26 Sep 2008

Posted at 15:48h in The Friday Brief by
As yet another bank fails and the stakes get higher, Congress and the White House continue to argue over the best plan for recovery. These are political institutions with some of the best politicians (best at being political) in the world, so it is difficult if not impossible to remove the political aspects of a public debate of this magnitude. And if you take your news and views from television it may be nearly impossible for you separate your emotions from the situation because these pols are so skilled at arousing the passions of those on their side. But if you can suspend your ire from the events of yesterday for a few moments a better understanding of the ideology behind what is going on might be possible.

02 May 2008

Posted at 16:19h in The Friday Brief by
In our Brief two weeks ago we presented the possibility that the markets are sensing a comeback in the US economy. The Dow Jones Industrials are up 3.7% and the Nasdaq is up 4.7% from that point. Since their March lows the two indices are up 12.5% and 15.5% respectively. The bond markets and the currency markets are also moving in agreement as the dollar reached a five-week high yesterday and bond prices are trending down taking rates modestly higher.

25 Jan 2008

Posted at 16:15h in The Friday Brief by
There comes a point in market downturns when investors throw in the towel and begin dumping stocks at any price, just to get out and end the pain. These events typically come after longer and deeper routs, but Tuesday’s rout felt a lot like capitulation. It had many of the characteristics of a turning point. One thing is certain in equity investing and that is nothing is certain. Historical studies of market corrections are helpful to understand their general framework, but there is no magical formula to trigger getting out or in.

01 Jul 2005

Posted at 15:35h in The Friday Brief by
The quarter was remarkable on several fronts; the world mourned and buried a beloved Pope John Paul II, oil prices set new record highs (but not inflation-adjusted highs), but failed to derail corporate earnings which soundly beat analysts’ estimates, and corporate managers felt good enough about their futures to book some healthy acquisitions.  But after digesting three months of mixed economic news and promises of higher rates from the Fed, investors chose to be more optimistic.  During the quarter the S&P 500 gained 1.4% while the tech-heavy NASDAQ rose 3%.  The 30 Dow Jones Industrials didn’t fare so well dropping 1.6% during the same period.  Our three models performed very well in comparison.  Your quarterly reports are in the mail and are available on our website at http://www.beaconinvest.com