Will the Federal Reserve get it Right or Wrong?
Over the past few weeks, the stock market has gyrated with 100 point moves – both up and down – primarily driven by concerns over the Federal Reserve tapering its purchase of securities. Mortgage rates have jumped more than .5% in the past couple of weeks to over 4% on a 30-year mortgage. Treasury bonds […]
What is a wealth manager? (And how do I choose one?)
The best wealth management advisors aren’t one size fits all. One leading financial publication defines wealth management as “the combining of personal investment management, financial advisory, and planning disciplines…” But as the best wealth managers can attest, it is much more than a financial science – it is also a very human art. The science […]
Inflation
It is not a question of “if” inflation is coming, but when. The Federal Reserve (“FED”) is setting the stage for inflation. In 1977, the FED was given a second mandate of full employment in addition to its first mandate of price stability. These two mandates can run counter to each other. Congress gave the […]
Emerging Markets are starting to look attractive
A little history is important. Those clients that were with us in 1998 saw THOR invest a significant portion of their portfolio – 40%-45% – in international stocks shortly after the Asian currencies collapsed. It was a great time to invest. You had Asian stocks selling for half the value of US companies, but at […]
Is the G20 throwing a “Hail Mary” pass to try and save Europe
Depression is the only word to explain what is happening in southern Europe right now – especially in Spain and Italy. The current unemployment rate in Spain is 27.2% and the young have been most affected. The overall Eurozone youth unemployment rate – those under 25 years of age – is 24.0%. Greece is over […]
The Slippery Slope
The Bank of Japan has opened up the “quantitative easing” spigot with almost 3X the $85 billion a month that Santa Bernanke is providing in the United States. The Japanese plan involves buying the bulk of Japanese longer-dated government bonds, but also includes purchases of exchange-traded-funds (ETF’s) and real-estate investment trusts. Central banks are now […]
A Recipe for Economic Disaster – Part V?
The past two weeks have been a disaster for the EU because of its handling of Cyprus. Not only did it put a chill on ordinary bank depositors by the mere suggestion of taking money deposited at the banks, but it laid the groundwork moving forward by indicating that this would serve as a model […]
A Winter Chill!!!
Just imagine that you are enjoying the weekend only to wake up Sunday morning and find out that you were robbed of 10% of your assets overnight. If you had insurance, you might feel a little more secure. Otherwise, you would feel vulnerable and less secure. Now imagine if the thief was your government. What […]
The Debt Roundtable – Now it's the Government's Turn
The 2007-2008 stock market correction changed the debt focus for corporations, individuals and government. Corporations and individuals changed for the better, but the government has not. In the graphs below – both provided by J.P. Morgan – you can see that both corporations and individuals have reduced their debt levels over the past 4 years […]
Currency War – Act III Will Be a Major Devaluation of Euro
Not because they want to, it is because they will be forced to do so. The history of the early 1930’s is being replayed today. After the financial meltdown in 1929 that led to the Great Depression, countries were under huge financial stress. England was the first to go off the gold standard in September […]