07 Feb 2003

Posted at 16:19h in The Friday Brief by

 “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” Charles Dickens’ Introduction to A Tale of Two Cities – 1859, comparingLondon andParis at the time of the French Revolution (1789-1799)

This week we mourn the deaths of seven national and international heroes while celebrating their high achievements with those of the space program.  We laud the program’s proud history of excellence during the cold war competition later adapting to the new world order to become a model of international cooperation. 

31 Jan 2003

Posted at 16:23h in The Friday Brief by
It was a big week for news as President Bush laid out his initiatives in his State of the Union message and the government released a number of important statistics on the health of the economy.  As of this morning the Dow is down 2.3% from Monday and was more volatile than usual.  During the last two weeks it has fallen 10.4% from its peak of 8869 to close at 7945 yesterday. 

24 Jan 2003

Posted at 16:30h in The Friday Brief by
We started the week with a report that housing starts in December increased 5% to a 1.835 million-unit annual rate, the highest since June 1986.  December building permits rose 8.2% to a 1.880 million unit annual rate.  The increases were larger than expected and provide strong evidence that the housing boom remains healthy and will likely remain so for months to come.  The boom continues to be fueled by historically low interest rates.  The average rate on a 30-year mortgage was 5.97% last week.  That was close to the 5.85% at the start of the month, which Freddie Mac, the No. 2 buyer of mortgages, said was the lowest since the 1960s.

17 Jan 2003

Posted at 16:35h in The Friday Brief by
As we head into earnings season, the top international news stories, mostly about Iraq, continue to steal the thunder from some pretty good company earnings.  By the end of today, 95 of the S&P 500 will have reported their earnings.  First Call reports that the number of reports beating expectations is well ahead of this time last year.  Granted, the comparisons are pretty easy, but hey, let’s enjoy a little good news.  Many of the major banks reported strong results this week.  Bank of America’s 4th Quarter net income rose 27% and beat average analysts’ estimates by $.06.  BB&T reported a 21% increase in earnings.