Insights

11/20/12 11:09 AM – Fiscal Cliff Rally

U.S. stocks have rallied about 3% since late Friday morning when the President and Congressional leaders made optimistic statements about fixing the so-called "Fiscal Cliff." Stocks usually do well Thanksgiving week but often drop Monday following, according to Art...

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11/20/12 10:53 AM – Israel / Hamas Conflict

A friend of mine who lived in Israel for a long time and still conducts business there told me today that he doesn't think the current conflict will last long because Hamas has neither the resources nor manpower to fight a long war. I think Israel has already pretty...

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11/14/12 11:18 PM – Federal Spending vs. Revenue

Below is a very useful table of federal spending and revenue. For now, just look at 2012 – the bottom row. The main point is that we are borrowing 88% of the cost of running the government in 2012. The total cost of every government department, including defense is...

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11/14/12 10:58 PM – Fiscal Cliff Negotiations

The WSJ reported this morning that President Obama has raised the tax increase he wants in renegotiating the "fiscal cliff." He has apparently gone from a proposed tax increase of $800 billion in last summer's negotations to a new figure of $1.6 trillion. The...

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11/13/12 9:32 AM – Lower Stock Prices Across World Today

The US market is opening lower, flirting with its 200-day moving average, often the neighborhood in which a normal correction will reverse. But, stocks around the world are lower today. Asia was down as is Europe. Both regions seem to be declining over concern about...

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11/7/12 10:30 PM – Today’s Early Sell-Off

Stocks are down nearly 2% in early trading today, which many people are taking as a sign of disappointment with the Obama victory. I don't think so for the following reasons: Economic numbers for Europe reported yesterday showed further slowing in the European economy...

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