03 Aug 2012

Posted at 13:29h in The Friday Brief by
Comments by Bill Gross and others of late have rocked the status quo and tested commonly held investment tenets. On Tuesday Gross proclaimed in his monthly outlook column that "The cult of equity is dying." "Like a once-bright-green aspen turning to subtle shades of yellow then red in the Colorado fall, investors' impressions of 'stocks for the long run' or any run have mellowed as well." He’s right on the latter observation anyway.

08 Oct 2010

Posted at 16:41h in The Friday Brief by
As the manufacturing side of the economy shows signs of fatigue, the much larger service sector appears to be waking up. Tuesday’s strong report sent the Dow Jones Industrials up almost 200 points or 1.8%. But the pickup is not nearly fast enough to generate sufficient job growth to cut into the 9.6% unemployment rate reported today.  

10 Sep 2010

Posted at 16:36h in The Friday Brief by
Whatever economists ultimately label this period in American history, no doubt fear will play a large part in their description of it. Confidence numbers among consumers, investors, voters, and businesses hit all-time lows in 2008 and are only gradually coming back. The declines in economic indicators this summer sparked new fears, including a return to recession, even deflation. The new wave of trepidation drove many investors out of stocks once again and back into the short-term safety of money markets and short Treasuries.