After falling fractionally for five consecutive sessions the Dow Jones Industrial Average got almost all of it back on the last trading day of the week. It closed Friday up 199 points to 16,020 (a 22% gain for the year) on a stronger than expected jobs report and an upward revision to third quarter GDP,...Read More
A few stories are dominating the investment world today. First, the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a new milestone by closing over 16,000 for the first time in its history, closing the week 16,065. The S&P 500 market average also set a record at Friday’s close (1,805). Add to them the dismal performance of gold,...Read More
Okay, there’s a lot to talk about so I’m going to get right into it. The stock market continued to trade at all-time highs last weak amid more confusion and misinterpretation of recently released economic data. Yields took an unexpected 5% jump in the week while stocks stayed their over-valued course. See below. The initial...Read More
Nov 03, 2013 I often find myself torn between two sides – the Obama I hoped for and the one I got. He consistently says one thing and does another, and sometimes I totally agree with him, am proud of him, and hold him in high regard. But those times are too rare and too...Read More
Labor statistics were reported last week and they stunk again, as just 148,000 jobs were added. A number twice that amount is good, but three times is what we really need. Even so “the market” instantly traded up on the weak labor stats. Why? Because a poor jobs market means continued quantitative easing (QE). Every...Read More
In what many hoped would end with a long-term solution to our Nation’s fiscal woes, all the drama and fanfare surrounding Washington DC ended in a thud, again. Last week a “deal” was struck to end the government “shutdown,” and for all the perceived relief it brought, details are sparse. What exactly was agreed to?...Read More
A little sanity needs to be inserted to the conversation regarding the government shutdown and the debt limit. Let’s begin by eliminating one easy distraction: the government shutdown is not an actual “shutdown.” It’s a temporary minimization of government. The people furloughed (or temporarily laid-off) during this time will be paid their full salary for...Read More
Yields retreated significantly on the Fed’s recent announcement that it will likely keep its QE program rolling until January 2014 – the same time, coincidentally, when Chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to retire. (What a coward. A courageous man would begin untangling the mess he created before he left office. Instead he’ll leave that task...Read More
Oh what a difference a week makes. Just one week ago President Obama had virtually no way out of the mess he was about to create in Syria. But then on Monday, Russian leader Vladimir Putin gave him one. Putin is no fool. He knows that many Americans vehemently oppose U.S. military action in Syria,...Read More
Bond values continue to fall while stocks and gold hold steady amid an awful display of government mismanagement – action in Syria seems likely, the economy continues to limp along, and large government programs continue to produce results contrary to their stated objectives. First things first; recall that President Obama was against the Iraq war...Read More
