Investing Analysis

Cash levels as a percentage of total assets in stock mutual funds is bordering on an all-time low. When was that low hit?

If you bought commodities solely for this reason, it’s time to re-evaluate your position.

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.

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.

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 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.

History shows that excluding this asset class from your portfolio is a grave mistake.

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 details are in the small print….

In 2009, the number of problem banks increased nearly 200%.