Last week was certainly one that the Democratic party would like to forget, but it is going to keep coming back to haunt them. The loss of a seat in the Senate to the other side of the aisle, after being held in Democratic hands in Massachusetts for 46 years, was quite a bombshell. So much for passing health care reform anytime soon, in my humble opinion.
I do confess to enjoying the Sunday morning news shows as I am a bit of… Continue reading
Okay class, let’s pick up where we left off in part 1. So what are some of the facts that we do know? To the extent that we have had any degree of housing recovery to date, it would be attributed to financing provided by the Federal Reserve in the mortgage market by buying more than $1 trillion in mortgage backed securities. That support is scheduled to end in March of this year. Certainly that could be a negative… Continue reading
The terrible crisis in Haiti reminds us that life is precious and can take a turn at any time. Our heart goes out to the millions of people that are affected by this tragedy. What if, heaven forbid, you were there on vacation when the earthquake struck? What would you be doing to ensure the safety of you and your family?
As a Certified Financial Planner™ my role is to prepare our clients for the potholes and pitfalls that befall us at… Continue reading
The year 2009 is now in the history books and it certainly was quite a year. To look at the final year end performance statistics one would certainly say that it was a banner year for the investment markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 18.8%, the Nasdaq up 43.9%, and the S&P 500 a positive 23.5%. Let’s take a minute though and flash back one year. The economy and markets were caught up in an incredible financial meltdown and anxiously awaiting the… Continue reading
This past week, a lackadaisical security guard in Newark Airport allowed an individual to enter the terminal via the exit lane, thus circumventing the security lines and causing virtual havoc in Terminal C. As a frequent traveler of that specific terminal, I am familiar with the layout of the terminal: the exit lane is a 12 foot or so aisle on the side of all the security machines, guarded only by a uniformed TSA officer, sitting in a chair usually gazing aimlessly into space… Continue reading
So here it was New Years Eve and my wife and I were gathered with just a few friends ( I hate those big crowds) and beginning to keep a close eye on the television with the focus on the clock. Looks to be about twenty minutes until the stroke of midnight ushering in the year 2010. Just how fast this year had gone seemed to be the sentiment of everyone. It would soon be time to hear the… Continue reading
