This was a really interesting take on some of the social issues that are impacting the economy in Japan. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/three-reasons-japan-s-economic-pain-is-getting-worse.html INVESTING IN THE FINANCIAL MARKETS INVOLVES RISKS. OPTIONS ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR ALL INVESTORS.Read More

As if the financial markets needed another reason to have no faith in the ratings of the credit rating agencies, here is a bloomberg article providing just that: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-25/california-above-deere-makes-ninth-largest-economy-a-deal.html INVESTING IN THE FINANCIAL MARKETS INVOLVES RISKS. OPTIONS ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR ALL INVESTORS.Read More

While the headline number on durable goods was not very positive this morning, it was distorted by a decrease in government spending on aircraft.  Excluding that the numbers were up primarily on strength in the automotive sector.  While economic data has not been as positive as the data earlier in the year the economy is...Read More

This is a helpful little article to put things in perspective in Spain.  They have a much better chance of succeeding the Greece did, but the core economy will be the key determinant. http://news.morningstar.com/articlenet/article.aspx?id=547798 INVESTING IN THE FINANCIAL MARKETS INVOLVES RISKS. OPTIONS ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR ALL INVESTORS.Read More

For those of you that are looking to buy a home that you plan on living in for a while now is the time to buy!  Prices are affordable and interest rates are unbelievably cheap.  Even if prices go down a little further, with rates this low on a 30 year mortgage it is hard...Read More

This article shortly and succinctly outlines the problems that some of these European countries are having in establishing a competitive economy.  Ridiculous labor laws that stifle business are devastating particularly in such a globalized economic environment where lower labor costs can allow a competitor to “eat the lunch” of the higher cost business.  These types...Read More

One area of lending that is looking particularly risky right now is student lending.  The costs of education have increased dramatically, and students are bearing the brunt of these huge debt loads in an economy that is not flush with high paying jobs for recent graduates.  Just as healthcare costs are a concern for our...Read More

Ken Heebner is a momentum investor which I can’t really relate to, but as far as making macroeconomic calls he has a strong history.  His points on the housing market are absolutely correct.  There is going to be a tremendous amount of money made on the recovery, and just as people were to bullish on...Read More

This is very encouraging news to see Spain taking their budget cuts seriously.  While austerity isn’t going to be a magic potion to resolve the Euro’s problems, it does maintain the credibility of the efforts made in the last year for each country to get their houses in order.  The last couple of years Greece...Read More

One of the biggest problems that has hurt the economy and the markets was the precipitous drop in consumer confidence which hit record lows during the “Great Recession.”  While consumer confidence is a lagging indicator I feel that we are still fairly early into the economic recovery, and I believe numbers will improve as jobs...Read More