Perfectly Acceptable

This blog has precious little to do with the economy or markets. I will start by saying that human error is present every day in markets. We sell when we should have bought or bought when we should have sold. We order too much inventory. Perfection is never guaranteed. One of my “bucket list” desires … Continued

Don’t touch my wallet!

This discussion relates to our blog posting of May 26, 2010 about the unraveling social contract in Europe. Since that time, “austerity” has become the policy prescription of choice by the governing classes to fix the budgetary ills of Europe generally and Greece specifically. Elected officials, for the most part, do not like to impose … Continued

Marisa Lenhard – President CFA Society of Detroit

We would like to use our blog forum today to extend a warm, and heartfelt congratulations to our colleague Marisa Lenhard, CFA for her election as the incoming President of the CFA Society of Detroit. Her acceptance speech can be accessed by clicking here – Marisa’s speech We feel strongly that any successful investment counseling … Continued

Employing Judgment

Gene Epstein, economics columnist for Barron’s Magazine, has proven remarkably adept at dissecting the employment readings put out by the US Government and assessing underlying trends with a reasonable degree of accuracy. In this week’s magazine, he points out that notwithstanding the dramatic negative impact that the employment numbers had on the stock market on … Continued

Game Changer or Just Noise?

Market volatility is back in vogue. We were just beginning to find comfort in the calm when instability returned. It is often difficult to discern the differences between “noise” and true fundamental shifts that would warrant large price moves in the major stock indexes in a single day. A war in the Korea’s – that … Continued

NY Times article on Europe

The May 23, 2010 New York Times most emailed article was Europeans Fear Crisis Threatens Liberal Benefits http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/world/europe/23europe.html It was an eye-opening piece, clearly reflecting the shifting sands in the social safety net that defines most of Europe. There are implications for the United States and other similar economic systems, the repercussions of which portend … Continued

Welcome!

Given the fast-paced and unrelenting supply of global investment issues, we at Sigma have started this blog as a service to our friends and clients to give some insight as to how we interpret such matters. To get started, use one of the options on the right-hand side of this page. You can type in … Continued