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, January 2, 2009

2009 A Look Ahead

2009: Hoping for a turnaround, bracing for a thud. 2008 was a tumultuous, messy year, shaking investors' belief in basic market premises, including the value of the buy-and-hold strategy and the idea that stocks will outgain other assets over time. Volatility was startling, the stock market had its third worst year in over a century and the government spent billions of dollars frantically trying to plug holes in the economy. Some analysts believe a dismal '08 at least provided a bottom to this market, citing November's multiyear lows and the upswing that followed, though others expect another sag in 2009. Forecasters for 2009 have covered the full range of outlooks, from continued heavy losses to healthy recovery. Investors, meanwhile, are hoping 2009 brings a turnaround, but aren't counting on one.

FDIC goes back to the future. With at least 171 banks on the FDIC's 'problem list,' the agency is turning to a tool last used during the savings and loan crisis. Called 'loss sharing,' the mechanism provides an incentive for healthy banks to take on the troubled assets of a failed institution, with the government agreeing to cover the majority of future losses. The FDIC tried out the model several times in 2008, including in its initial rescue effort for Wachovia (WB) and as part of an aid package to Citigroup (C), and is feeling out industry interest in the approach.

Quotables. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) fell 32% in 2008, marking its worst performance in over thirty years. Buffett, however, appears unfazed. "It's happened to me three other times. It happened when it went from 90 to 40 back in 1974, and it happened in 1987. It went down 50 percent in 1998-to-2000. I mean, I hope I live long enough so it happens a couple more times."

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