The Wall Street Journal (WJS) recently published an article highlighting the fact that many bond fund managers have been beating their respective benchmarks in recent times. In fact, Morningstar has identified at least 187 bond funds that are posting positive relative performance. Included among this list are some of the largest bond fund managers in … Continued
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
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
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
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
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
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 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
A recent article in US News & World Report highlighted seven jobs that they described as “underpaid” in that the average median salary was less than the $41,674 national average wage index as calculated by the Social Security Administration. The selected jobs had a high societal need in that the authors projected at least 45,000 … Continued
April 23, 2012: Wall Street Journal headline – “Scandal Spurs Indian Coal Auction” “India is the world’s third-largest producer of coal, after China and the U.S. But it has become increasingly reliant on imports from countries such as Indonesia because of slumping domestic production. This year, demand is expected to outstrip production by about 100 … Continued
Sadly the early hope for an Arab Spring that would fuel the populous to societies with greater freedoms, including the right to free elections, freedom of speech, freedom of religionand equal rights for women, which would ultimately lead the region to job growth and economic prosperity, now appears to have failed the people and the … Continued
Several weeks ago I received a solicitation from a local community foundation officer suggesting that we might want to recommend to our philanthropically minded clients an investment in their donor-advised fund. They showed investment returns that, on the surface, appeared quite solid. As I studied their performance data though, I learned that a material segment … Continued
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