Weekly Commentary

  Can it happen to us?Weekly CEO Commentary 3-25-13Tim Phillips, CEO—Phillips & Company One of the nice things about managing money professionally is if you’re intellectually curious, it provides for ample opportunity to learn new things all the time. Case in point: Cyprus. I have heard the name of the country before, and that’s about […]

  After the Fall: The Rocky Road Upward Weekly CEO Commentary 3-18-13Tim Phillips, CEO—Phillips & Company It’s great to see equity markets at all-time highs. It doesn’t feel that long ago when we were working with clients to not jump off the cliff and give up on their equity strategy. It feels good for markets […]

Where Do We Go From Here?Weekly CEO Commentary 3-11-13 Tim Phillips, CEO—Phillips & Company The Dow hit an all-time high of 14,397.07 on Friday. Bloomberg shows that since the market bottom on March 9, 2009, when the Dow was at 6,547.05, the market has rallied 146.33 percent. Year to date, the Dow is up 10.8 […]

What’s Next? Weekly CEO Commentary 3-4-13 Tim Phillips, CEO—Phillips & Company The world did not come to an end. As I traveled through security lines at airports this weekend, I saw absolutely no signs of long lines caused by cuts to government budgets, nor did the air traffic controllers have to leave their posts. What […]

Spending For Spending Weekly CEO Commentary 2-25-13 Tim Phillips, CEO—Phillips & Company It’s apparent we are facing $85 billion in cuts to government spending. As I mentioned in last week’s blog, there appears to be too wide of a gap for an immediate political solution. So, can our economy sustain and grow without as much […]

  Handicapping Sequestration Weekly CEO Commentary 2-19-13 Tim Phillips, CEO—Phillips & Company It simply amazes me how much we have to talk about government fiscal policy and the market moving forces it creates. Just as a recap, the list of the times the US Government has been in a fiscal debate during these last two […]

Beating (Low) Expectations Weekly Market Commentary 2-11-13 Tim Phillips, CEO—Phillips & Company As we have written about previously, beyond the noise of headlines, what really drives stock prices is earnings. The S&P 500 has been approaching all-time highs, and as of last Friday, according to FactSet, 72% of S&P 500 companies reported better earnings than […]

Policy Errors, Part II Weekly CEO Commentary 2-4-13 Tim Phillips, CEO—Phillips & Company It’s official: the threat of massive cuts in spending with the fiscal cliff created a contraction in our economy. According to the Financial Times, GDP as reported this last week contracted by 0.1%, which is a drop from positive growth of 3.1% […]

Measuring Sleepless NightsWeekly CEO Commentary 1-28-13Tim Phillips, CEO—Phillips & Company I was recently asked by a client to explain what standard deviation is as it relates to investments and what’s a good number. Two things struck me about the questions. One, it’s a great question that merits an answer, and the other is a reminder […]

  American ConsumerismWeekly CEO Commentary 1-22-13Tim Phillips, CEO—Phillips & Company If the S&P 500 is any guide, the American Economy is back on track. Reuters reported that we hit a five-year high on the index last week, and it also appears we will not have a nasty showdown over the debt limit in the coming […]