Once upon a time, business cycles were predictable and the economy alternated between periods of expansion and contraction.  As a leading economic indicator, the stock market would predict the business cycle as investor confidence and consumer confidence ebbed and flowed. [Read more…]

As 2012 comes to a close, investors find themselves facing uncertainty when stability and clarity are desired.  All eyes remain on Washington and whether a deal can be reached to prevent the economy from plunging over the “fiscal cliff”. [Read more…]

Pray for the citizens of Newtown, Connecticut, who have experienced what no parent ever should.   Pray for the vulnerable whom have no one to protect them.  Pray for this country to find some meaning in this tragedy. [Read more…]

 Four more weeks of careening from crisis to crisis and then we can kiss 2012 goodbye.  But that still leaves plenty of time for a crash of major proportions. [Read more…]

The Presidential Election was supposed to end all the “uncertainty” that held back business investment and the economy.  Instead, one uncertainty was replaced with many more.   [Read more…]

Markets appear to be in a stall, primed for a breakout but, which way?  Equities are caught between conflicting economic outlooks; gold is stuck in a $400 point trading range and the ten-year Treasury note remains under 2%.  What gives?  [Read more…]

Where did the month go?  And what happened to the typical September swoon?  To paraphrase Frank Sinatra, “it was a very good month”. [Read more…]

In statistics classes, students are taught about the “bell shaped curve”, the pattern that forms when quantitative data are distributed normally.  Recent census data reveals a barbell-shaped curve; heavy on the ends with very little in between. [Read more…]

It’s Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer and the official start of school.  College football kicks off and the NFL start is just around the corner.  It’s time for everyone to get serious and get back to work. [Read more…]

U.S. equity markets have managed, against all odds, to put together a five-week winning streak, despite the headwinds to the economy.  In the absence of compelling data, can stocks continue to rally? [Read more…]