Financial Spotlight – March 20, 2009

It has been another action packed week in the markets. At least this time around the markets have been trading to the upside. The good news is that spring is here and we are up about 10% or so from the lows that were set about three weeks ago. The bad news is that there is no end in sight to the wild swings. Most experts, including myself, believe that these turbulent markets will continue at least into early summer. I still believe that we will be able to look back in early to mid summer and have seen the lows in the market. This assumes the government is successful in fixing the banking system to a level the market is comfortable with.

My expectations on the economy haven’t changed that much since my last communication. I expect the economy to have difficulty throughout most of this year. This means more layoffs, less hiring, and more for sale signs on homes and business’s. At best, I see the economy starting to get better in the last quarter of 2009. On a positive note, I think Chairmen of the Fed, Ben Bernanke, has finally come around to doing what needs to be done to get the economy moving forward again. I know that I have criticized him previously for not getting his act in gear but now I have to give him some credit where credit is due. Once his stimulus package starts working its way into the economy things should start to get improve.

I’ll keep you posted as events of magnitude transpire. As always please feel free to call with questions and concerns.