Have you ever noticed how your expectations going into an event can have a dramatic impact on your enjoyment of that event? For example, several years ago I almost left the theater during Lost in Translation, an incredibly depressing movie in which one of the funniest men on the planet, Bill Murray, shows his serious…
It seems everywhere I look this week I see stories about how bad the last decade was. Of course the two recurring themes are terrorism and the economy, since the decade began with the bursting of the technology bubble and the day no one will ever forget – September 11. Time is a funny thing….
This market rally just keeps on going…or does it? It really depends on how you define “the market.” Over the last 13 weeks the S&P 500 has risen more than 6%. However, over that same time period, the Russell 2000 is up less than 1%. It has been a long time since we have seen…
This morning we were hit with the news that the economy is not as robust as originally thought. Economic growth for the third quarter, as measured by GDP, was revised down to 2.8% versus the 3.5% originally reported. When breaking down the numbers there really isn’t much good news. Almost every category – including consumer…
GDP grew 3.5% in the third quarter of this year, exceeding expectations of 3.2% and sending the markets up nicely after a week-long downturn…then back down, and then…is the recession over? Well…maybe. In digging into the GDP numbers more deeply it becomes a more complicated story. Consumer spending was up 3.4%, but this was largely driven…
