I Hope You Didn’t Sell Last Month
Last month I wrote a blog entitled “Don’t Panic” on February 5 in which I stated that “I believe that this is simply a long overdue correction in a bull market that began in March 2009 and remains in place today.” As it turns out I was fortunate enough to have written this the day that the correction ended. Since that time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has risen...
Read MoreDon’t Panic
As of the close of business yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1,136 points, or 6.8%, since the end of 2013. The venerable average was down 5.3% in January, which lead many seers to warn that the market would therefore be down for the full year. I’m here to disagree with that sentiment. I believe that this is simply a long overdue correction in a bull market that began in...
Read MoreThe Market Still Doesn’t Care That The Government Is Closed
We are now in the third week of the government shutdown and we’re careening towards the first “deadline” of October 17 with no deal in sight. By that day the Treasury will reportedly have about $30 billion with which to pay its bills. That will leave less than two weeks to scrimp and scrounge before the next big deadline of November 1, at which time the government will no longer...
Read MoreMarket Achieves Record Levels
About an hour into trading today, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average have both surpassed previous all time highs and achieved significant milestones. As I write this around 10:30am, the DJIA is at 15,003, marking the first time in history the venerable index has reached that level. Similarly, the S&P 500 is at 1,616, the first time that index has ever been over 1,600. And...
Read MoreFiduciary Duty From Your Advisor
This week, I’d like to talk about fiduciary duty. I will be borrowing liberally from an article written by Knut Rostad in the February 11, 2013 edition of Investment News. Mr. Rostad is the president of the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard, a nonprofit formed to advance fiduciary principles through research, advocacy and education. By way of background, fiduciary law was established to...
Read MoreThe Cliff, The Deficit and What It Means To You
A few weeks ago (the December 8th entry) I told you that the world wasn’t coming to an end because of the Fiscal Cliff. I said that “it is HIGHLY UNLIKELY that every tax increase and spending cut will, in fact, come to pass. Some compromises will certainly be made by our leaders in Washington, despite the radical bleatings of the far right and far left. Whether the deal is brokered...
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