Are You Supporting Your Employer?

If you work for Ford or GM and drive a Toyota, you are not supporting your employer. If you work for a municipality but live and shop in a different community, you are not supporting your employer. Fortunately, we live in a country with many freedoms. No one is going to force you to buy … Continued

A Barking Dog Won’t Bite

The territorial disputes between China and Japan over a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea have sparked protests in China since last month. The intensity of the dispute increased last week after the Japanese government bought some of the islands from a private Japanese owner. On Sunday, the biggest anti-Japanese protests in … Continued

Let’s Debate It

One of the research services that my colleagues and I subscribe to is called Mauldin Economics, authored by John Mauldin. This week Mauldin writes “As we saw last week, in research I cited from Europe, there is a correlation between government size and GDP growth. Which makes sense, in that jobs really come from the … Continued

Caveat Emptor

Apparently the SEC is shifting to a “Let the Buyer Beware” approach to regulation. On August 29, the SEC proposed a rule permitting private issuers to promote offerings to the general investing public for the first time (thank you Dodd-Frank). While the new regulations may ease capital-raising for many legitimate companies, they could also subject … Continued

Are Hedge Funds Right For You?

Based on a recent article in Forbes, we would like to share some of their observations on recent hedge fund performance. As the industry heads toward the homestretch for 2012, the numbers are grim. Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s investible hedge fund index shows hedge funds are up less than 2% so far in 2012 … Continued

You Don’t Get Hit By the Bus You See

With the Europeans returning from summer vacation this week, it is likely the problems in Europe will return to the forefront. Sunday’s New York Timesfeatured the following article that discussed various plans American companies are putting into place in the event that Greece is to exit the Euro Zone. Some of these companies have stated … Continued

A Labor Day Reflection

A three-day weekend is always a welcomed change from routine and this past weekend was no exception. As I read the varying newspaper commentaries about the holiday over the weekend, I too began reflecting on the impact that labor has had on our economy. Americans have traditionally been thought of as industrious and hard-working and … Continued