With economic news lacking any kind of positive twist, it’s time to view things with a bit more distance and a sense of humor. Reader Tom sent me the following video clip, which is very funny even if you don’t speak German. Just watch the plot unfold and follow the English subtitles: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNmcf4Y3lGM]While a great focus of this current economic …
When Actions Speak Louder Than Words
The CEOs of the Big 3 automakers apparently got the hint and traveled to Washington by hybrid vehicles for another round of pleading for monetary assistance. November auto sales were absolutely dismal, and new restructuring plans were submitted that included plant closings, layoffs as well as shrinking dealer networks. This made me think of a video clip I recently saw …
Hitting A Brick Wall
Last week’s feel-good rally came to an abrupt end yesterday when the major indexes ran into a brick wall in form of further weak economic news. I’m sure that profit taking had some effect on the sell-off and, as I mentioned before, hopefully, many investors used that opportunity to get out of their long positions. Contributing to the market’s malaise …
Should I Ease Back In?
Reader Rich is considering moving back in the market by allocating a small portion of his 401k. Here’s what he said: Last March I sold all mutual funds in my retirement accounts at work and moved them into money market funds, currently allocating 100% of new monies into those money market funds. My question is: In your opinion, should I …
Sunday Musings: A Sucker’s Rally?
The past week’s rally has been one of the strongest on record in some 30 years. As I said before, these kinds of rebounds don’t happen in bull markets but only in bearish environments when markets have been pushed down to extreme levels. While those who have held on to their losing positions throughout year are cheering loudly, it’s questionable …
Rocking Mutual Funds
As you can imagine, with the markets having taken an unprecedented dive over the last few months, mutual funds have seen and outflow of assets as (hopefully) many investors realized that holding on to bullish funds in a bearish environment can be hazardous to your financial health. MarketWatch reports that “Mutual-fund firms rocked by asset decline:” After seeming to weather …