01 Aug 2014

Posted at 12:44h in The Friday Brief by
For the past several months the subject of an impending market correction has moved to the fore of media attention and investor concern. With yesterday's stock market pull-back, more have joined the discussion.

09 May 2014

Posted at 16:43h in The Friday Brief by
We constantly hear that Americans are not saving enough for retirement. In fact, the constancy of the message likely causes worry for even the best of savers. These are the folks who reach their final years with a big portfolio wishing they’d traveled more, retired earlier or given more during their lifetime. Often, savers can find it difficult to spend joyfully.  Here are some reasons why:

13 Dec 2013

Posted at 14:51h in The Friday Brief by
Flying back from Rwanda earlier this week gave me hours (33 to be exact) of time to reflect on many things. When I completed notes from my meetings in Kigali, I spent some time looking ahead to next year and what we as investors might expect. While I'm usually optimistic, the logical conclusion seems to be pointing considerably more negative than positive. Odds are for a slow-down, maybe even the 'R' word.

19 Oct 2007

Posted at 16:09h in The Friday Brief by
This Friday marks the 20th anniversary of “Black Monday,” which sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average spiraling down 508 points or 23% in a day. The panic was sparked by investors realizing that Fed Chairman Paul Volker was wringing money out of the economy without apparent regard for its near-term health. His aim was to irradiate the prolonged and excessively high inflation of the time. The market drop was the second largest inUS history, second only to the first trading day after shutdown following the outbreak of WWI on 12/12/1914.