The Good News: Things
Aren't Getting Worse At An Increasing Rate
by Guy Baker
As we measure the state of the economy, there is little we can call good news. Maybe we can say, things aren’t getting worse at an increasing rate. But other than that, there is not much reason to think things are on the upswing. At least not yet
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It Is Time To Learn How To Avoid Speculative Investment Bubbles
We have just come through three big speculative investment bubbles: the great stock market bull of the 1990s, the speculative run-up of housing prices that ended over a year ago, and the China-driven commodities boom that ended last fall.
Each were followed by painful crashes and price readjustments that damaged many investors’ wealth. Indeed, we are still working through the pain of the housing collapse and stock market decline. . . -READ MORE-
Bad Market Decades Followed By Bulls
The last 10 years have been a miserable time to invest in U.S. stocks. Mutual fund manager JennisonDryden estimates that U.S. stocks (as measured by the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index) lost 3 percent per year on average from April 1999 through March 2009.
That’s a far cry from the average annual return of 9 percent from 1929 to the present. -READ MORE-
Investors Who Grow Impatient Shoot Themselves In The Foot
American investors, both professional and amateur, have become a cranky lot with little loyalty to the stocks and mutual funds they buy.
Back in the 1960s, the average holding period for a stock on the New York Stock Exchange was eight years. Today the average is just nine months.
Less Worry, Coping With Crisis, And More . . .
Affluent individuals are less worried about the economy than they were in 2008, a new survey shows.
The reduction in concern may be a plus for the economy, said Bob Shullman, whose firm, Ipsos Mendelshohn, conducted the survey.
The percentage of households with $100,000 or more in annual income who worried about the economy declined in April to 46 percent from 60 percent in December.
Active Mutual Fund Managers Can’t Seem To Beat The Indexes
Active mutual fund managers may tell you their expense is justified by market-beating results, but the data contradicts them, says Standard & Poor’s.
S&P does a regular study of mutual fund performance vs. passive indexes and regularly finds that most active fund managers can’t beat their respective indexes. . .-READ MORE-