Weekly Economic and Market Review
Last week’s economic data continued the recent pattern of the recovery. Manufacturing remains strong, inflation is rising, housing is weak and employment remains a major issue. The economy is continuing to slowly recover but there is no sign of an acceleration that is sorely needed to reduce the unemployment rate. I suspect the next few .. read more
Weekly Economic and Market Review
I’ve been warning about a rise in volatility for the last month and it arrived in spades last week. Clairvoyant? Hardly. Obviously, I had no idea an earthquake and nuclear disaster was about to strike Japan. If I had, I would have sold the tiny position in Japanese stocks our portfolios hold (less than 1% .. read more
A Yarn About Inflation
Guest post from Doug Terry: My wife is an avid knitter. So avid, she has her own inventory of yarn and also of wool to spin her own yarn. She mentioned yesterday that the price of wool had gone up 20%. After telling her nice job honey, she said thanks and I got to thinking about what .. read more
Inflation? What Inflation?
I just noticed this from the recent ISM report: COMMODITIES REPORTED UP/DOWN IN PRICE and IN SHORT SUPPLY Commodities Up in Price Aluminum (5); Aluminum Products; Brass (2); Brass Products; Caustic Soda (6); Chemicals (4); Copper (6); Copper Based Products (3); Corn (5); Corrugated Containers (11); Diesel (2); Freight Rates; Fuel Oils; High Density Polyethylene .. read more
Weekly Economic and Market Review
GM sold shares to the public last week some of which were previously owned by….the public. Anyone lucky or well connected enough to be allocated shares in the IPO was able to book a near 10% profit almost immediately while the less fortunate previous owners – that would be you and me – took a .. read more
Weekly Economic and Market Review
The market got exactly what it expected last week and the result was another leg higher in a rally built on two dubious assumptions: gridlock is good and the Fed can fix what ails the economy. The mid term elections delivered control of the House of Representatives to John Boehner and the Republicans while the .. read more
Weekly Economic and Market Review
Is there a bubble in bond land? That’s become the hot question of the moment with everyone from Jeremy Siegel (yes) to Randall Forsyth at Barrons (no) offering an opinion. I was even quoted in an article this week at CNN Money concerning the present state of the bond market. Goodness knows, if reporters are .. read more
Weekly Economic and Market Review
The economic data continued its mixed performance last week with little in the way of surprises. The recovery is definitely slowing and that is quite disappointing considering that it hasn’t been a robust one anyway. The housing market is in tax credit hangover hell and the jobs market is downright dismal but manufacturing continues to .. read more
