January 1, 2014
HOT TOPIC: What Can We Expect in 2014?
The beginning of the year is a traditional time to look forward to potential economic developments. Although forecasts can change due to unforeseen circumstances, the outlook for 2014 is generally…
December 1, 2013
HOT TOPIC: Nobel Prize Winners Offer Investing Lessons
A trio of American scholars were recently awarded the 2013 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Eugene Fama and Lars Peter Hansen, professors at the University of Chicago, and Robert…
November 1, 2013
HOT TOPIC: What Can We Learn from the Government Shutdown?
Late in the night on October 16, Congress ended a 16-day government shutdown and prevented a potential default of federal financial obligations by passing the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014. President…
September 28, 2013
HOT TOPIC: When the Fed Speaks, Markets Listen. Should You?
Comments made by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke following the Federal Reserve’s June policy-setting meeting caused a stir in the financial markets. The realization that the Fed might cut back on…
August 28, 2013
HOT TOPIC: The Potential Effects of Airline Consolidation
The proposed merger of US Airways and American Airlines, which the two companies hope to complete this summer, is the latest in a series of consolidations since 2001 that have…
June 28, 2013
HOT TOPIC: Putting Market Records in Perspective
On March 5, 2013, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high of 14,253.77.¹ It took almost a month for the broader-based S&P 500 to follow suit, but…
May 28, 2013
HOT TOPIC: What to Expect from Federal Budget Cuts
The Budget Control Act of 2011 mandated $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts, known as the sequester, if Congress failed to negotiate a more targeted deficit-reduction package. The blunt federal…