Crew Capital Management Thoughts on Investment

Welcome to the Crew Capital Management Thoughts on Investment blog. At Crew Capital, investment education is key to how we work with our clients. We hope our conversation and analysis entice you to think further on your investment strategies and planning. For further discussion, please contact us at rjung@crewcapital.com

Thank you!
Robert F. Jung, CFA CPA*

*CPA inactve

Friday, September 12, 2008

Financial Headlines

Bernanke deals with dissent by giving hawks a voice
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is coping with a financial crisis, possible recession and also inflation, while dealing with an unusual level of dissent among his team of policymakers. To make the Fed more democratic and transparent, Bernanke incorporates the views of his colleagues in official announcements. The strategy may sometimes muddle the Fed's position, but it gives the hawks a voice and likely means that the Federal Open Market Committee is running properly. The Economist (11 Sep.)

U.S. trade deficit soared to $62.2 billion in July
A record-high oil price propelled the U.S. trade deficit to $62.2 billion in July, the highest in 16 months. This month, the price of oil is down more than 25% from that peak price. There is reason to believe that inflation is either stagnant or slowing, as import prices exclusive of oil fell slightly this month. The New York Times (11 Sep.)

Market participants debate best way to deal with crises
The rally in markets after the U.S. government's rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ended quickly as investors appeared concerned about the health of other financial institutions. Some market participants are pushing for a systemic solution. Others are suggesting different fixes. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said a formal framework should be established to deal with financial institutions on the verge of collapse. Financial Times (11 Sep.)

Fed's Kohn says house prices still have room to fall
Although the rate at which house prices are falling has slowed, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Donald Kohn does not see the decline as having hit bottom. Mortgage conditions have tightened since the spring, and that impact has yet to play out. Kohn recommended that banks and other lenders build up buffers during prosperous times to guard against economic downturns. Reuters (11 Sep.)

The market opened down more than 1.5% Thursday morning, but was able to recover. The S&P 500 managed to rally and finish the day in the black more than 1% higher. While this volatility may appear normal, reversals like this aren't. From a historical perspective there have been 26 other days where the S&P 500 was down more than 1% at one point, and able to finish the day up 1%+ higher. It has happened three times this year. The only other years where there have been three or more of these type of reversals were 1987-3x, 1990-3x, 1998-5x and 2002-6x.

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