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On August 9, 2019, the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance issued the Interpretive Opinion No. 19 that excludes M&A Brokers from the Nebraska Securities Act’s definition of broker-dealer. It is a development that modernizes and streamlines Nebraska’s securities rules and regulations.

Oil prices jumped 18% at the opening of trading Sunday night after a missile attack on the world's largest crude oil processing plant in Saudi Arabia, but fell back to a gain of about 9% on Monday morning as traders attempted to handicap the impact on future production. Saudi Arabia has a stated goal of restoring one-third of lost production by the end of Monday, but the timeline to restore the remaining portion of the facility is uncertain. Estimates are in the range of several weeks to months.

When taxes don’t matter, and that is rarely the case for most investors, pre-tax returns are sufficient in determining whether the investment did well or poorly relative to a benchmark. But for taxable accounts, pre-tax returns provide an incomplete picture, and relying on them can lead to poor investment decisions. In such cases, using after-tax returns, after-tax benchmark returns, and Tax Alpha in your decision process is more relevant, and could help you to increase your wealth on an after-tax basis.

Institutional investors predict the volatility that rocked markets across the globe in the fourth quarter of 2018 will continue into 2019, and expect that the long-running U.S. bull market will soon come to an end. But even as they anticipate a dramatic 180-degree turn from the low-rate, low-volatility environment that’s fueled the longest bull market in history, more than half of the survey respondents (60%) say institutional investors are prepared to handle the risks in 2019.

Recent legislation and changing public opinion has led to the birth of an exciting, fast-growth new industry: cannabis. Companies eager to capitalize on the trend toward legalization are moving quickly to establish a toehold in an industry that is expected to generate explosive growth in coming years. At the same time, investors considering ways to participate in this growth are faced with a unique set of challenges.

The spectacular decline in global interest rates, both here and abroad, has been viewed as a necessary tonic to reinvigorate the sluggish global economy. But will a sharp reduction in short-term interest rates engineered by the Fed result in a new economic boom and a powerful rally in stock prices? Or is the experience of the European and Japanese economies more likely, in which negative yields on sovereign bonds have failed so far to generate a sustainable pickup in economic growth?

Up moderately, the real GDP grew at an annualized rate of 3.1% in the first quarter of 2019 in the U.S. The increase reflected greater inventory buildup and exports pulled forward amid tariff fears. Forecasts for the second quarter were measurably lower, with consensus between 1.5% and 2.0%. Labor conditions remain strong while consumer confidence has trended down. Outside the U.S., the European economy continues to show signs of weakness. The U.S.-China relations goes beyond unresolved trade and tariff issues.

Given the existence of low or even negative yields, investors are increasingly focused on finding sources of incremental income. The recent inversion of the U.S. Treasury curve has heightened concern about a potential economic recession. Historical market performance following previous yield curve inversions is a limited and imprecise prediction tool.

As more and more investors look to implement impact investment strategies, interesting questions are being raised in the context of impact investing by fiduciaries appointed to administer a trust for beneficiaries. Suppose the beneficiary of a multi-generational, non-charitable trust is interested in integrating her values in a trust established for her benefit. How should a trustee determine if the request is consistent with the trustee’s duties under the Prudent Investor Rule?

With private investments experiencing a renaissance, now is an opportune time to assess the factors shaping the current landscape, debunk misconceptions about the asset class, and evaluate the benefits and boundaries of private investing.