Market Update – February 16, 2009

Well folks, so far this month the groundhog let us down by indicating we have another six weeks of winter and then our politicians let us down by voting for a stimulus package that most financial people see mostly as a spending spree disguised as a stimulus package. As a result, we had a sell off last week on Wall Street to the tune of about 5% with the hardest hit sector being the financials. The real reason for the sell off was the new treasury secretary, Tim Geithner’s inability to convince the financial markets that the administration actually has a plan to deal with the troubled banking institutions. I will bring you more details of the stimulus package in coming updates once I get a more complete handle on it.

I’ve mentioned before that the volatility of the markets comes as no surprise to me as I expect this type of volatility in both directions for the reasonably foreseeable future. The good news is that we seem to be able, despite all the negative news, to stay above the 800 level on the S & P 500.

The bottom line is that the markets and the economy are cyclical just like the seasons themselves. As we know that winter will eventually give way to spring, we can also be sure that a recession will eventually lead to recovery. The difference is that the timing of seasonal changes are much easier to forecast.

As always I want to thank you for your continued support and especially thank those who have referred friends and family members. If you have any questions or concerns, please call me at the office or send an e-mail. Enjoy the day!!!

Don’t forget to listen to my Financial Spotlight radio show now available here on my blog.