The costs of hosting an Olympics are, in a word, extreme. To begin with, cities enter a bidding process with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The bidding process alone can run into the billions. And of course, success is not guaranteed. Following a lengthy evaluation process, the IOC selects the host city generally six to eight years out from its games host date.

This week we review the FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile for First Quarter 2024. The report gives readers a peek at the health of U.S. banks and financial institutions. Besides an analysis of industry earnings, deposits and asset yields, the report displays troublesome trends in FDIC-insured banks, especially in the areas of credit card debt and commercial property loans.

These trends could put serious pressure on regional and community bank balance sheets, causing increased attention by the FDIC. But will banking regulators see a potential problem in time before that institution fails? Those who study the banking industry have their doubts.

Today our focus is on your retirement dollars. I hope to clear up the biggest myth about Social Security, inform you about protections for your retirement accounts and whether you should max out your 401k.

Market commentators can be heard warning of a concerted effort to “de-dollarize” the global economy. They point to the dollar’s declining usage in world trade and as a central bank reserve currency.

But is this reality or just a hyped-up myth? Today we examine why the US dollar is still the world’s reserve currency and why it will not be deposed from its top spot anytime soon.

The latest data on the fight against inflation arrived last Friday in the form of the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation. We’ll take a quick look at those numbers, then follow with a guess of when the Fed will begin to cut interest rates.

Then on to economic concerns as they affect the U.S. presidential election. Finally, we’ll take a closer look at what could happen to the markets once rate cuts begin.

Let’s get started.