Year End 2015

Goodbye to twenty fifteen, hello to fifteen plus one,

I hope your year’s been good, as it’s all but said and done.

Some ups and downs we’ve had, we’ve taken a bruise and bump,

We’ve heard some stupid stuff, almost all of it from Trump.

How will this year be written? When historians look back,

It will likely be remembered, as the year of the terror attack.

Another likely legacy, when scholars about the year will ask,

Is that even the liberals conceded, that Obama wasn’t up to the task.

There was much bad news this year, and more than just one crisis,

Many of them caused, by the lunatics called ISIS.

Our hearts go out to all, our friends in Paris, France,

Attacked twice in the past year, by crazies in a suicide trance.

Plane crashes too we saw, over the Sinai a Russian jet,

A deranged pilot over the French Alps, stranger than that it doesn't get.

Mass shootings almost every week, on this side of the Atlantic,

Jihad in San Bernardino, it leaves you feeling frantic.

Goodbye to Yogi Berra, so much we learned from thee,

As we look out towards the future, it sure ain’t what it used to be.

We’ll miss you Leonard Nimoy, you went where no man went before,

May we all live long and prosper, as we continue to explore.

Your voices will live on, Ben E. and BB King,

You sure could play the R&B, and boy could you guys sing.

Omar Sharif and Kirk Kerkorian, John Nash and Lee Kuan Yew,

You left your mark on this world, as very few can do.

The markets all were tough, making everyone feel pissy,

It started right in January, with the revaluation of the Swissie.

By springtime we had thawed, though commodities kept sneezing,

The risk appetite was whetted, with Draghi’s quantitative easing.

Though early summer felt nice, by August we were back on our knees,

As we saw crude oil break forty, and a devaluation from the Chinese.

All the while the Fed kept threatening, to give the rates a raise,

We’ll see if their recent boost, will bring an end to this malaise.

Growth destroyed the value, as the FANGs all did rerate,

Labor force participation and Brady’s footballs, sadly did deflate.

Junk amongst your junk bonds?  It’s enough to cause a panic,

E.coli in your burrito? It’s not even safe to eat organic.

A nukes deal with Iran, with Cuba diplomatic relations,

Some places to consider, for your next spring break vacations. 

Josh Duggar and Bill Cosby, two sickos down in flames,

Brian Williams and his stories, all based on bogus claims.

Prepare yourself for next year, it’s really not far in the future,

If your portfolio is bleeding, raising cash could be a suture.

You can blame any losses on the Fed, or blame it on bad karma,

You can blame it on dispersion, or just blame Valeant Pharma.

Making choices can be tough, with spouses and with money,

It’s all about the tradeoffs, like choosing sad or funny.

You can’t always win in life, whether it’s investing or badminton,

Choices can be no win situations, as in choosing Trump or Clinton.