from our friends at Visual Capitalist set us on our way….
BREAK IN – Financial Processing Bottlenecks Continue
We mentioned earlier, but want to reiterate that we are seeing slowing of processing especially manual (think human touch processes) as we near the end of the year.
DO NOT PROCRASTINATE any unique financial transaction as there is likely a slow player somewhere in the Financial Food chain! Curve balls happen, but really try to anticipate any unusual Financial movements you may have from here to years end… it will make for a much less stressful ride to the finish line!
Party, it’s a Party Party – Tomorrow DAC 3-5 pm
We look forward to seeing all of you at the party tomorrow at DAC from 3-5 PM…
We lucked out on the weather and as such will have an indoor and outdoor area to meet and greet… Moving closer to Norm once again! YAY
Crooks are NOT on Holiday
As mentioned here, the travel schedule has happily fired back up, for the record in a very quick time…
With a two day turnaround trip to another state about two weeks ago, the large Fraudulent charge was not a surprise and caught immediately….
The second immediate charge of slightly different amount but to the same company slipped through the cracks as a slow processing of the original charge…. Well done there Mr. Crook…. but no harm done…
Needless to say, the Crooks are out in full force…. Oh… and for the record a new Travel Only Card is in the works for just this type of defense …
Friday Before Thanksgiving Week – Office Hours
Ahhhh…. Today is a Friday heading into a Thanksgiving Day Week…
With the kids off the ENTIRE week for the first time ever, we will be loosely covering the office in alternating shifts, thanks to tethered technology… (None of us are 100% on where we will actually be, thanks again Mr. Technology!)
Expect MAYBE one last posting of the most popular video EVER, Blooper’s Happy Thanksgiving!
Have a GREAT Friday, enjoy your day, weekend, and restful Holiday Week Next Week!
In a somewhat fascinating and you just can’t make this up experience, Google‘s move of a server farm to Finland has shed light on our mysterious email issues!
Break In – for those interested … a last minute search on Google for the server farm revealed the actual site is Hamina, Finland…
Actual Google Picture of the site….Very pretty, but watch out, will eat your secured emails if you have a tight Cyber system….
Google Moves Server Farm for Gmail to Finland
Those followers and some who were unfortunately a participate in our email losses, which we blamed on an overzealous spam filter, turned out not to be the case at all.
Sometime recently Google moved a large group of their servers or opened a server Farm in Finland! Yes Finland, who would’ve thought!
Being in the industry we are, as many followers know, we take our collective cyber security very serious. As such we have most countries blocked even before the spam filter, meaning emails from certain countries will not even come to our spam folder and will be blocked completely!
With Google‘s new server farm moving to Finland, unbeknownst to us, Finland was of course turned off as a country to receive emails (as a side note it’s currently turned back on), but with the rerouting @Gmail‘s from Google … the discovery of Lost emails were made.
While we blamed our overzealous spam filter (sorry about that spam catcher), the Google shift actually created the problem, which was a very simple fix upon discovery.
Lesson learned, if you do not hear from us in a short time PLEASE let us know as we always get back to everyone quickly and a lengthy absence would mean something like this has occurred.
Who would’ve thought Finland would end up being the problem to eat our emails!
Lesson learned, have a great Friday and much more respect for Finland!
With the handy, cell phone which is almost like carrying around a powerful computer, replacing our land lines, in this post we remind all to be very careful in which calls you answer and most importantly clicking on a hot link of a text you may have received on you cell… DO NOT BITE!
Here is an example of a very dangerous spam text – do not click on that hotlink as you will be directed to a bad place that may cause your cell harm…
Grant Williams Podcast with Sam Zell
A new found favorite way of continued learning and education, frequently while jogging or walking, in this post, a review of a fantastic hour long podcast with Sam Zell via the Grant Williams Podcast series…
Favorite Notes:
Staying Power is the name of the game… No surprises!
Real money by long term holdings, be patient.
Will you slow down? People ask me that all the time…”Slow down from what…I like what I do,”
Capital Market Comments
Bonds, Interest Rate Headwind Reminders
In 2018 as interest rates smartly began rising, we reminded folks, those especially with more conservative allocations (larger allocations to bonds) that the immediate effect of higher interest rates are a slight headwind to bond portfolios. For the record, they are big headwinds to very long dated bond portfolios i.e. 30 years, which is why we stay away from such portfolios…
Fast forward to the beginning of the year and very recently, we felt the need to remind again here. The fantastic news is that with shorter dated portfolios as mentioned above, this headwind turns into money in our pockets in the form of higher income as rates again smartly rise on the expectation of greater economic growth prospects.
Have a Great Day, Talk to You at the End of November!
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which investments may be appropriate for you, please consult your financial advisor prior to investing!
Background
The is the vocal portion of J.K. Financial, Inc. a Dallas Texas Based Fee Only Total Wealth Financial Planning Firm. Founded by John Kvale, a Dallas Texas Fee only Financial Planner and Total Wealth Manager.
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Updates from the Conference – Today’s FOMC Announcement Analysis – Cyber Security …
As mentioned last week, the first in-person large conference in some time is going on this week…. It is very nice to see everyone “In Person” …. we had forgotten just how full the schedules are during these events … full day ahead …
Briefly our two most important topics so far!
FOMC – Federal Open Market Committee Thoughts for Today’s Announcment
Just after lunch hour today the FOMC lead by Jerome Powell are set to raise rates (Fed Funds Rates – think overnight checkbook rate) by .75% (75 basis points) ….
The experts here say focus on the future (for the record we have been crowing on looking forward throughout this slowdown see here and here – digressing) as the Wall Street chatter is a step down possibility at the next meeting to a .50% — a firming of the higher .75% increase as the next meeting OR an even softer talk of maybe no .50% would be market moving… again according to our experts…
Cybersecurity – No Email of Social Security or the Like Documents
Condensing this event into one important topic – we all need to make sure we do not send documents with Social Security numbers or the like through email…. the hackers are just too good…
This is more of a reminder for all… but as we enter tax season next year, a good reminder!
Alright, that is it for now, a quick jog and workout… then to breakfast and back in doors for a full scheduld of events today!
John A. Kvale CFA, CFP
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Posted in Cyber, Economy, FOMC, Interest Rates, Investing/Financial Planning, Market Comments
Tagged FOMC, Interest Rates