07 May 2010

Posted at 16:12h in The Friday Brief by
Fears of a debt contagion in Europe got the attention of US investors this week. As of Friday morning the NASDAQ is off 7.2% the S&P 500 is down 6.2% and the FTSE All US Index is down 6.5%. The S&P Europe 350 is down 11.6% for the week and 16% over the past 30 days. Worried Bond investors flocked to the relative safety of US Treasuries driving intermediate and long-term bond indices up 2.2% and 5.6%, respectively, for the week. Concerns that severe fiscal problems in Greece, and growing pressures in Portugal, Spain, Ireland, and Italy might cripple the European recovery along with reports a few forecasts that China is months away from a burnout started a selling wave that grew throughout the week.

23 Apr 2010

Posted at 16:28h in The Friday Brief by
The biggest news this week on the US economy comes today as the Commerce Department announces that orders for durable goods excluding transportation jumped by 2.8%, the most since the recession began in December 2007. Other reports this week including Leading Indicators and Home sales reported this week further bolstered the view that the economy is healing.  

09 Oct 2009

Posted at 14:36h in The Friday Brief by
Economic recovery will be in the eyes of the beholder for months to come. From the perspective of employment, the economy may remain anemic for months. And Washington’s stimulus efforts are having no discernable impact. Alternatively, the corporate sector seems to be showing life on several fronts including exports, inventory replenishment, and earnings from increasing sales.

25 Sep 2009

Posted at 15:18h in The Friday Brief by
The stock market, since early March continues to suggest economic recovery. But this week it took a pause as the S&P 500 declined some 1.8%. Still, the average is 55% above its March 9th lows. With the huge rally, consensus seems to be building that the market is ahead of itself. Some even argue that we are in a sucker’s rally or a bear market trap soon to collapse.