31 Dec 2010

Posted at 15:03h in The Friday Brief by
In conversations with clients, friends, and relatives this past week there seemed to be an almost universal ‘good riddance to 2010.’ But there also seemed to be hope that the now one will bring improvement. We join the hope that faith, optimism, and resilience will prevail.

17 Dec 2010

Posted at 15:06h in The Friday Brief by
Inflation continues to be subdued at the consumer level, but one wonders for how long as prices continue to rise for producers of goods and services. Other economic indicators released during the week were mostly positive, some strongly so. The US equity markets are largely unchanged on the week while Treasures gave up .56%. However, there were two strong buying days for Treasuries indicating the two-month slide may be reaching a climax.

06 Aug 2010

Posted at 14:58h in The Friday Brief by
The Great Recession, now in its 33rd month, drags on relentlessly and painfully as headlines such as today’s unemployment number perpetuate the gloom. The US economy lost more jobs in July than was expected and the unemployment rate remained fixed at 9.5%. But beneath the din, there are substantial reasons for hope of improvement.

25 Jun 2010

Posted at 15:47h in The Friday Brief by
The ‘green shoots’ of economic recovery characterized by Ben Bernanke in mid 2009 are withering as the housing slump drags on, unemployment remains chronically high, consumer spending remains stagnate, Europe’s debt crisis eludes resolution, state governments grow increasingly insolvent, and the economic and ecological catastrophe in the Gulf grows worse by the day. For the second time, the government revised downward their estimate of US gross domestic product from to 2.7%. The first estimate was 3.2%, followed by a correction to 3.0%. Year over year real GDF (inflation adjusted) is up 2.4%, compared to up .1% for the fourth quarter.