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‘Twas the start of the madness and all through the land,
People sat in front of the TV with beer and hot wings in hand.

But no brackets to bet on, no games this year
Everyone quarantined with virus fear.

Tired of healthcare and stock market news,
I wanted some fun to shake off the blues.

We often compare the stock market to a rollercoaster ride, and with good reason. Think back to the last time you actually rode a rollercoaster … What was it like as the ride climbed up to its high point? Rather gradual, wasn’t it? And then, when it reached the top and started down?

As we think about the last couple of weeks in the market, we may be tempted to remember the Chinese curse: “May you live in interesting times.” Without a doubt, the last two weeks have been especially interesting—maybe more interesting than some of us would prefer!

Several years ago one of my sisters sent me the following poem. It meant a lot to me, and I wanted to share it with you today:

One of My Favorite Days
(March Fourth)

We all love Christmas. Halloween is scary sweet.

I’m thankful for Thanksgiving, boy how we eat!

“Stocks Suffer Worst Week Since Financial Crisis amid Coronavirus Fears” —New York Times

“As Stock Markets Tumble Again because of Coronavirus, This Time Feels Different” —Washington Post

“Stocks Suffer Biggest Weekly Losses since 2008” —Wall Street Journal

Significant wealth can reduce many of life’s trouble—but it can’t eliminate them entirely. Even the richest among us have fears.

What’s more, they often share many of the same worries the rest of us have.

In a November 25, 2019 interview, Jeremy Siegel, the Russell E. Palmer Professor of Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, offered this perspective on the equity markets: “I'd say we're at fair market value now.” He went on to list a number of factors, including historically low interest rates and low inflation, persuading him that stocks are still fairly valued. Remember that at that time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was at nearly 28,000 and the S&P 500 Index registered just over 3,100. At this writing, the DJIA is at almost 29,000 and the S&P 500 stands at just over 3,300.

Over the last several years, women have made major strides in the workplace, including corporate America. Female CEOs and women in other important leadership positions are more common now than ever before in history. And yet, women continue to fall behind their male counterparts in measures of income and in retirement savings.

On Friday, January 31, major market indexes slumped on fears around the coronavirus epidemic, reviving concerns in many quarters about its potential effects on world financial markets and prompting calming messages from Chinese authorities and elsewhere.

On January 23, the Fair Isaac Corporation announced the pending release of its new scoring system, FICO^® Score 10 Suite.