Last week allowed market pundits to use their full range of superlatives – both positive and negative. Equities were up for the eighth straight session – the longest streak since December 2004. The year-to date performance of the Dow Jones Industrials (+6%) is the best start to a market year…
Ok, maybe there is something to this global warming after all. I read that last year was the warmest year on record in the Chicago area. And now this weekend they are predicting 60 degrees. That’s 60 in January. In Chicago. My 11 year old is not too happy though. …
This graphic is from the website “Friends of the US Chamber.” It is not unique. Similar countdowns are present on numerous other websites and as a constant on numerous financial TV broadcasts. Fellow mentor Steve Papale’s latest blog entry on “At the Margin Decisions” (http://blog.discoveroptions.com/2012/12/papale-at-margin-decisions/) is a very good look…
The indexes, with the exception of the tech heavy NDX, hovered around unchanged for the week. Current market sentiment was colored by the largest daily downturn in the markets since June. An accumulation of earnings disappointments was blamed for the sell-off. The list of disappointments was led by Google (GOOG).…
Equities and equity indexes posted losses of over 2% last week. The market prognosticators point to a rotation out of technology into equities with high dividend yields. Others placed the blame on profit taking after strong third quarter market performance. A number of factors contributed to the downward move. On…
Equities and equity indexes posted modest gains last week. The markets started with gains on Monday after a positive ISM-manufacturing report. There was an absence of the intraday and interday volatility which often characterizes “Employment Week.” The markets ended with a sell-off on Friday to show a minimal difference from…
Today kicks off the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The talk seems to be centered around Phelps in swimming (as usual), whether Jamaica’s Usain Bolt is fit and how dominating the US Basketball team will be. These couple weeks remind me a bit of March Madness in the NCAA Basketball…
The other day I tried to get my kids to watch some old TV shows I watched as a kid like “Leave It To Beaver” and “The Andy Griffith Show”. Shows were a lot different back then, but that’s a conversation for another time. My oldest son reluctantly sat with…
My family celebrated the holiday like most of the rest of the country. For us, it was a annual parade in our town and a cookout at friends. Like many across the country, it was the hottest 4th of July I can remember. My phone showed a local reading of…
OK, now I’m not a particularly accomplished cook. I am pretty good at making about 3 things – homemade pasta (my grandfather was an Italian cook and it’s been passed down), sausage and peppers (again, Italian) and burritos (not sure where that comes from but my kids like them). I…
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