Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend a presentation by Sandy Pianalto, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. She provided her perspectives about what the Fed was seeing in the data/ thinking at the time they took the actions taken since mid-2008 through today (i.e. QE1, 2, Operation Twist, etc.). 1) The revisions … Continued
Google partly defines alchemy as “a form of chemistry and speculative philosophy practiced in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and concerned primarily with discovering methods for transmuting baser metals into gold”. Today, investors and their advisors are faced with historically low yields on fixed income securities. Many investors have generally assumed that their fixed … Continued
I spent the beginning part of this week in Florida watching the Detroit Tigers play the Washington Nationals. I think these two teams could meet again in the October Classic. The Detroit Tigers have a combination of incredibly good starting pitching and outstanding power hitting. The relief pitching is a question mark but notwithstanding the … Continued
Former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was convicted of corruption yesterday. There was widespread speculation that a jury of his peers might acquit in spite of compelling evidence to the contrary. This would have been a blow to the rule of law and the fortunes of cities with a culture of corruption that were/are attempting recovery. … Continued
No, this doesn’t refer to a sign of affection or to the musical band, but rather to another phrase that I will share in few moments. During my 20+ years at Sigma, I have been involved in two very unique situations that have produced the same results. One situation was a lottery winner and the … Continued
In view of the recent and well-publicized financial situation in Cyprus, investors may want to recall and consider that well known quotation, “A government big enough to give you everything you want, is a government big enough to take away everything you have.” All comments and suggestions are welcome. Walter J. Kirchberger, CFA
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