The PFS Chart Chat blog was created to help provide explanation and context around current financial data; digging for the meaning in market graphs and economic charts.
When the talking heads in the media are spewing jargon, we provide education so that you can have an intelligent conversation about what is really going on.
Enjoy......
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of Neil Marks and Jeffrey Marks. All information is believed to be from reliable resources; however, we make no representation as to its completeness or accuracy. Discuss all information with your individual advisor prior to implementation.
Tuesday, April 21, 2026
Neil had the opportunity to testify before the Colorado Senate Finance Committee on behalf of NAIFA (the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors). He shares the experience and sense of pride in advocating for our clients!
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Wednesday, February 25, 2026
In Chart Chat 26, Neil discusses prices, how inflation rates affect increases, and the potential (or not) of prices decreasing over time. Position, Velocity and Acceleration are concepts that can help us understand rates of change.
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Tuesday, November 25, 2025
Thank you to our clients! We appreciate the opportunity to serve and guide you and your families, and we take that honor seriously! Have a Happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful Holiday Season!
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Friday, August 8, 2025
Investor Sentiment is a "soft data point" that demonstrates how individual investors are feeling about the future of markets. Neil highlights that it's no way to predict the future but does help advisors guide clients through hard times.
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Friday, June 20, 2025
A discussion of the Leading Economic Index reading from May and how different measures of leading, coincident, and lagging indicators can help our understands of the past present and future economic environment.
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Wednesday, April 2, 2025
In PFS Chart Chat, Neil discusses timeframes of Value and Growth outperformance and ways to look at what "Value" and "Growth" mean.
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Thursday, February 13, 2025
Neil discusses the meaning of the Price to Earnings ratio and how it relates to the operations of a business and the price of the stock shares. This is important when considering the cost of a company in the context of business operations.
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Monday, December 9, 2024
Gas prices are very impactful on the consumer. The affordability of gas is a function of not only the dollar price, but also the portion of wages that are spent on filling the tank. Neil reviews the recent history.
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Monday, August 26, 2024
Household credit card debt is at record levels!!!! What does that really mean in context of disposable income. It may not be as scary or out of control as you think. But, delinquencies could rise if the trajectory continues.
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Friday, May 31, 2024
History of the Overnight Federal Funds Rate and the average 30 Year Mortgage Rate. What is normal and what is unusual? You might have heard, "Higher for longer." But maybe we should change our thinking to "back to normal for now."
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Wednesday, April 3, 2024
Tax season is here: Neil discusses the current tax brackets under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA 2017) and the potential sunsetting of those rates in 2026. There are a few brackets that look to be more impacted than others.
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Wednesday, February 21, 2024
There is always a lot of media hype over how the presidential election will affect the economy and financial markets. Does it really? Neil discusses some historical context and perspective of the economy in general.
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Friday, December 29, 2023
A look at the annual returns of a 60/40 portfolio as illustrated by the S&P 500 and Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Indices. Neil discusses how that last two years have compared and what a wild ride it has been.
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Wednesday, November 15, 2023
Neil Discusses CPI as an inflation measurement and the components that make up the number. Our personal budgets are all affected differently. .... Also No-Shave November, Cancer Awareness and Platelet Donation!
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Thursday, October 12, 2023
Online fraud is more common than ever. Neil reviews some of the FBI's IC3 (Internet Crime Complaint Center) report and shares a suspicious email with some tools to help verify the validity of a sender.
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Thursday, August 3, 2023
How is the labor market holding up while the Federal Reserve has been trying to slow inflation? This chart shows the number of unemployed per job opening from the JOLTS report released 8/1/23. There are still more jobs than job seekers!
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Friday, June 30, 2023
Let's take a little extra time to appreciate the Freedom that we enjoy living in the greatest country on Earth. Happy Fourth of July!!!!!!!!!!!
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Tuesday, May 30, 2023
The Debt Ceiling!!!!! What is it, where did it come from, and why should we care? Neil discusses a bit about the origin and history of the upper limit that the US Treasury is allowed to borrow, and how it has changed over time.
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Tuesday, April 18, 2023
Tax Day: Are we in a low tax environment? A historical perspective says we may be. On Tax Day, Neil talks about the current income tax rates compared to rates throughout the history of the Federal Income Tax back going back to 1913.
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Tuesday, February 28, 2023
The Yield Curve; what is it and what does it mean to be inverted? Neil spends a few minutes discussing the relationship between bond yields and their maturities and how the current environment is abnormal.
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Wednesday, January 18, 2023
A review of several market indices and their movements since October 12th.
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Thursday, December 22, 2022
A discussion about how companies of different sizes impact the movement of the S&P 500 index and the concentration of the largest 10.
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Wednesday, November 23, 2022
Inflation as it relates to Thanksgiving dinner
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Thursday, October 27, 2022
A review of the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) broken down by goods and services demonstrates how our economy shifted dramatically due to the Pandemic.
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Monday, October 10, 2022
A review of the "Heat Map" and asset class returns year by year.
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Friday, September 23, 2022
The Federal Reserve's Dot Plot. A look at what the Fed thinks they will need to do with interest rates as provided in their quarterly Summary of Economic Projections (SEP).
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Friday, September 16, 2022
PFS Charts Chat about the recent Producer Price Index (PPI) readings and what that means for us as consumers.
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