August 18, 2016

Trump, Clinton Plans Diverge For Retirees   As the U.S. presidential election nears, we are doing a series of reports on the differences and agreements of the major parties on various economic and financial topics.  Last week, we noted one area where the major-party candidates are in agreement: trade.  In Read more…

August 12, 2016

Market Summary The U.S. stock market is moving sideways and slowly upward.  World markets vary.  Our favorites — Brazil and India — are doing well, while some other countries stumble.  Gold and silver remain positive.  Use dips to add to positions.  The U.S. dollar is maintaining its sideways pattern, which Read more…

July 29, 2016

Market Summary We are bullish on the U.S. market for the next few weeks, and suggest buying on dips in August.  Although the market is not cheap, the U.S. is a haven for money leaving Europe because of Brexit and other European problems.  We also remain bullish on Brazil and Read more…

July 21, 2016

With Good Earnings Growth, U.S. Stocks Will Be In Demand Earnings season is getting underway, and is already producing positive results.  Good earnings will ensure that the psychology surrounding the U.S. market remains positive.  With earnings providing a positive backdrop, there is plenty of scope for other factors to continue Read more…

July 14, 2016

Reaching the Top of the Wall of Worry Source:  Bloomberg   As we head into the June earnings season, the S&P 500 has finally rallied above the all-time high set in May of last year. In our letter on June 23, we examined whether U.S. stocks are expensive.  We concluded Read more…

July 07, 2016

Market Summary The Brexit vote and the rise of anti-E.U. parties in Europe show that big changes are underway. Europe The coming changes will be more pronounced in Europe than in the U.K., although the U.K. will also suffer volatility and aftershocks as negotiations to start the withdrawal get underway.  Read more…

May 26, 2016

Executive Summary 1.  Ordinary people aren’t very ordinary.  Professor Deirdre McCloskey’s recent piece in The Wall Street Journal got us thinking about the roots of western prosperity — and suggested that current nervousness about populist movements around the globe may be missing the mark.  Don’t be too alarmed by rising Read more…

May 13, 2016

Executive Summary 1. Critically important to your investments:  popular revolts against corruption around the world.  This trend will last for decades, and upset many of the patterns we think we know.  Corruption and cronyism have existed throughout human history, and ordinary people have usually accepted them with stoic resignation.  But Read more…

April 21, 2016

Market Summary  Market summary.  The U.S. Dollar moving sideways remains a positive longer-term for U.S. stocks in beaten-down industries, gold, oil, and industrial company shares.  We expect that the U.S. market will move upward, but at any time it may reverse and volatility may ensue for a few weeks or Read more…