Party like its 1999?
Every market is different but there are still lessons to be learned from past markets that can be applied to the current situation. Some parts of today’s market appear quite similar to the 1999 market as told in the song by the artist formally known as Prince. In 1999, technology stocks were being bid up […]
Greece – The problem is now more social than economic
It was just 3 years ago that bond holders took a “haircut” in order to reduce the debt burden in Greece. As you can see in the chart below, the relief was short lived. So here we are again, at the precipice of another Greek tragedy. Today, the problem has both economic and social aspects […]
Pain is being felt in the bond market
The average investor doesn’t understand that they can lose money investing in the bond market. Much of that has to do with the fact that there has been a 30 year bull market in bonds so many investors have never experienced significant losses in fixed income. There is an inverse relationship between bond prices and […]
What is the price of lumber telling us about the housing market?
Housing is very important to the overall economy and a robust housing market is a huge driver of growth. Last week’s housing report was better than expected. Housing starts in the U.S. jumped 20.2% in April and building permits were up 10%. Additionally, single-family housing starts rose 16.7% from March, and 15% when compared to […]
Why Investing in Fixed Income is Difficult in Today’s Market
Two weeks ago, there was over $5 trillion invested globally in bonds priced with negative interest rates. Stated another way, people who bought these bonds are paying someone to use their money! At the same time, money market funds are yielding close to zero. Mexico recently issued an interesting bond. The bond was denominated in […]
Key to Investing: Patience
Back in the late 90’s, many people wanted to become day traders by selling one overpriced technology stock to buy a different overpriced stock. People thought of investing as a short-term gamble. When we look at an investment, we look at it over a three to five year time horizon. Sometimes, an investment will work […]
Where In the Market Can You Find Stable & Growing Yields?
It was just a few short years ago that the energy picture in the United States (“US”) looked bleak. The projections showed that we had only a twenty-year supply of natural gas. Because of new technology in fracking, the US is experiencing an energy renaissance. However, until there is more technological breakthrough, we are still […]
Boring Market Returns For A Volatile Quarter
The first quarter is coming to a close and if someone was in hibernation for the past three months, they did not miss much as it relates to the stock market. The Dow Industrials are up just under 1% so far this year (including today’s big market move higher). We did experience some volatility during […]
Time to Travel Abroad and Eat Well?
Mark and his wife Nancy just booked a family trip to Germany for this spring. If they had taken the trip two years ago, it would have cost them 30% more as one Euro cost $1.40 then and only costs $1.06 now. So, although we are obviously not travel consultants, for those looking to […]
Negative Yielding German Bonds – Where is the Logic?
“Do I have a great deal for you?” I have an investment to buy today, and in five years from now, you are guaranteed to lose money if you hold to maturity. Don’t worry though; you will make money in the short run. How, you ask? You will be able to sell it to someone […]