Attn: Boomers, stocks are the new bonds
Baby Boomers (1946-1964) face a dilemma. How do you adequately save for retirement while preserving purchasing power during a long retirement? May I suggest looking at high quality, high dividend yield equities? At this time, with equity valuations low and bond yields at historic lows, the case has become compelling. The S&P’s forward P/E ratio is .. read more
Markets Today
The US market opens up 1.4%. In the news, Italy’s Monti enacts austerity measure by way of emergency decree. This means his policy goes into effect before a vote by parliament. Measures include raising the value added tax by 2%, raising the retirement age for women 2 years to 62 and for men 1 year .. read more
Weekly Chart Review – “Who loves ya, baby?”
After a historically bad Thanksgiving week for the S&P 500, the markets turned around with one of the best weeks since Spring of 2009. I’m calling this the Aristotelis “Telly” Savalas market. It starts with Greece and you end up with no hair. Markets around the world jumped higher after the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the .. read more
Contrarian Alert
When there are headwinds in the economy, like bank capitalization problems, one must have a sense of the magnitude of such problems. Thus, it is necessary for any investor to possess a firm grasp on the relative size of economic factors relative to a potential capital issue. If a country’s banking sector must write off .. read more
A Closer Look
Christmas may have come early this year, as the market surged forward on great numbers from the retail sector following the Black Friday extravaganza and the coordinated actions of the world’s central banks to relieve the European credit crunch. The week’s events propelled the S&P 500 to a 7% gain, while the German DAX was .. read more
Weekly Economic & Market Review
Well I stepped out the tub Put my feet on the floor I wrapped my towel around me And I opened up the door and then Splish Splash I jumped back in the bath well how was I to know there was a party goin’ on? Bobby Darin That must be how the bears felt .. read more
Ludwig von Mises on Economic Growth, Denial, and Truth in Europe
Thinking Things Over December 4, 2011 Volume I, Number 20: Ludwig von Mises on Economic Growth, Denial, and Truth in Europe By John L. Chapman, Ph.D. Washington, D.C. Data this week from Europe suggest the economy there is already in recession with, regrettably, the political class seemingly in denial over its potential severity. Depending on the fate of bank recapitalizations there, .. read more
The Eurozone: Spectacular Government Failure, and Warning to the United States
By John L. Chapman, Ph.D. Washington, D.C. December 3, 2011 For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. — Hosea 8:7 In 1979 historian Clarence Carson of the University of Alabama published a book with an arresting title on the history and consequences of socialism: The World in the Grip .. read more
