Stocks
The stock market news and analysis you need to know when developing, monitoring and adjusting client portfolios.
September 30, 2009
Inflation ParadoxA little inflation is a good thing, because it shows that there is decent demand for products, and an economy that's nicely "humming along." Runaway inflation is not a good thing, however.
September 10, 2009
Inertia behind 401(k) stabilityTomorrow is National 401(k) Day, an effort from The Profit Sharing/401k Council of America to highlight the importance of employer-sponsored profit sharing and 401(k) plans....
September 01, 2009
Can China Turn Inward? Searching for Alpha, September 2009When China sneezes, the world catches a cold. Especially in the energy markets.
September 01, 2009
Can Bonds Continue to Outperform?Bonds have outperformed stocks by a large margin over the past year because of the financial crisis, and they've also roughly matched stocks over the...
September 01, 2009
Value Versus GrowthOver time, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks and have done so with a lower standard deviation (see first table below). The coefficient of variation...
August 26, 2009
Is the Worst Really Over?The recent batch of news hasn't been good - just less bad than expected. But is it good enough to assume that the worst is really over?
August 20, 2009
Reason No. 611 for independent adviceThe Wall Street Journal reports that Goldman Sachs analysts reserved key trading tips for large clients, hurting smaller clients of the venerable firm. An example,...
August 03, 2009
The Hangover-Free Summer Party: Searching for Alpha, August 2009How long can the market continue to rally with an absence of genuine economic growth? July's gain of 7.82% in the S&P 500 puts that index's five-month return at over 34%.
August 01, 2009
The ETF Advisor: Those Outperforming Small CapsSmall-cap stocks are a thorny problem for investors. With thousands of different issues and little analytical coverage available, it is a difficult and time-consuming task...
August 01, 2009
Asset AllocationBehind the Numbers, with Mark Balasa Although risk remains, Balasa says that he and his colleagues in the Alpha Group have "a growing optimism around some...