Investing, DEFCON, Economic Index

This may be the year when popular investing mantras like “sell in May and go away,” are turned on their heads. So far, 2018 has defied convention with the S&P 500 climbing almost 7% since the beginning of May. MarketWatch, August 14, 2018

Urban areas make up just 3.6% of the total land in the 48 contiguous states, but now 80% of Americans live in these areas- and the numbers continue to grow at a rapid rate. Bloomberg, July 31, 2018

A new study found 23.5% of second-year med students said they “almost never” attended class during their first two years of med school. Association of American Medical Colleges, March, 2018

At the hacking convention DEFCON, 11-year-old Emmett Brewer hacked into a replica of Florida’s election website changing its voting results. It took him less than 10 minutes. Qz.com, August 13, 2018

So far in 2018, corporations have purchased 7.2 gigawatts of clean energy, shattering the 5.4 gigawatt record set in 2017. Facebook alone accounted for 1.1 gigawatts. Bloomberg, August 3, 2018

The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index, which has turned negative ahead of every recession dating back to the 1970’s, has risen an impressive 5.8% year-over-year. MarketWatch, August 15, 2018

The fewer the facts, the stronger the opinion. Italian proverb

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