18 Mar 2016

Posted at 13:57h in The Friday Brief by
Every four years about this time a popular question arises - 'if so-and-so is elected, how will the stock market react? It's a fair question because presidents set the tone for government policy for the coming four or eight years. These policies can be beneficial or harmful to various businesses and industries, directly impacting their profits and stock prices.

28 Dec 2012

Posted at 14:45h in The Friday Brief by
Years ago, my brother worked for the Naval Air Rework Facility at Marine Airbase Cherry Point, NC. Each year he would tell us incredible stories of how the military handled surplus near the end of a budget year. One of those years he noticed some large bulldozers digging a ditch roughly 25 feet deep and fifty yards long.  There was nothing unusual about that sight, until he saw that they were refilling it with brand new diesel generators and a host of other pieces of unused, even boxed equipment. So with the books balanced, they covered them over and drove away.

15 Jun 2012

Posted at 11:29h in The Friday Brief by
US equity markets are off their May lows by about 4.5% to 5% depending on the index while economic releases continue to show the economy slowing. These reports and news from Europe and Washington's ambivalence over the approaching fiscal cliff all keep a pretty tight lid on short-term optimism.

30 Sep 2011

Posted at 12:44h in The Friday Brief by
There was scant positive news this week offering hope to those still optimistic the US and global economies can avoid a recession. The government’s third and final revision of economic growth (GDP) for the second quarter was revised up to 1.3% from 1%, however still quite anemic. German lawmakers quelled short-term fears by approving an expansion of the euro-area rescue fund which allows European policy makers to focus on next to blunt their debt crisis. They will likely leverage the fund as the US did in its own crisis in 2008.