The Independent Market Observer

Hurricane Ryan Hits Tampa, Hurricane Isaac New Orleans

Posted by Brad McMillan, CFA®, CFP®

Find me on:

This entry was posted on Aug 30, 2012 1:01:54 PM

and tagged Politics and the Economy

Leave a comment

Once again, politics and Isaac are the big stories. Ryan’s acceptance of the vice presidential nomination hit the front pages of the New York Times (NYT) with “Rousing GOP, Ryan Faults ‘Missing’ Leadership” and the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) with “Ryan Pledges GOP Rebirth in Accepting Nomination,” but the Financial Times (FT) sat this one out. Lots of political commentary in both papers but not much actual analysis.

The hurricane made all three front pages, with “Isaac tests Louisiana’s defenses seven years after the devastation of Katrina” in the FT, “Storm Drenches Gulf Coast; High Water Cuts Off Many” in the NYT, and “Isaac’s Deluge Rolls Wide” in the WSJ. The basic story is that Isaac is a bad storm, causing extensive damage in some areas, but, overall, it isn’t as bad as it could have been—and certainly not as bad as Katrina. The strengthened defenses in New Orleans seem to have worked, by and large. Best wishes to everyone living through the storm and its aftermath.

Other common stories run the gamut today. On the financial front, Citigroup paid a large fine to settle a lawsuit over lack of disclosure during the financial crisis. This made the front page of the FT with “Citigroup settles US investor lawsuit,” page C1 of the WSJ with “Citi to Settle Suit for $590 Million,” and page B4 of the NYT with “Citigroup Settles Lawsuit Over Subprime Securities.” One more piece of the past put to rest, at least from a legal standpoint. The banks are slowly working their way out of earlier troubles—and, of course, into new ones. So it goes.

Slow growth continues on the U.S. economic front, as noted in “Economy Still Stuck in Low Gear” (NYT, p. B1). Interestingly, there was a somewhat more cheerful headline in the WSJ: “Fed Sees Modest Growth as Jobs, Housing Improve” (p. A6). In the same vein of working through past problems, “US Households Chip Away at the Debt on Their Homes” (WSJ, p. A6), talks about the slow consumer deleveraging process, while “Homeowners See Benefit in Bank Plan” (NYT, p. B1) discusses mortgage relief provided to more than 130,000 homeowners as part of a settlement of systemic foreclosure abuses. We are making progress, really, on many fronts.

Two more interesting stories and we’ll call it a day. There’s more talk about the gold standard on the op-ed page of the WSJ in “The Gold Standard Goes Mainstream.” Not sure I would go as far as that, but it certainly is in the conversation. The other story is the refutation of the starve-yourself-and-live-longer diet plan. Mice apparently live longer on very low-calorie diets (although that seems in dispute as well), but monkeys sure don’t. Good news for those of us looking forward to Labor Day barbecues and ice cream—and especially for my continued lobster roll research!

Have a great day!


Subscribe via Email

Crash-Test Investing

Hot Topics



New Call-to-action

Conversations

Archives

see all

Subscribe


Disclosure

The information on this website is intended for informational/educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice, a solicitation, or a recommendation to buy or sell any security or investment product. Please contact your financial professional for more information specific to your situation.

Certain sections of this commentary contain forward-looking statements that are based on our reasonable expectations, estimates, projections, and assumptions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Diversification does not assure a profit or protect against loss in declining markets.

The S&P 500 Index is a broad-based measurement of changes in stock market conditions based on the average performance of 500 widely held common stocks. All indices are unmanaged and investors cannot invest directly in an index.

The MSCI EAFE (Europe, Australia, Far East) Index is a free float‐adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets, excluding the U.S. and Canada. The MSCI EAFE Index consists of 21 developed market country indices.

One basis point (bp) is equal to 1/100th of 1 percent, or 0.01 percent.

The VIX (CBOE Volatility Index) measures the market’s expectation of 30-day volatility across a wide range of S&P 500 options.

The forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio divides the current share price of the index by its estimated future earnings.

Third-party links are provided to you as a courtesy. We make no representation as to the completeness or accuracy of information provided on these websites. Information on such sites, including third-party links contained within, should not be construed as an endorsement or adoption by Commonwealth of any kind. You should consult with a financial advisor regarding your specific situation.

Member FINRASIPC

Please review our Terms of Use

Commonwealth Financial Network®