What a summer this has been. One of the old sayings in money management, “sell in May and go away,” infers that the summer months are either slow and lackluster, or market losers. Not in 2009. Since the early spring lows, the market is up 48%, or 11% for the year to date. So what […]
The numbers this past quarter are simply astounding, for both good and bad. The US stock market was up 16% for the quarter, the largest gain in the past ten years for a single quarter. The bond market had a similarly remarkable rebound. But at the same time, the US lost another million net jobs […]
This update is in three parts. The first two parts are links to articles of mine that were recently published in the Concord Journal. While these pieces are written for a less sophisticated audience, I hope you find them informative as I try to put the pieces together from last year’s events. The first article […]
February was an ugly month, and the first week of March was just as bad. This commentary addresses both the current state of the economy and the market movements over the past month. Keep in mind that the market, in its ever evolving hunt for profits, is typically six months ahead of the economy. Put […]
From a contrarian’s view, January was both an abysmal month and a month of promise. Let me start with the abysmal. For the month, US equities were down 8.5%, one of the worst Januarys on record and one of the worst months period. One recently published statistic stated that 80% of the time that January […]
There isn’t much that I need to say to emphasize just how bad this year was in the financial markets. The world went through a capitulation, and in that process all the cracks and flaws within the financial system were exposed. From dismal company 401(k) performance to the complete collapse of hundreds of hedge funds, […]
Welcome to the holiday season, 2008. If you ever believed in the Grinch who stole Christmas, then all of your childhood fantasies are coming true. The list of superlatives can go on for days, but in a nutshell things have gone from bad to worse during the past month. This, however, is not new news, […]