Blog

  The US economy added the fewest number of jobs in December (74,000) since January 2011. [i] Much of the blame for the terrible jobs report was the weather. I know the weather was horrific in parts of the country. We have a national clientele and plenty of anecdotal… More >>

In recent weeks we have seen some extraordinary data published by the federal government. It seems like our budget deficit (the amount of money the government has to borrow to meet its spending) has been shrinking at an astonishing pace. Contrary to what economists… More >>

  In the next several days you will begin to see a dearth of predictions about 2014. How much will the S&P 500 go up or down? How much will the US economy grow in 2014? Unemployment? Wall Street firms know one thing about us that we generally don't realize. Investors… More >>

  It's the holidays and there is no better time to relax with family and friends. We have had an amazing year in the US equity markets. Source: Bloomberg The economy looks like it certainly reached "escape velocity" from the latest Q3 GDP revisions. GDP was up 4.1%. [i]… More >>

  The week before Christmas will certainly be anything but quiet for global equity markets. With the recent strong jobs report, stronger than anticipated Q3 GDP, and consumer confidence improving, some market prognosticators are now suggesting the Fed might begin to cut… More >>

  Something happened last week in capital markets that might suggest a significant shift with investors thinking. The market sold off despite some very strong economic news all week—until Friday. Consumer credit expanded by 18.2 billion in October, which was the largest… More >>

  At this stage of a bull market cycle we start to see investor behavior trump reason and logic. One of the most common behaviors/mistakes investors make is to chase valuations. They start to buy when in fact they should err on the side of caution. As I wrote last week,… More >>

  This week marked another week in which the major market indexes hit all-time highs. It’s clear that investors are feeling very good and continue to pour more money into equities. Since the start of October, investors have added $34.2 billion into equity funds, and have… More >>

With so much discussion, debate and concern being expressed by the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, I think it's critical to look at the program and its economic impact in the simplest terms. Here’s Obamacare made easy: It provides a basic… More >>

  The US economy had some reasonably good news last week. US GDP was up 2.85% in the 3rd quarter. It's the fourth consecutive quarter of growth. [i] Further, the monthly employment situation took a surprising turn for the better. The US economy added over 204,000 jobs in… More >>