Well, it’s official; the year of volatility now is finally in the books. But rather than with a bang, stocks went out with a whimper. The major averages finished the final week of 2011 all to the downside, with the Dow losing 0.62% while the NASDAQ Composite gave back 0.52%. The benchmark S&P 500 Index […]

Tags: migrated

“Perfect friendship is the friendship of men who are good, and alike in excellence; for these wish well alike to each other qua good, and they are good in themselves.”   –Aristotle   The holidays are a time for family, but they are also a time for good friends. As we begin the New Year,

Tags: migrated

The biggest story going into 2012 likely will be the fate of the euro. In recent months, we have witnessed politicians, finance ministers and central bankers in Europe struggle to find a solution to a terribly difficult fiscal situation there. So far, their answer seems to be to issue more euros to cover runaway deficit-spending.

Tags: migrated

What a year for big financial news headlines! Sure, every year is chock full of huge developments influencing the markets, but this year it seemed as though there were more than the normal amount of big events. Here’s a list of what I think are the most important market stories in this tumultuous 2011.   […]

Tags: migrated

    The year is nearly over, but the volatility we’ve come to live with in 2011 is by no means over yet. On Wednesday, stocks sold off sharply as traders opted to bank the gains they captured in last week’s bullish action. Of course, this time of the year is characterized by very low

Tags: migrated

Everyone on Wall Street has been waiting for Santa Claus to come and lift stocks back into the black for the year, and this week the jolly fat man finally decided to show up and do his job. The gains this week, albeit on very low trading volume, pushed the major averages higher nearly across […]

Tags: migrated

“A good conscience is a continual Christmas.”   –Benjamin Franklin   This time of year is replete with reflection on the past 12 months. It’s also a time when we prepare ourselves for the coming year. But before you get to either of these things, remember what Benjamin Franklin said about a good conscience. You

Tags: migrated

Safe-haven investments are hard to come by in this market. All markets seem to go north or south together. With risks rising and interest rates microscopically low, it is hard to find a relatively safe play that also can provide some consistent income. While many high-income stocks can provide you with dividends, the market’s occasional

Tags: migrated

    In a year where volatility has ruled the roost, I guess it should come as no surprise that stocks continue to soar and dive into the final weeks of the year. We saw this characteristic 2011 volatility rear its head on Tuesday, as the Dow surged more than 337 points on renewed optimism

Tags: migrated

Stocks got the smackdown this week, as fears over more European debt bailout difficulties continue to pound equities. On Tuesday, the Federal Reserve also demonstrated that it wouldn’t be coming to Wall Street’s rescue anytime soon with more of that cheap money it loves so dearly. That also disappointed investors, and the result was another […]

Tags: migrated