03 Oct 2003

Posted at 11:09h in The Friday Brief by
Not too long ago I listened to an Australian gentleman who was interviewed on a radio talk show.  When asked about his experiences inAmerica, he seemed very impressed with our culture, infrastructure, opportunities, etc.  But he concluded his complimentary remarks with a rather telling observation that “no one in this country indicates.”  That’s Australian-speak for ‘uses one’s turn signal.’

26 Sep 2003

Posted at 11:12h in The Friday Brief by
All of this week’s economic data has been released in the last two days.  That conveniently coincided with my return yesterday after spending a few days on my annual trip to the impoverished and twice recently flooded coalfields of West Virginia.  In light of our recent discussions ofAmerica’s waning manufacturing presence, I was struck by the awesome cost of inflexibility in a rapidly changing world. 

18 Sep 2003

Posted at 11:24h in The Friday Brief by
This week’s Brief will be just that due to Hurricane Isabel’s eminent arrival.  With the likelihood that we might not have power or Internet connections tomorrow, we wanted to get it out today before conditions degrade, as they are doing pretty quickly. 

12 Sep 2003

Posted at 15:55h in The Friday Brief by
The S&P gave up a half a percentage point this week while the NASDAQ declined by .64%.  The economic news was mixed and gave little boost to the market in either direction.  Retail stocks led the decline as some investors and analysts fretted that the increase in mortgage rates would slow refinancing, thereby reducing a major source of consumer funds.  Another factor weighing on the market was the release of yet another bin Laden tape on the eve of the 9/11 anniversary.