29 Jan 2016

Posted at 12:22h in The Friday Brief by
Evidence is mounting that the US economy is not immune to the contagion of the global economic slowdown. The Commerce Department announced today that the US economy expanded at an anemic (seasonally adjusted) 0.7% in the fourth quarter. This compares to advances of 2% in third quarter and 3.9% in second quarter of last year. Some argue that seasonal adjustments currently used by government statisticians do not reflect the evolving economy, but it's hard to see how the economy escapes the downdrafts of global slowing, an unprecedented drop in oil prices and a surging dollar.

22 Jan 2016

Posted at 10:10h in The Friday Brief by
Snow DayIt's no secret that the stock market has been pretty crummy in 2016. My younger sister Allegra is in college, without much of a vested interest in these things yet, and I just texted her to ask what the stock market has done this year. Her verbatim response was: "I think it's been kinda all over the place? And it tanked recently? Oil prices or something."

20 Jan 2016

Posted at 17:53h in The Friday Brief by
Today we experienced yet another round of greater-than-usual market volatility. We empathize with your concerns. While we cannot say how long or how deep the declines will go, it may be helpful to give some insight into some of the underlying causes, look at what the impact has been on the major asset classes, and to provide some historical reference to put it into context.

15 Jan 2016

Posted at 13:18h in The Friday Brief by

Market times like these can test our deepest resolve, especially when we are not prepared for the emotional impact of real declining wealth or learning the hard way that our 'expertly designed portfolio' sinks far more easily than we expected. [caption id="attachment_7590" align="alignnone" width="896"] "Winter Swells" by HG DeCortes - Beacon Collection[/caption] We don't...