The 4th quarter of 2016 is now solidly in the rear view mirror.  Thank goodness.  The presidential election exposed raw nerves among the electorate and played havoc with efforts to position portfolios in preparation for the vote outcome.  The day following the election saw an immediate jump in the DOW average and interest rates.  The.. read more →

The 3rd quarter was in many ways a continuation of the downward tilt to the U.S. economy.  It now appears that 2016 will be the worst year economically since the financial crisis.  The GDP is now edging closer to a 1% annual rate than the hoped for 2%.  The stock market itself has entered a.. read more →

Since Thursday the stock market has been on a roller coaster ride with the majority of the ride in a downward direction.  Volatility was sparked by comments from several voting members of the Federal Reserve Bank that there might be a .25% bump in interest rates at the end of this month.  The upset in.. read more →

Looking back at the 2nd quarter can be described as watching a crab make its way across a beach.  There was a great deal of sideways action.  The quarter was then capped off by the Brexit vote.  When the news that British voters had decided to leave the EU sank in, equity markets took a.. read more →

Whoa!!  The first quarter of 2016 is one for the history books.  It was the worst start ever for a January and then the biggest recovery in a month’s period of time in March.  All of the juking and jiving brought us back to where we started the year.  The beginning of the year pullback.. read more →

Now we can say we’ve lived through one of the worst investing years (2015) and the worst start ever to a new year.  Congratulations! 2015 finished with every asset group in the negative.  The only index to finish the year in the green was the NASDAQ.  The diversified portfolio had no upside.  The reasons being.. read more →

Happy New Year!  Hopefully, happier investing wise than last year.  2015 is being called one of the toughest years for investing.  2016 is starting off as if to compete for that title.  Here are the year to date numbers not counting today’s numbers which are negative as I write. DOW -5.22% S&P -5.15% NASDAQ -7.38%.. read more →

In 2000 when the tech bubble burst the pain hit close to home and everyone knew it was a problem.  The 2008 housing bubble burst hit directly at our homes and we all were very aware of the problem.  Another bubble has burst but many have not yet realized it as a problem.  In fact,.. read more →

As a football fan there is nothing that I hate worse than losing.  My second most hated aspect of football is the dreaded “prevent defense”.  If you ask the coach I’m sure you would hear that the “prevent” is implemented to prevent losing.  Ok.  So, understanding that, it’s easier for me to understand the question.. read more →

All major asset classes with the exception of the NASDAQ and long term Treasury Bonds experienced losses during the third quarter.  See Chart: 3rd Quarter Performance YTD Performance (Oct 27th) DJIA -.0013 1.46 S&P 500 -.0070 6.13 NASDAQ 2.91 7.41 Foreign -7.33 -7.77 Emerging Mkts -5.83 -2.62 Commodities -9.34 -4.10 Real Estate -3.53 21.82 Russell.. read more →