It’s over. The Great Recession is officially relegated to Wikipedia and academic studies. The financial problems are fixed. Even Bernanke is looking for historical analysis of his efforts as Yellen arrives and the Fed shifts gears. Kiplinger’s employment/unemployment analysis shows an advancing U.S. economy with large, new and exciting growth needs. The past few... »
Archive for December, 2013
Five Reasons It’s Time To Buy Bonds Again
Bonds in 2013 finally got their comeuppance. After a long, pleasing ride of income + price gains, the bond market decided the party was over. It only took four months for the 10-year U.S. Treasury note to drop the equivalent of over five years’ interest. All but the shortest maturities suffered similar fates. So... »
Don’t Put Your Portfolio On Autopilot For The Next Two Weeks
Prior to the 1982 holiday season, I was having lunch with one of Bank of America’s top pension fund managers, Frank Husic, then at Alliance Capital. (I was the VP in charge of the pension and savings plans’ investments.) When I asked about his holiday plans, he surprised me, saying he would be at... »
Gogo’s Downer PR News Is Actually A Sign Of Upward Progress
Today’s PR announcement was received badly, pushing Gogo (GOGO) down 15%. The stock is now over 25% below its recent high. While such performance is evidence of something seriously amiss, the news is actually a sign of growth and maturity, not trouble and concern. Here’s the explanation… This article is published on Forbes.com »
Starting Gun Just Sounded For 2014 Housing Market – Time To Buy D.R. Horton
This is it – the news we’ve been waiting for: New highs in the economy and homebuilder confidence. And they came at the same time. Moreover, we’re getting this good news in the final stages of “loss harvesting” in which investors mistakenly sell low for tax “benefits,” ignoring fundamentals. Sale candidates are homebuilders, at... »
Six Rising Stocks For The Market’s Year-End Party
This year’s stock market has unique characteristics that could produce a year-end upward burst. Driving the market higher has been a heady combination of a broadly improved economy, past troubles fading away, and a significant increase in investor interest, particularly in growth stocks. In addition, over the last couple of weeks, economic readings and... »
‘Harvesting Losses’ Is Wrong On Two Counts
“Harvesting.” On a farm this action takes place that after the seeds have been planted, the rains have come, the sun has shone, and the crops have grown well. The result? The farmer harvests and sells his crops at a profit. It does not mean that conditions went awry, the crops withered and the... »