Blog

21 Sep 2012 Cliffs, Bubbles, Toils, and Troubles

Posted at 16:14h in The Friday Brief by Sam Bass Jr.

"How did you go bankrupt?" "Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly." – Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises The economy is weak and probably getting worse. Europe remains shaky and China is slowing. Gasoline and food prices are high and going up, yet stocks are up 4.2% in September. How is that? A big factor is that last week the Federal Reserve renewed the lease for the money printers with its QE3. As the sole actor in Washington moving to stimulate jobs, the Fed took further bold steps.

14 Sep 2012 The Fed Goes “Main Street”

Posted at 12:57h in The Friday Brief by Sam Bass Jr.

Ben Bernanke, regarded as the most innovative Fed Chairman in history, broke new ground yesterday as he pledged that the Federal Reserve would buy mortgage bonds until the economy gets closer to their goals. He said, “This is a Main Street policy, because what we’re about here is trying to get jobs going. We’re trying to create more employment. We’re trying to meet our maximum employment mandate, so that’s the objective.”

07 Sep 2012 The True Cost of American Politics

Posted at 09:39h in The Friday Brief by Sam Bass Jr.

While the Democrats bask in the afterglow of their convention and the Republicans seethe over the numerous snipes, half-truths, outlandish claims, and hyperbole (a mirror image of last week's convention) the economy continues to plod along, going nowhere. Their lofty idyllic speeches talk over and around the truth, the American Dream is dying and their politics are killing it.

31 Aug 2012 Avoid the Market Hype of the Fiscal Cliff

Posted at 12:34h in The Friday Brief by Sam Bass Jr.

The other day a friend told me that his advisor was encouraging him to sell all of his investment assets to steer clear of the impending "fiscal cliff." The 'cliff' refers to dire financial consequences should our Congress fail to act on certain measures before the new year, any one of which has the potential to derail our economy. They include $1.3 trillion in automatic government spending cuts (most aimed at defense, arguably the more productive part of government spending) set by Congress as a failsafe measure should they be unable to cut spending through their normal legislative processes. The Bush tax cuts are set to expire this year unless Congress reinstates once again. A slow economy is an awful time to raise taxes. Additionally, significant tax and fee increases are set to begin next year, particularly aimed at investors as part of Obama-care. Further impeding the flow of capital investment through higher taxes and fees, again is the wrong thing to do during a slow economy.

17 Aug 2012 Financial Markets, Politics and the New Reality

Posted at 07:54h in The Friday Brief by Sam Bass Jr.

Today's Brief is a reprint from an article in John Maulden's InvestorsInsight.com newsletter by George Friedman, founder of a geopolitical analytical company known as Stratfor, and the author of a book titled The Next 100 Years. His methodology is based on the premise that the actions of leaders and nations are predictable.

10 Aug 2012 Are You Just Working or Are You Building a Cathedral?

Posted at 12:59h in The Friday Brief by Sam Bass Jr.

People, particularly Americans, process an almost-constant stream of comparative judgments of things ranging from the mundane like appearances, clothes, cars, smart phones, jewelry, homes, and the like, to things on grander scale like status, accomplishments, influence, and respect. We are skilled at measuring ourselves against others, yet remarkably unskilled when it comes to truly evaluating our own potential. Worse, few of us have taken the time to understand our passion or purpose in life.

03 Aug 2012 Are Stocks Dead?

Posted at 13:29h in The Friday Brief by Sam Bass Jr.

Comments by Bill Gross and others of late have rocked the status quo and tested commonly held investment tenets. On Tuesday Gross proclaimed in his monthly outlook column that "The cult of equity is dying." "Like a once-bright-green aspen turning to subtle shades of yellow then red in the Colorado fall, investors' impressions of 'stocks for the long run' or any run have mellowed as well." He’s right on the latter observation anyway.

27 Jul 2012 Surviving or Thriving?

Posted at 12:47h in The Friday Brief by Sam Bass Jr.

The economy continued to slow in the second quarter, according to the Commerce Department. In fact the so called recovery is now officially the second slowest since WWII. Much of the economic data this week advanced the argument that the economy is slowing. Europe, China, and the developing world are only making matters worse as their economies face varying degrees of challenges.

20 Jul 2012 Seek First to Understand

Posted at 14:51h in The Friday Brief by Sam Bass Jr.

Earlier this week, Stephen Covey, a hero of mine and a champion of how to live a better life, passed away. Covey was best known for his mega-bestseller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. His common-sense, yet profound counsel to “Begin with the End in Mind,” to “Be Proactive,” and to “Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood” have been fundamental concepts in the shaping of Beacon. We thank him and will miss him greatly.

13 Jul 2012 The Importance of Small Business

Posted at 15:43h in The Friday Brief by Sam Bass Jr.

It was a light week for economic news, but one of the most significant announcements came from the National Federation of Independent Business. It described the latest reading from its small business optimism index as a "significant" decline. Major contributors were poor job creation and consumer confidence, as well as declining capital investment plans and earnings trends. Only 1 in 10 components improved last month, according to Econoday.