If the Fed would have raised rates back in September it would have strengthened the U.S. dollar making it advantageous from a trade perspective with foreign economies. The only reason the Federal Reserve could have had for NOT raising rates in September was to help the U.S. and European international companies that trade with China, however the Fed’s plan didn’t work because within days of the anticipated rate hike, China responded by devaluing their currency by the largest amount in history which resulted in a positive trade advantage for China. The Fed must have known that they do not have the tools to win this specific battle with China or the rest of the world for that matter, as they devalue their currencies.

Sometimes you get an unexpected wake up call, a call to action if you will. If it happened in your hotel room, the famous errant alarm clock going off, well in that case you just push the snooze button, grumble a bit and go back to sleep at 2:45 a.m. Then, there is the other kind of wake up call, not just the annoyance version. This kind of call to action comes based on something truly significant and it can be so very important to evaluate or re-evaluate something of considerable importance such as your health, a family matter, or financial situation. It’s the latter mention that I will be focusing on in this article.