In Tuesday’s post, “A Shot Across The Bow,” I discussed the recent “Tech Wreck” and the warning sign that was delivered when trading algorithms begin to run in the same direction.

Advisor Perspectives, a leading publisher serving financial advisors and the financial advisory community, has announced its Venerated Voices™ awards for commentaries published in Q2 2017. Rankings were issued in three categories: The Top 25 Venerated Voices™ by Firm, The Top 25 Venerated Voices™ by Author and The Top 10 Venerated Voices™ by Commentary.

Let's do some analysis of the Consumer Price Index, the best known measure of inflation. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) divides all expenditures into eight categories and assigns a relative size to each. The pie chart illustrates the components of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers, the CPI-U.

I asked the readers of my Inside Information service, members of the Advisor Perspectives community, and others, to tell me how they were charging their clients, and how much. The most interesting conclusions related to a key question that has arisen from the DOL Rule: what is a “reasonable” AUM fee to charge clients?

Ray Dalio, chairman of Bridgewater Associates, wrote last week that the global economy is heading toward a new stage where markets won’t get the same level of support from the global monetary policy makers. “The directions of policy are reversing,” he noted.

Today's report on Industrial Production for June shows a 0.4% increase month-over-month, which was above the Investing.com consensus of 0.3%. Industrial Production peaked in November 2014, only one point higher than its pre-recession peak in November 2007. The year-over-year change is 1.97 percent, up from last month's YoY increase.

We've updated our monthly workforce analysis to include last week's Employment Report for June. The unemployment rate ticked back up from 4.3% to 4.4%, and the number of new nonfarm jobs (a relatively volatile number subject to extensive revisions) surprised forecasts at 222K.

Both the Congressional Budget Office and the White House Office of Management and Budget announced last week that federal spending will top $4 trillion for the first time ever in fiscal 2017, which began on October 1, 2016 and ends on September 30.

Note: This commentary has been updated with the latest numbers from last week's Employment Report.

This is not the scenario that would have been envisioned a generation ago for the "Golden Years" of retirement. Consider: Today nearly one in three of the 65-69 cohort and about one in five of the 70-74 cohort are in the labor force.

The latest issue of the NFIB Small Business Economic Trends came out this morning. The headline number for June came in at 103.6, down 0.9 from the previous month. The index is at the 93rd percentile in this series. Today's number came in below the Investing.com forecast of 104.4.

The Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) is a simple computation: You take the Civilian Labor Force (people age 16 and over employed or seeking employment) and divide it by the Civilian Noninstitutional Population (those 16 and over not in the military and or committed to an institution). The result is the participation rate expressed as a percent.

Let's take a close look at Friday's employment report numbers on Full and Part-Time Employment. Buried near the bottom of Table A-9 of the government's Employment Situation Summary are the numbers for Full- and Part-Time Workers, with 35-or-more hours as the arbitrary divide between the two categories. The source is the monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) of households. The focus is on total hours worked regardless of whether the hours are from a single or multiple jobs.

To a large extent, the U.S. financial crisis was actually made by the Fed… It was ultra-low rates that fueled the search for higher yield that enabled creatively engineered mortgage products (CDOs, CDOs of CDOs, adjustable rate and no-doc mortgages and AAA-rated garbage).

Keeping portfolio construction simple improves performance no matter what type of investment process you use. Our industry is in love with complexity, but complexity is costly to clients.

During the 35 year secular bull market that began in October 1981, there were a number of sharp increases in yields in which bond prices fell. But investors who held on were bailed out by the secular bull market and eventually recovered all the losses and with gains to show for their patience.

It is a Seinfeld market. The story is about nothing, but must be described along the way. With nothing better to discuss, people will be asking what should we expect for the rest of 2017.

This commentary has been updated to include today's release of Nonfarm Employment. June's 222K increase in total nonfarm payrolls was accompanied by a combined 47K upward revision for April and May. The unemployment rate ticked back upward from 4.3% to 4.4%. The Investing.com consensus was for 179K new jobs and the unemployment rate to inch remain at 4.3%.

What does the ratio of unemployment claims tell us about where we are in the business cycle and our current recession risk? At present, the ratio for Continued Claims has been trending down. Excluding the 1981 recession, the Initial Claims trough lead time for a recession has ranged from 7 to 22 months with an average of 12 months if we include the 1981 recession and 14 months if we exclude it. Admittedly, the last recession is an extreme example, but the Initial Claims trough preceded its December 2007 onset by a whopping 22 months.

This morning's employment report for June showed a 222K increase in total nonfarm payrolls, surprising forecasts. The unemployment rate ticked upward from 4.3% to 4.4%. The Investing.com consensus was for 179K new jobs and the unemployment rate to remain at 4.3%. April and May nonfarm payrolls were revised for a total gain of 47K.

Here's an interesting set of charts that will especially resonate with those of us who follow economic and market cycles. Imagine that five years ago you invested $10,000 in the S&P 500. How much would it be worth today, with dividends reinvested but adjusted for inflation? The purchasing power of your investment has increased to $19,240 for an annualized real return of 13.16%.

The US Department of Labor told us in June that there were apprx. 6.0 million open (unfilled) jobs in America, a record high. The Labor Department also told us that there are apprx. 6.8 million unemployed Americans who are actively looking for work.

Despite rising interest rates, income-oriented investors are continuing to find value in ETFs. Elsewhere in income-related news, U.S. investors brace for proposed tax cuts while across the globe the Chinese bond market is pushing for inclusion in the major indices.

Why not use summertime to catch up on your reading? Neil Dwane, global strategist for Allianz Global Investors, has a summer reading list that combines engaging narratives with timely insight into investing themes. Among the 12 books listed here, we think you'll find something to enlighten your summer.

One of the women in my office is a tattle-tale and a gossip. It’s become so bad that everyone is afraid if they don’t listen or don’t engage with her, they will become one of her targets. She picks on the most benign things; it could be someone’s dress, how they talk or how slow they approach a task.

Firms that demonstrate “value” will always have clients willing to pay a fee reasonably related to it. It may not matter whether it is a flat or AUM-based fee. But the AUM-based fee has a troubled future.

Advisors usually understand how donor-advised funds (DAFs) work, their tax benefits and how they can manage the investments in their clients’ DAF accounts. However, advisors need to help explain their benefits in comparison to donating directly to a charity.

A holiday-interrupted week is loaded with important economic data. Since many market participants will skip Monday to stretch their weekend, the action will focus on Friday’s employment situation report.

A holiday-interrupted week is loaded with important economic data. Since many market participants will skip Monday to stretch their weekend, the action will focus on Friday’s employment situation report. People will be asking: Just how strong is the labor market?

Personal Income (excluding Transfer Receipts) in May rose 0.47% and is up 3.5% year-over-year. However, when we adjust for inflation using the BEA's PCE Price Index, Real Personal Income (excluding Transfer Receipts) increased to 0.53. The real number is up 2.0% year-over-year. Revisions were made going back to January.