Why it's almost Christmas Eve, Mr. Scrooge!  

The Global markets are closed tomorrow and we're bound to have a very slow day – if you are looking for a Santa Clause rally on today's trading, you are very likely to be disappointed.  Today is a day for relaxation and reflection.  Remember, the words of Jacob Marley, who said:

Business! Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!

Marley was a man who worked and worked until the day he died and regretted it every day after.  If you don't believe in an afterlife and you don't believe in leaving behind the World a better place than you found it, at least find some time for yourself so people don't call you “a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner” after you're gone.  

I was inspired by an old post on Barry's site titled “Give and You Will Receive” listing 13 good ways we can all give every day. 

'Tis the season of giving and goodwill to all man and all that and my children just completed their annual ritual of wrapping up all the toys they are done with to give to children who need them more than they do.  

It's a little thing, but if you want your kids to learn the benefits of charity, actually parting with things they like or liked and physically giving them to kids who clearly appreciate it is much more gratifying than writing a check to some anonymous organization.  The same goes for volunteering some time (and money!) at a local shelter and helping some people come in from the cold for a nice, warm meal – it makes you appreciate your family dinner a LOT more! 

Whether 2015 will be another great year for the top 1% as the market screams even higher on wave after wave of free money remains to be seen.  So far, the signs are looking good, though we mostly cashed out ahead of the holidays – just in case it isn't…