A Proposal 83% of Americans Support
Caroline Baum writes that 83% of Americans would support term limits in the House and Senate. Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina has introduced a “Term Limits for All” constitutional amendment. His amendment would limit every House member to three terms and every senator to two.
Truly Astonishing Debt Accumulation
Federal spending is at the highest level since WII. In five years, the national debt has soared to $11.9 trillion from $7.3 trillion, an increase that equals all the debt accumulated between President George Washington and President Clinton.
Wall Street’s Dirty Secret
The New York Times ran a must-read article this week on the important differences between brokers and investment advisors. As I have written in the past, the difference between brokers, or self-labeled “financial advisors” who work for big brokerage houses, and registered investment advisors is stark. Brokers are held to a suitability standard whereas investment advisors are held to a fiduciary standard.
The Recovery’s Winners
The Young Research Affluence Index has outperformed the Young Research Discount Goods Index by 100% since the economic recovery began. Our chart indicates that the economic recovery has still not reached low and middle income consumers.
A Must Own Asset Class
History shows that excluding this asset class from your portfolio is a grave mistake.
Avoid These Securities
One sector of the financial markets that is greatly underpricing risk today is municipal bonds. State and local governments are facing extraordinary budget pressure.
The Real POP in Investment Returns
The details are in the small print….
Bad News for Small Business
In 2009, the number of problem banks increased nearly 200%.
A Snapshot of the Economy
The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) came out this week. The LEI increased 0.3% from December. Each month when the Conference Board releases the leading, coincident, and lagging indicators, my staff sends me an updated table of the numbers.
The U-Shaped Recovery?
Historically, housing recoveries follow a V-shaped trajectory. Even with significant government support, the current housing recovery, appears to be taking more of a U-shaped path. A healthy skepticism on the pace of a housing recovery remains warranted.