Tag: Economy

When making investments on behalf of our clients our views are being shaped by monetary policies both in the U.S. and abroad. The Taylor Rule A number of years ago John Taylor, a Stanford professor and noted economist, came up with a formula to guide how our central bank should set and change their interest [...]

As we highlighted in the spring, 2012 has been a good year for the financial markets, equities in particular, and has exhibited much less overall market volatility than 2011.  Although there were no significant year-over-year gains for equity markets in calendar 2011 from the prior year, the fourth quarter strength in common stocks set the [...]

After a strong first quarter of the year, market sentiment in the second quarter eroded amid a variety of macro factors.  These factors included the impact of the fiscal cliff facing the US economy heading into 2013, the turmoil from the European financial crisis, economic headwinds of stagnant earnings growth in the US and a [...]

As we reach the mid-year point, much attention will be paid to the reduced income tax rates, known as the “Bush Tax Cuts,” slated to expire at the end of this year.  In addition, there are other new taxes and changes in tax deductions and credits that may affect your tax planning.  These changes may [...]