07 Jan 2011

Posted at 15:42h in The Friday Brief by
The economy is coming back according to stocks, bonds, gold, economic reports, and Mr. Bernanke. The S&P 500 gained 13% in 2010 and 1.4% so far this year. Companies are poised to report strong earnings for the fourth quarter with profits for S&P 500 companies expected to be up about 20%. Unfortunately, unemployment is not yet following suit, despite the unexpected drop in the headline number.

31 Dec 2010

Posted at 15:03h in The Friday Brief by
In conversations with clients, friends, and relatives this past week there seemed to be an almost universal ‘good riddance to 2010.’ But there also seemed to be hope that the now one will bring improvement. We join the hope that faith, optimism, and resilience will prevail.

17 Dec 2010

Posted at 15:06h in The Friday Brief by
Inflation continues to be subdued at the consumer level, but one wonders for how long as prices continue to rise for producers of goods and services. Other economic indicators released during the week were mostly positive, some strongly so. The US equity markets are largely unchanged on the week while Treasures gave up .56%. However, there were two strong buying days for Treasuries indicating the two-month slide may be reaching a climax.

10 Dec 2010

Posted at 15:08h in The Friday Brief by
The biggest news this week was that of the deal reached between President Obama and Congressional Republicans on extending the Bush tax cuts. On the news, the S&P surged two thirds of a percent then settled back as investors considered both the potential for higher deficits, at least in the short run, and the difficulty of getting it through Congress as liberal Democrats railed against the measure throughout the day. Obama defended his deal saying he was able to preserve tax breaks for the middle-class and extend unemployment benefits that were set to expire.