When you see the term “inflation” in the newspaper, it refers to a change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which tracks the costs of goods and services typically purchased by consumers. This government figure is good for measuring economic activity for the country at large, but does little for individuals who have buying habits [...]

Here we are several months into the strongest stock market rally in the history of the world and still no jobs.  Today marked the start of a double top on the Bulk Dry Index at 4000, a level last seen in June 2009.  The june time frame also posed a challenge to a stock market [...]

Arguments before the appeals court in New York day in court will happen on January 4, 2010–a U.S. appeals court on Turesday granted the Federal Reserve’s request for a stay of a ruling that would have forced the central bank to release the names of banks that participated in its emergency lending program. 
What is more [...]

The Securities and Exchange Commission is asking for the public to comment on their feelings towards “Flash Trading.”   For those of you who do not work in the Securities business (and those who do but are unaware) here is the Wikipedia definition:  
Flash trading is a controversial practice of some financial exchanges whereby certain customers are allowed to see incoming [...]

That’s right.  August the 24th, at 4:57 PST a Federal Judge ruled the Federal Reserve must make records public on emergency loans to banks earlier this year.  This must have disrupted President Obama’s “no press conference while on vacation at Martha’s Vineyard” policy.  Because President Obama said he would be taking a break and not meeting with the press while [...]

Why do investors care about this information?  The Mortgage Banker’s Association compiles various mortgage loan indexes.  The purchase applications index measures applications at mortgage lenders.  This is a leading indicator for single family home sales and housing construction.  
This provides a guage of not only the demand for housing, but economic momentum.  People have to be [...]

I recently co-hosted an event for Tom Campbell with a group of friends last Tuesday to hear what he had to say about the U.S. economy and California’s fiscal situation.  Tom is running for governor of California in 2010 and has been a U.S. Congressman, a California State Senator, the Dean of the Haas school of business, earned [...]

It has been a while since I could guage the breadth and depth of this rally.  There are a couple of things I will never forget, one is when the President of the United States of America says stocks look reasonably priced and now might be a good time to buy them—listen.  The other is the [...]

Who will win this contest investing fans?  In the corner wearing inflation clad clothing we have the ten year US Government bond yielding 2.939% as of April 6, 2009.  And in this corner we have the S&P 500 former heavyweight champion of the investment world, former 4 year 20 plus percent record holder in the [...]

The greatest perspective about the United States stock and bond market is that it provides liquidity.  A client can call me up and in trade plus three days have a check or bank wire drafted and way they go.  For a while it looked like real estate was going to have permanent liquidity because of [...]