06 Sep 2002

Posted at 14:08h in The Friday Brief by
What have we lost since September 11th?  We are all infinitely more aware of just how quickly thousands of people can die at the hands of terrorist murderers.  On that horrible day, the lives of three thousand fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, and children were abruptly and tragically ended.  We all watched it in living horror.  During the past year, with that knowledge we readily sacrificed some of our cherished freedoms.  We continue to debate how many more liberties we will yield in the name of domestic security, but we have already given up much.

23 Aug 2002

Posted at 14:27h in The Friday Brief by
Have we seen the bottom or are we in for another cruel joke from old Mr. Market?  As you know, the market is random in the short term, and this bear has lived up to that reputation.  But, there are a lot of signs that point to an improved investment climate in the coming months. 

16 Aug 2002

Posted at 15:44h in The Friday Brief by
By the time you read this Brief, I will be in the ‘Mecca of Elvis,’ Memphis, Tennessee, along with 70 to 100,000 faithful pilgrims.  In the unlikely event you haven’t heard, the twenty-fifth anniversary of the King’s death is today.  It just happens to coincide with my taking my second daughter Emily, to school at Ole Miss.  The University of Mississippi lies in the quaint town of Oxford, Mississippi, one hour south of Memphis.  As it is difficult to fly to Oxford, Memphis is the gateway by air.  But even Memphis may become a tougher destination for Elvis pilgrims and Ole Miss students if the current descent of commercial aviation continues. 

09 Aug 2002

Posted at 15:58h in The Friday Brief by
July was the worst month for the S&P 500 since September 2001.  Few stocks were spared abuse.  Most of the best performers were stocks bouncing off oversold bottoms as telecommunications and technology stocks were among the leaders.  As mentioned in last weeks’ Brief, short covering accounted for most of the gains in stocks.  Lately, though, market specialists say they are seeing some real buying.  It may be due to money managers re-balancing their portfolios towards equities as bonds have become over-weighted during the past couple of years.