57 total articles : showing 1-10 next 10 >
Confessions of a Money Manager: Don't get caught in panic seller's trap
The financial crisis is real and quite a number of banks and brokerage firms crumbled. If you owned shares in those companies you lost most of your investment; they won't recover. But is the financial crisis going to take down the rest of the economy? I doubt it. read story
Confessions of a Money Manager: Paulson's 'bottom' key to solving financial crisis
Henry Paulson's "bottom" is the key to solving the nation's financial crisis. No, Paulson's bottom is not a place like Washington, D.C.'s Foggy Bottom, nor is it a curvy bottom featured in Fruit of the Loom underwear commercials. Paulson's bottom refers to Treasury Secretary Paulson's effort to find a bottom to the horrendous slide in real estate values, and it's the key to ending the malaise that's infected the financial markets both here and abroad. read story
Confessions of a Money Manager: Watching the decimation on Wall Street
After church last Sunday one of my long-time friends buttonholed me, and with visible anxiety, asked: "What's going on with all these bailouts?" He went on to say: "I saw what happened to those huge mortgage companies (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) and heard about the others, can the government keep bailing everybody out?" He continued to pepper me with questions until I finally said, "Hold on!" read story
Confessions of a Money Manager: Is there light at the end of the tunnel?
"Don't fear it, cheer it." "Why bother?" I pondered that as I drove to the Monona Terrace Convention Center last Tuesday. It was not a good day. The Dow Jones Average had just lost 280 points, the TV and newspapers were full of depressing news, and I had just concluded a meeting with a representative of BlackRock, the global investment management firm with $1.4 trillion in assets, in which he summed up his company's appraisal of the economy as, well, not very exciting. read story
Confessions of a Money Manager: Which party is better for the stock market?
Well, investors, we're in the soup again. The presidential election has officially started, and we haven't a clue -- currently it's a statistical dead heat -- who will occupy the Oval Office next January. read story
Confessions of a Money Manager: Don't rely on conventional wisdom
When I opened up Saturday's Wall Street Journal, I was floored by the headline, "Dollar's Rise Could Damp Inflation." Wasn't it just a month or so ago that the conventional wisdom of the economists and pundits alike was that the dollar was dead? Now its rebound has those same sages spinning stories about its recovery. Now if you think I'm taking a potshot at so-called conventional wisdom, you're right. It just seems that when so many TV talking heads tell us the same story about some economic issue -- with minuscule variations -- that we should take a step back instead of accepting this "wisdom" hook, line and sinker. read story
Confessions of a Money Manager: Simplicity is a powerful tool for portfolio management
Is Ockham's razor some sort of newfangled shaving system? No, it's a pragmatic approach to explaining how things work, particularly how scientific phenomena can be explained. Although not directly related to business, Ockham's approach has great applicability to investment strategies and portfolio management. read story
Confessions of a Money Manager: Market's roller coaster ride perplexes investors
Whew, what a ride! Lately the stock market's had more topsy-turvy turns, sudden drops and sharp rises than a Disney roller coaster ride. It's been a Big Thunder Mountain experience channeling through dark caves and scary mountain passes that keeps riders guessing what's next. read story
Confessions of a Money Manager: Can oil prices be headed down?
The July issue of Financial Advisor Magazine includes an article by Nick Murray, the marketing guru who entertains investment types with witty stories about how to win new clients. His recent piece, "Ordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Oil," however, included a major dose of cynicism about today's energy crisis. read story
Confessions of a Money Manager: There are bargains on Wall Street
Well, it's now official. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is now down 20 percent from its high of last October. read story
