The Month in Brief

Turmoil in the Middle East didn’t stop U.S. stocks from posting a sizable January advance. The S&P 500 rose 2.26% on the month and the Dow and NASDAQ posted strong gains as well. We received encouraging news about home sales, retail sales, manufacturing and service sector growth and personal spending. There was a real sense that things were improving for American consumers and corporations.1

Weekly Economic Update for January 17, 2011

“Knowledge is more than equivalent to force.” – Samuel Johnson CONSUMER & PRODUCER PRICES RISE The U.S. inflation rate hit an 18-month peak in December: the federal government’s Consumer Price Index advanced 0.5%. Pump prices were a big factor in that gain: gasoline grew 8.5% more expensive last month. However, core CPI (minus food and [...]

Annual Review for 2010

THE YEAR IN BRIEF 2010 was a very nice year on Wall Street. At the closing bell on December 31, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was sitting just eight points beneath a two-year high recorded two days earlier. The S&P 500 finished up 12.78% for the year and the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P all posted [...]

What is Inflation Exactly?

I get this question a lot. What exactly is inflation? Inflation, to kind of make it really simple, is when the value of everything goes up except for the cash in your pocket, which stays the same.