In October 2009, I argued-so far correctly-that hyperinflation concerns in the United States were exaggerated.  Now fear of deflation is increasingly in vogue, but there’s a case that those fears are overstated too. It’s true that the potential for deflation probably was underestimated in some quarters.  Conventional wisdom said that mortgage rates would rise...
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While the big news in government policy to fix the U.S. economy last week was the progress of the financial reform bill, a story that will gain more attention in the coming weeks and months is Congress not further extending certain unemployment benefits. It’s an age old question:  Do government payouts to help those...
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Writing in September 2009, I argued that investors should consider ING cumulative preferred shares. I did not at the time recommend ING’s common shares, then trading in the $14-$16 range.  Now that they are trading around $8 ($8.46 at U.S. market close on June 16), depressed by the European sovereign debt crisis, I think...
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U.S. stocks finished up for the week ending June 11, with the Dow up 2.81% to 10211.7 and the S&P 500 up 2.51% to 1091.60. 1  This indicates that the market sees economic data that came out this week as showing that things aren’t as bad as the May jobs report made them seem. The...
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The stock market took a beating on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) down 323 points, over 3 %, due largely to the May jobs report.  Out of 431,000 new jobs, 411,000 were temporary census workers.  The private sector increased by only 41,000. New earned income in the pockets of nearly half...
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Let me start by saying that in terms of its products, I am an Apple (AAPL) hugger.  I have a MacBook Pro and iPhone.  I can still remember the excitement in the early 80’s when a high school friend got an Apple II.  I was amazed when I ordered my first iPod from the...
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