Markets moved higher for the 2nd consecutive week. Corporate earnings for the 3rd quarter continue to out-perform. Of the 29% of S&P 500 companies that have reported thus far, 87% have reported earnings above estimates and 83% reported revenues above estimates. Meanwhile, it's been a tough year for investors that trusted the soft data instead of the hard data. The Hard Data has showed a stable economic picture, while the soft data warned of impending doom. U.S. GDP grew

This year has provided a strong contrast between what investors and consumers expected to happen and what actually occurred. Surveys are not always the best comparison to hard economic data. The inspiration for this week's musings is the 1987 surprise hit movie, "Can't Buy Me Love" . Here’s some trivia about the movie: The movie was released near the end of the summer in 1987, which is not a great time for a movie release. The extremely meager budget of $2 million is owed

Equities finished higher for the week, despite concerns over valuations and regional banks. October is known for its volatility, and this year hasn't disappointed so far. Equities pulled back 1.5% in the first couple of weeks of this month and the media acted like it was the next bear market. However, a survey of crashes that have occurred in the month of October - 1907, 1917, 1929, 1987, & 2008 to name a few - shows that the average decline was about 16%. After Friday's r

Markets are not disappointing investors who are seeking a thrill. October is usually one of the more volatile months of the year, and so far, the first part of the month is following through on that tradition. The inspiration for this week's musings is the 1982 hit song, "Thriller" by Michael Jackson. This may be the first time we've featured three different songs by the same artist in 6 month's time. Here’s some trivia about the song: This song hit #1 on the Billboard c

Equities rallied last week, but saw downward pressure on Friday after debt ceiling talks stalled and the Treasury Secretary's comments on...

Equities have rallied this week between 1 and 3%, depending upon which market index you're tracking. Then our fearless leaders began...