It’s Only Money
On My Mind
Labor Day week has always been a marker for me. It honestly feels more like a new year than New Year’s. Growing up in upstate New York, school didn’t start until after the weekend holiday and we were playing outside late all the time, and you would notice the sun going down earlier. Those last days of summer had their charm. Going to buy new school clothes and sneakers so everything would feel stiff and add to the awkwardness of that first week of school. The Jerry Lewis Telethon was on the TV the entire weekend and you could feel the temperature drop like a curtain on summer. I called it Jerry Lewis cool. They were rituals of a new year and getting ready for changes.
These memories came rushing back this year as I dropped off my youngest son, John, at Franciscan University. Brenda and I are not quite empty nesters, but it sure felt like a substantial change. John has been extremely helpful to both Joe and I as we built Resolute from scratch, and we’re not done with him yet.
With that said, this is the first issue of our newsletter, It’s Only Money. Both Joe and I plan to discuss the markets and various financial topics, but we would also hope to turn this into a bit of a community forum. We would love for you share your thoughts for various topics or other features you believe would be beneficial. If we like them, you could see them in a future newsletter. If your idea isn’t chosen, it’ll be stored in our “Nice Try” folder, right between “Enron: The Future of Energy” and “Parrots as a Multi-Generation Asset.”
Market Highlights
As we roll into September, Wall Street has that “end of summer” feel—cautious optimism mixed with a wait-and-see attitude. Stocks have been inching higher, helped along by the growing expectation (not an announcement yet), that the Federal Reserve will finally cut rates at its September 16–17 meeting.
Right now, traders are betting about 85–90% odds on a quarter-point cut and with the recent jobs numbers report, we may even get a half of a percent. Yields have been drifting lower along with mortgage interest rates and risk reduction positioning in the markets. September has historically been a volatile month and given this administration, the rate cuts, and any potential court intervention, I believe this pattern will continue into 2026.
On This Day in History
On September 2, 1969, the first ATM in the U.S. was installed at Chemical Bank in Rockville Centre, New York. Back then, it only spit out $10 bills- and inconveniently, a paper receipt that you had to bring to a teller the next day to adjust your balance.
Funny Note: The first ATM robbery occurred on September 3, 1969, outside that same Chemical Bank.