Articles by Nick Massey

Now that we have been dealing with the COVID-19 global pandemic for almost a year, we’re starting to see a disturbing office space usage pattern. This could have profound implications on commercial real estate values in the future. I don’t claim to be any kind of real estate expert, but logic, supply, and demand calculations…

I try not to get too political in my commentaries and prefer to stick with economics, demographics, and the effects of all that on the markets. But this time I need to stray a little bit. For those whose political leanings are far to the left or right, I’m not trying to start a fight…

There has been a lot of talk lately about inflation coming back with a vengeance because of Congress’s stimulus spending and money printing by the Federal Reserve. Gold has been heating up again, and the “gold bugs” are just about salivating. You can tell something is going on because of the significant increase in gold…

He was dealt four great cards. The jackpot depended on the next card. But before it was dealt, a shot was fired out in Nuttal & Mann’s Saloon in 1876, and Wild Bill Hickok hit the floor, dead from a gunshot to the back of the head. His four cards – aces and eights –…

As some of you know, I have always been a student of demographic trends and the effect on birth rates and future consumer spending.  It was no accident that the baby boom generation drove consumer spending to unheard of heights as we all moved through various stages of life. While we’re all familiar with that story,…

As you might imagine, I do quite a lot of reading every day. I try to share it with my readers when I see an idea that catches my eye. I try to understand what’s really going on and how people feel about what is going on. It’s important to know the trends and narratives that are…

One of the questions I get asked the most is, “Why does the stock market go up when it appears the whole world is coming unglued?” That’s a good question and one not easily answered. As I have often said, the stock market is not the economy. But it is a reflection of what people…

Protruding from the sand along England’s northeast shore near Hartlepool is a vertical wooden mast. The mast dates back to the Napoleonic Wars, when Napoleon’s armies were marching through Europe, sweeping all before them in the aftermath of the French Revolution. It was all part of France’s aggressive attempt to take what it deemed as its…