We are facing another earnings season directly ahead. Should we be worried? Well, that depends a lot on what you think the market thinks this earnings season will produce. If you believe that the market is expecting another big earnings season, you may be in for some disappointment. However, if you believe that earnings will grow at a decent clip, without much help from the economy in general, then you might just be in for a nice little surprise. Our guess is that earnings will grow at something above 10% year-over-year but not by the 30% that we had become accustomed to last year. Read more
Joan’s Real Estate Corner… Moving Advice: Happy Pets
Transitioning to a new home and routine can be difficult for many pets. The stress and worry can cause out of character behavior, as well as lowered immune responses.
In order to ease your pets into a move, it’s important to consider what makes them feel safe, secure, and stable.
First, if you are moving out of the area, be sure that your pet is current on all of their vaccines and treatments. Refill any prescriptions and consider microchipping your pet, as moves are a common time that pets become lost. Read more
A Day of Independence
For those who would rather not read the Declaration of Independence in its entirety, just skip ahead about 4 pages. Much of the middle part, starting on the next page won’t make a lot of sense, because you’ve been protected from such actions by a government that doesn’t look upon its citizens as cogs on a wheel, to be trampled whenever it suits it. But, you will also see why when the founding fathers were finally finished with the Constitution, they added the Bill of Rights right away.
Bon Voyage, QE2
Bon Voyage, QE2
Time for another visit from the Marshallian K. For those who even remember this obscure economic theory we’re sorry to have to go over this again, but we have to go over this again. The theory goes that excess money in the economy (that is money supply over and above the transaction demand for money, or the price of goods times the volume of goods divided by the velocity of money) will seek its best use and that use is usually in the securities markets in the short run. Money can be more effective when used for investment in physical plant and equipment or inventories or some other largely illiquid investment. But, when the supply of money rises suddenly the easiest way to make that money return anything is to put it in the securities markets (think in terms like putting it in a money market fund instead of as cash in your pocket). So, when QE2 began last October the securities markets started rising, though not right away. This is an element in the Fed’s outlook that the end of QE2 won’t have a meaningful impact on the real economy. Most of this money never reached the real economy in the first place. Read more
Chandler Cultural Foundation Announces New Officers
DAVID WOODRUFF NAMED CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF THE CHANDLER CULTURAL FOUNDATIONChandler Cultural Foundation Announces New Officers for 2011/2012 Season
CHANDLER, Ariz. [June 24, 2011] – The Chandler Cultural Foundation, which facilitates programming and funds development for the Chandler Center for the Arts, announced new officers for the 2011/12 season. They are: chairman of the Board David Woodruff, vice-chair Rich Frazier, secretary Anne DeRose, and treasurer Steena Murray.
David Woodruff replaces Ernie Serrano, Jr. who served as Chairman of the Board from 2008 to 2011. Woodruff has served on the Chandler Cultural Foundation Board of Directors since 2009 and was Vice Chairman from 2010 to 2011. He also serves on the Board’s fundraising committee.
A Chandler resident for more than 20 years, Woodruff is currently the Manager of Business Development for Chandler Regional and Mercy Gilbert Medical Centers. He also currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Chandler/Gilbert YMCA.
Woodruff received his Bachelors of Science from the University of Nebraska in Business Administration and Finance and his MBA from the University of Arizona.
“I am honored to serve as the Chairman of the Chandler Cultural Foundation,” said Woodruff. “Chandler Center for the Arts is an icon in our community and I am committed to continuing the success that our mission asks of us. We have a strong and dedicated board and talented staff members, all working together to ensure our ongoing success.” Read more
More Wall of Worry
We have seen fear come back into the markets with a vengeance. We have rebuilt the so-called “wall of worry” that the market seems to need to climb. As a quick indicator of that, the bullish percentage in the American Association of Individual Investors weekly sentiment poll has fallen to 24% recently from 43% in early April. The bears have grown to 48% from 29% in the same period. Typically, when twice as many people are bearish as bullish the market tends to rise. Just as when roughly twice as many people are bullish as bearish, it tends to fall. Read more