Weekly Economic & Market Review
Over the last couple of months I’ve dedicated a good portion of these weekly commentaries to the various headwinds I see facing the global economy and markets. Everyone, it seems, knows what the risks are and I’m beginning to wonder if, being so well known, the actual events may prove less jarring to sentiment than .. read more
Inherit The Wind
Guest post from friend of Alhambra, Brian Cronin: In 1960, Stanley Kramer made a movie based on the 1925 Scopes trial which dealt with the age-old question of whether man came about by evolution or creation and whether evolution could be taught in Tennessee schools. It starred Spencer Tracy as Henry Drummond and Fredric March .. read more
Weekly Economic & Market Review
And so another year has passed into the history books – the older I get, the faster they seem to go – and investors must again try to position their portfolios for a profitable year. It hasn’t been easy to do the last few years and this year promises to be just as challenging. The .. read more
Deja Vu All Over Again?
Worst week for stocks since October 2008. That statement of fact about last week’s market evokes feelings of sheer terror for investors everywhere. US stocks, as measured by the S&P 500, were down 6.5% last week but the real carnage was in emerging markets where double digit losses were more the norm than the exception. .. read more
Anticipation
The S&P 500 rose nearly 1.5% and the NASDAQ rallied over twice that amount all in a week when, if anything, the economic data continued to deteriorate. Of course, the market and the economy are not the same thing especially in the short term so it isn’t that surprising to see them diverge. It is often .. read more
As Good As It Gets?
Last Friday’s GDP report showed the US economy growing at a 3.2% pace in the first quarter, companies are reporting great earnings and a deal was finalized over the weekend to bail out Greece. There’s still plenty to worry about – Goldman Sachs under criminal investigation and the Gulf of Mexico on fire are not .. read more
Paulson Having Trouble Raising Money for Gold Fund
John Paulson made a fortune being right about housing, but his success there isn’t translating into assets for his new gold fund (via WSJ): It took John Paulson months to convince investors that housing would crumble. Now it’s taking him awhile to get them excited about gold, his latest passion. When Mr. Paulson’s Paulson & .. read more
The Illusion of Progress
If all you do is read headlines, it would seem that the US is making steady progress toward solving some of the most pressing issues of the day. President Obama went to Copenhagen last week and came away with an agreement which calls for developed nations to provide $30 billion to help developing nations deal .. read more
