Weaker Earnings
During the last few weeks S&P 500 companies have been reporting 3rd quarter earnings. It is now apparent that these earnings will be less than what was originally forecasted just a few weeks ago. Weaker earnings have also shown up…
Earnings to Headlines
As the final corporate earnings reports for 2011 trickle in, we can say with confidence that 2011 was another good year for corporate profits. Corporate profits are very healthy. In fact they have more than doubled since the 1st quarter…
FEAR + FUNDAMENTALS = OPPORTUNITY?
The European debt crisis, Washington political gridlock, and slow "new normal" economic growth; as investors we all lived through these market events and realities in 2011. Unfortunately, none of these conditions are likely go to away any time soon. Throw…
What’s Next?
Just a quick note to let you all know what our thoughts and actions are after the past few days. Backing up a couple of weeks, we were steadfast in our belief that the debt debacle would be addressed before the…
Deadlines, Debt Limits, and EARNINGS
Minnesota’s shutdown and the current negotiations in Washington, D.C. surrounding the debt ceiling have been capturing the national and market headlines in recent weeks. They highlight the potential risks of a “policy error” that could severely impact the markets. A…
Hold In May
Virtually all of the S&P 500 companies have finished reporting 1st quarter earnings. The results were impressive, earnings grew 18% year-over-year, far exceeding analyst’s intial estimates. The rate of growth is moderating from the sharp rebounds we saw just coming…
Five Things
We are in the middle of low volume summer trading in the stock market.After last quarter's pullback, stocks are beginning to gradually move higher again. Recent economic news shows an economy that is still struggling with high unemployment and a…
The Long and Short of It
Last week the S&P 500 lost over 4% and is now down 12% from its April high. The sell-off has been focused on troubles in Europe, particularly in Greece, and Spain, as well as some of the structural and demographic…
Earnings Season – So Far So Good
With the first week of earnings season complete, we are encouraged by the good reports. We expect this current trend to continue as earnings and revenue growth are up. We also like the fact that $51 billion of cash came…