Demise of the U.S.A. Greatly Exaggerated

It seems that the consensus opinion out there is that the U.S. is in decline, China is the new superpower and that our nation’s best times are behind her. We don’t “make” anything anymore. All of our jobs are being sent overseas. Sound familiar? This attitude is somewhat understandable given the financial crisis, severe recession, …

Watch the Donut, Not the Hole

All of the bad news out of Europe regarding their debt crisis got me thinking about how best we can all cope through these tumultuous times. It seems every time we turn around there is another crisis that results in some harrowing ups and downs in the market. I think we could all benefit from …

Somewhere Between Pessimism and Skepticism

“Bull Markets are born on pessimism, grow on skepticism, mature on optimism and die on euphoria.”- Sir John Templeton Sound familiar? If you think about the turbulent market cycles we have been through the last decade or so I think you will agree that the above quote by legendary investor Sir John Templeton rings very …

California Munis can Still be Golden

April has arrived, spring is in the air and, oh yes, taxes are on our minds! One way to cut your investment tax burden is to utilize tax exempt interest provided by municipal bonds. With that in mind, I thought I would talk about municipal bond investing and why I believe municipal bonds, and specifically …

Focus on High Quality Dividend Paying Stocks

Despite the recent pullback in the markets, we have come a long way from the depths of the bear market lows seen back in March of 2009. History has shown that the period just after the turn in the markets can be quite irrational. Often times the stocks with the worst fundamentals will outperform those …

Is a Roth conversion right for you?

As you may have heard, there has been quite a bit of hoopla surrounding the change in the Roth IRA conversion rules for 2010. Could it be right for you? Let’s examine the basics and then discuss when it might be appropriate. Starting this year and for all subsequent tax years all taxpayers, regardless of …

Back to Basics in 2010

Happy New Year everybody! At the beginning of a new year it is always very tempting to offer up some forecasts of what to expect in the economy and investments during the coming year. I am sure you will see many commentaries out there that will attempt to do this. One thing that always makes …

Emerging Markets the Key to a Global Recovery?

You do not have to look too hard to find evidence that the U.S. economy is still in sorry shape. Unemployment just went over 10%, there are “for lease” signs everywhere you look, consumer sentiment indicators remain low and the housing market is still trying to find a bottom. I expect consumer spending here in …

What Tiger Woods Can Teach You About Investing

Tiger Woods recently became the first professional athlete to eclipse the billion dollar mark in career earnings and endorsements. Now, I have no idea what he does with all his money, but an interesting study of professional golfers shows that Tiger, along with the other Tour players, show a tendency to be risk averse when …