US stocks fell 3.6% in January, gained 6.0% in February, fell 1.9% in March for a net gain of 0.3% on the year. The dollar gained 9% YTD relative to the Euro, on top of last year's 13% rise, but stabilized in recent days. Crude oil bottomed around $46 in February, traded in a range of $45-55/barrel in recent weeks.
Read MoreOn March 9th, 2009, the S&P 500 made an intra-day and 20 year low at 676.53. Millions of Americans drew a straight line from the mid-September 2008 failure of Lehman Brothers through that March low and projected that the S&P 500 would be zero by June
Read MoreWe drove Heron Financial Group | Wealth Advisors at 170 MPH for the last several years, achieving a 40% annual growth rate 3 years in a row, lifting our assets from $63 million at the end of 2011 to $171 million by the end of 2014, employee head count from 1 to 7.
Read MoreAs we close out 2014 and look forward to 2015, let's review events nobody forecast in January 2014. This process keeps us humble, but also helps us think about opportunities for 2015.
Read MoreAs US stocks hit a 6 month low two weeks ago on October 15th, we wrote, "The CNN Fear and Greed Index hits "Extreme Fear" (but we're not selling...)". In hindsight that was a good call because US stocks, as represented by the S&P 500, rallied significantly over the next two weeks and closed at the 35th record high of the year on October 31st.
Read MoreThe cruise ship sank. The passengers are gathered in the lifeboat. The officer in charge knows how to reach safety, just over the horizon. If the passengers trust him, sit in their seats, pull on the oars and bail when necessary, all will make it home.
Read MoreA number of our clients called last week to ask if we would buy Alibaba (BABA) stock for their accounts. We told them, "No, we'll have plenty of time to buy Alibaba in the years to come, but meanwhile, to purchase the Initial Public Offering (IPO) is too risky."
Read MoreUS stocks as defined by the S&P 500 made 31 record highs in 2014, most recently on July 24th. Through Friday afternoon, stocks declined 3.3%, which is to say less than the decline of 4.2% we saw in April of this year, and decline of 5.6% in January.
Read MoreSurprisingly steady! How can we say that? Because compared to the price swings of the last six years, the recent 3.9% decline in US Stocks (from a record set April 2) barely registers relative to the powerful uptrend since mid 2011.
Read MoreUS stocks as measured by the S&P 500 delivered a phenomenal 32.4% return in 2013. That was the 6th best year for US stocks since 1940. In January, US stocks fell 3.5%.
Read MoreThe US Senate passed H.R. 2775 - Continuing Appropriation Act, 2014 Wednesday afternoon 81 votes to 18.
Read MoreWhenever our financial markets commentary strays into the realm of politics, we're guaranteed to offend at least half of our clients and readers.
Read MoreThe US Stock Market as defined by the Dow Industrials and S&P 500 achieved record closes Thursday afternoon. European stocks markets are at 5 year highs, and emerging markets such as Shanghai and Bombay have rebounded 10% from the summer's lows
Read MoreUS stocks peaked at a record high on May 21st, 2013, gaining 18% YTD. Our forecast for the whole year was 8%, so either we were grossly wrong or the markets got ahead of themselves.
Read MoreAt about 2:45 PM EST, two explosions detonated within yards of the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The news is not official, but from the nature of the explosions and the coincidence of the proximity to the Marathon, it would seem probable that these were bombs.
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