Democracy is messy, but still the best system in the world!!
It is amazing how brilliant our Founding Fathers were when they established our Constitution over 200 years ago. They balanced ruling by dictatorship against majority rules by creating three equal, but separate, branches of government. What is occurring now in Washington is the system contemplated by our Founding Fathers at work. The Founding […]
Bank Regulations – have they fixed the problem?
The 1929 stock market crash was caused by lax lending standards and excessive leverage. The Glass-Steagall Act was passed in 1933 in an effort to prevent other crashes moving forward. That act separated commercial banks from security firms. The thought process in separating banks from security firms was that security firms (which use leverage) […]
What happens to the Euro after German Elections next month?
Not much has been happening in Europe over the past few months. This is not surprising, as many are awaiting the outcome of the German election on September 22nd. With the instability of more recent elections in southern Europe – especially Italy, Spain and Greece – the last thing Europe needs is for Merkel […]
There’s Gold in them thar Hills
There is a tale of two stories in the gold market – the financial market and the physical market (individual demand for the actual metal). The gold market has changed dramatically with the introduction of GLD (a gold exchange traded fund – ETF) in November of 2004. For the first time, investors could buy gold […]
Pop open the champagne – Second quarter GDP grows by 1.7% – annually!!
The headlines this morning about GDP growth at 1.7% during the second quarter is a positive sign that the economy is growing. However, as we mentioned in an update a few weeks back, the Federal Reserve forecasted much higher growth than this: Year 2009 Fed GDP Forecast Actual GDP 2010 2.5%-3.5% 2.4% 2011 3.4%-4.5% 2.0% […]
THOR’s 2nd Quarter 2013 Stock Market Analysis
With markets moving 100’s of points in either direction based on what Federal Reserve members say on any given day, it is important to have a disciplined approach to investing that focuses on the facts. So the question we ask ourselves today is: With the equity markets at all-time highs, does the price of the […]
Headline: June Job reports 195,000 jobs added – Now let’s look behind the curtain ….
The payroll numbers over the past few months seem to be pointing to a strong recovery in jobs. However, one needs to look behind the numbers to see what really is happening. While the numbers may look rosy, what doesn’t get said is that there is a big shift occurring in the workforce from […]
TIP’s – a “safe” investment that is down more than 10% since April!
Over the past few months, a number of clients have asked why we have not purchased any Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (“TIPS”) in their portfolio. The reason is we thought they were too expensive. Before we get too deep into this subject, let us take a moment to explain what a TIP is? A TIP […]
Will the Federal Reserve get it Right or Wrong?
Over the past few weeks, the stock market has gyrated with 100 point moves – both up and down – primarily driven by concerns over the Federal Reserve tapering its purchase of securities. Mortgage rates have jumped more than .5% in the past couple of weeks to over 4% on a 30-year mortgage. Treasury bonds […]
What is a wealth manager? (And how do I choose one?)
The best wealth management advisors aren’t one size fits all. One leading financial publication defines wealth management as “the combining of personal investment management, financial advisory, and planning disciplines…” But as the best wealth managers can attest, it is much more than a financial science – it is also a very human art. The science […]