Market Commentary - January 2012
Posted on Friday, January 13, 2012
Volume 14, Issue 1: Read Full Version or Download PDF
Will Caution and Fear Give Way to a Stock Market Surge?
By R. Kevin O'Keefe, CIMA®, AIF® | Chief Investment Officer
Will 2012 provide a return to normalcy, where stock prices are supposed to reflect fundamental valuations? We can only hope. True, stocks are attractively priced, with expectations for continuing corporate profit growth intact and price-to-earnings ratios at relatively low levels. On the other hand, the political stalemate in the U.S. has not been remedied, and is not likely to improve in this, an election year. Europe's debt crisis is still unresolved as well. With so much geopolitical uncertainty out there, it would be unwise to expect normal markets any time soon... Read More
Bonds Beat Stocks, But Uncertainty Dogs the Fixed Income Markets
By Charles Sandmel, AIF®, CFP®
Generally, bonds beat stocks in 2011. High quality paper outperformed lower quality, and longer-term bonds beat shorter-term bonds. Most of the nightmare scenarios that surfaced in late 2010 failed to materialize, although there were some bad scares... Read More