The confluence of events over the past few weeks continues to rattle markets, with recent events culminating in Friday night’s downgrade of the United States credit rating from AAA to AA+. The downgrade is a source of embarrassment for our nation. While one can agree or disagree on whether the action should have been taken, … Continued
In light of the highly charged commentary regarding recent progress made in Washington, we believe it is critical to consider all potential risks pertaining to the country’s current financial woes. While similar topics and themes continue filling up news venues, a large piece of the puzzle is being overlooked; the effect on the value of … Continued
George Soros recently announced the closing of his hedge-fund and his plans now to focus on running his own family office. A public philanthropist, Soros has donated over $8 billion within the last 30 years, a significant portion to the nonprofit MoveOn.org. MoveOn.org is funded solely by individuals and is recognized for its support of … Continued
The July 21, 2011 issue of the Wall Street Journal carried an article about Canada titled “How Spending Cuts – Not Higher Taxes – Saved Canada.” The discussion focused on the problems Canada was confronting in the mid 1990’s and how those problems were solved by the Liberal Party taking a decidedly un-liberal tack – … Continued
Amidst the lingering cloud of uncertainty hanging over the US financial sector over just who, or whom, or what caused the financial crisis of 2008-2009, I came across intriguing material in reviews of Gretchen Morgenson’s new book, Reckless Endangerment: How Outsized Ambition, Greed and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon. Morgenson is a well respected and … Continued
A Wall Street Journal article dated July 2, 2011, titled “Did Someone Say Tech Bubble?”, indicated that entrepreneurial idea flow continues unabated in the US. Given the dour headlines dominating the newswires over Greece’s debt problems and the US’ own budget problems, it is easy to lose sight of what is going on “off of … Continued
Citizens outside of Greece, specifically the Germans, are frustrated by the notion that their taxes will be used to pay for what they view as the recklessness or laziness of others. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been very vocal about her stance on the situation. Her position is quite simple – all stakeholders, no matter … Continued
Many of our blogs focus on government policy and actions. We may not always be as clear as we should be as to why we pay such close attention to government policy, making an assumption that this is clear to our readers – that government actions can materially affect the economy and financial assets. A … Continued
I recently returned from Edinburgh, Scotland where I had the honor of representing the CFA Society of Detroit at the CFA Institute Annual Conference and Strategic Leadership Retreat. I was joined by my Sigma colleagues Denise Farkas, Bob Bilkie, and Shari Bilkie. While in Edinburgh, Denise was presented with the Special Service Award. This award … Continued
Representative Paul Ryan, R – Wisconsin, Chair of the House Budget Committee released a fiscal policy blueprint for the US on April 5. The blueprint called for a materially different vision of the size and role of the federal government than what has been in place for the past several decades. Importantly, the document projects … Continued
My colleagues and I spent a considerable amount of time this morning discussing and debating the recent blockbuster disclosure that Warren Buffet’s (CEO Berkshire Hathaway and all around investment guru) fellow executive and heir apparent, David Sokol, had resigned from the company. Mr. Buffet released a statement that Mr. Sokol had resigned, and apparently there … Continued
Political conditions in Libya appear to be deteriorating. The rest of the Middle East and North Africa continue to be buffeted by protests. President Obama warned Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi yesterday that the “US was outraged by the violence.” This is good old fashioned saber rattling, but it indicates an escalation of global tensions. Crude … Continued
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