Last year was a good year in the stock market. For example, the S&P 500 returned 15 percent in 2010. The long run average for that index is about 10 percent. Foreign markets didn’t fare quite as well. An index of foreign stocks in developed economies returned only about 8 percent. That’s because investors were worried about Europe. Several countries had overspent their budgets and were threatening default. We saw young people rioting in the streets as authorities wrestled with whether to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62. That sort of news scares investors and the returns in Europe reflected that. Continue Reading…
Making the Case For International Investing
A couple of weeks back, the early morning market headline was that Ireland was in severe financial trouble. That worry continued throughout the day and it was enough to send the Dow down almost 200 points. Two days later the headline was that Ireland’s problems weren’t as bad as originally expected and that they would in fact survive. The U.S. market went back up 175 points. Continue Reading…
Keeping Your Focus in a Dizzy Market
A colleague of mine has an uncle whose eyesight is on the decline, somewhat hastened by his drinking habits. On a visit to the doctor’s office, the physician told Billy he would have to quit drinking or he would eventually go blind. Uncle Billy replied, “Doc, to tell you the truth, I like what I‘ve been drinking better than what I’ve been seeing!” Continue Reading…
How to Keep From Becoming a Basket Case
In the last column I discussed that we need to do more saving and less consuming in this country. Once you make the decision to save, the choices for investments are endless. Everything from annuities to Z shares of mutual funds and a wide variety in between. There are investments in such exotic projects as ostrich farms, diamond portfolios and wine collections. Continue Reading…