Dear Clients,

It has been a tough month for the stock market but fortunately not for our portfolios. As of Thursday’s close (5/19), we were up just marginally month-to-date and up around 5% for the year. I don’t see anything happening today that will have a serious impact on our portfolio in either direction. This quick consolidation has been beneficial as it has allowed us to see how our portfolio will react to pullbacks. Having a relatively neutral market position has proven to be prudent, at least for the last two weeks, and we’ve identified some vulnerable positions that we’ll likely liquidate during the next rally.

In my April Market update, I stated that 5 dominos would fall in connection with the ensuing bear market and I looked to profit from the “falling dominos” rather than seek risky gains in an aging bull market. I’d like to address the first 4 which are as follows:
1. Sell Off in Bonds.
2. US$ Depreciates Significantly
3. Consumer Credit Contraction slows the Economy
4. Inflation erodes Consumer Sentiment Read the rest of this entry »

By proceeding, I acknowledge that I have read and understood the Disclaimer and Copyright Statements .

Over the last several days (4/30/05 – 5/3/05), the Dallas Morning News wrote a four part series called “Trade Secrets” which sought to expose some of the gross inadequacies of the brokerage business. I thought the article made some very salient points but failed to emphasize the real problem with securities brokers.

In my view, it all comes down to conflicts of interest. The more conflicts that exist the greater the chance of unethical behavior. Read the rest of this entry »