You could argue persuasively for both outcomes.
So you might be interested in a survey of nearly 400 financial advisers conducted by Investment News (p.1, March 23-27 issue).
Two out of three are convinced that inflation will characterize the economic environment over the next 12 months, while a stubborn 1/3 are predicting deflation.
I see mild deflation for […]

We may be in danger of running out of asset classes to trash….almost.
Now that we’ve popped the bubble for tech stocks, real estate, commodities, and virtually every global index…not to mention a near lockup on consumer and corporate credit…is there anything we’ve missed?
Oh yes. The art market has also tanked. Russian commodity […]

How will we know when we’ve finally reached bottom?
Maybe we’ll have a reprise of Business Week’s legendary cover article of August 13, 1979, entitled “The Death of Equities”….written when the Dow was at 875.
The public mistakenly believes that bonds must somehow be virtuous as recompense for equities that are now discredited. This is […]

Why is it that nothing is so refreshing and energizing as the misfortunes of others?
Our market is admittedly awful.
But Others Have it Worse

Using the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 as a proxy for Europe, we are still ahead year to date.
Same for the Down Jones Asia Pacific Index.
In the Americas, we trail Venezuela, Mexico and Canada, […]

Now a treat for the overachievers among our readers.
We must first assume that you have punched every ticket suggested so far, and after maxing out the basics of home ownership, funding of your two core retirement accounts, and providing for future health and education funding, you still have room on your plate for more.
This could […]

And now, for the latest proof that busy investors are not reading the fine print:
Morningstar analyst Scott Berry, a member of their “bond squad” posted a bombshell on their website June 18, 2008 “Credit Worries Sting Seemingly Safe Government Funds“.
The gist of the article is that Government Funds are not required to hold 100% government […]

We are now eight months from the market highs reached in October, and may in fact be testing the bottom we reached in March.
In the frantic 24/7 world we inhabit, patience is in short supply. This is when the typical hapless investor throws in the towel, in order to fulfill their manifest destiny to […]

You’d think after all my rants and tirades that I hold all annuities in contempt.
No. Just the high fee, high pressure model, with all the pricey riders that most likely will never be utilized.
I hate the way annuities are marketed to unsuspecting and unsophisticated seniors, and the lousy seven year lockups (the back […]