27 Jun 2013

Posted at 22:27h in The Friday Brief by
For much of this year a powerfully rising stock market seemed immune to deteriorating economic fundamentals. The most plausible reason was the Fed pumping billions in liquidity into the economy through their quantitative easing program known as QE3. But last week's markets highlighted some flaws in that logic.

21 Jun 2013

Posted at 10:10h in The Friday Brief by
How we hate the idea of removing a bandage. It so nicely covers the damage and the pain underneath that we soon prefer the façade to the reality. We especially fear its removal as we know the adhesive will only reluctantly and painfully give up its sticky hold on our very sensitive skin. Knowing the quick yank is best, we often resort to the painfully slow tugging approach.

31 May 2013

Posted at 10:00h in The Friday Brief by
If there was any doubt that the stock market remained dependent on the Federal Reserve, it was proven twice again. Last week, Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank could begin pulling back on stimulus measures, commonly referred to as quantitative easing, if officials see evidence of "sustained" economic growth. Those comments along with a flurry of good economic reports knocked the S&P 500 down by 1.1% as traders worried that the Fed might soon release the market to swim on its own.