10 Feb 2006

Posted at 14:57h in The Friday Brief by
More than half of companies have reported their calendar fourth quarter earnings to date and they are up an average of 14%, according to the Wall Street Journal’s Total Market Index.  These strong earnings suggest a continued strong economy.  So far, neither the Fed’s rate hikes nor the slowing housing market have managed to sap much of the economy’s vitality.  Employment indicators have been strong and consumer spending was robust during the last two months of 2005.  Gross Domestic Product in the first quarter of this year could easily exceed 4%, according to experts.

03 Feb 2006

Posted at 15:01h in The Friday Brief by
The latest economic news further clouds the picture and investors have acted on that uncertainly by selling stocks.  We expected a sell-off early in the year, but wonder if it has gone a bit too far. 

27 Jan 2006

Posted at 15:03h in The Friday Brief by
The fans and dehumidifiers are gone and the office is dry, quiet, and empty.  We hope to have the walls and trim and paint restored this weekend, with our furniture soon to follow.  We are very thankful for the quick response of the building management and their contractors.  We are also delighted that our network has continued to run throughout the event without skipping a beat.  In the midst of the ruckus we installed our new website.  Please take a look – www.beaconinvest.com.

20 Jan 2006

Posted at 15:15h in The Friday Brief by
As I write this Brief there are about five men in my office cutting sheetrock and removing insulation.  It has been a dusty and noisy week spent in the drone of high speed drying fans and dehumidifiers.  Last weekend our offices were flooded.  Patty’s and my Monday holiday plans were subordinated when we received word from our building’s manager that our office was filled with about an inch and a half of water.  It seems a refrigerator icemaker line in the office above us burst (the night of Friday the 13th maybe?) and ran undiscovered through the weekend.