Certified Financial Planner, Registered Investment Advisor, Massachusetts » economic forecast

US Debt Rating – What Happens if Downgraded?

Debra — Tue, 24 May 2011 12:00:58 +0000

Bob explains the concept of debt rating and answers the question: What would happen if the US debt gets downgraded by Standard and Poor.

Listen to the discussion

Financial Spotlight Radio Recording – August 14, 2009

Bob — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:11:53 +0000

Welcome to Bob’s weekly Financial Spotlight

The radio show is every Friday at 5:30am on WCRN AM 83 Radio, and also available here for your convenience! Just press the play button below…

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Financial Spotlight Radio Recording – June 26, 2009

Bob — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 14:01:53 +0000

Welcome to Bob’s weekly Financial Spotlight

The radio show is every Friday at 5:30am on WCRN AM 83 Radio, and also available here for your convenience! Just press the play button below…

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Financial Spotlight Radio Recording – June 19, 2009

Bob — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:18:28 +0000

Welcome to Bob’s weekly Financial Spotlight

The radio show is every Friday at 5:30am on WCRN AM 83 Radio, and also available here for your convenience! Just press the play button below…

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Market Update – May 11, 2009

Debra — Tue, 12 May 2009 13:59:23 +0000

We seem to have put together a nice rally over the last couple of months. The market is up around 30% from the recent low set on March 9th. Although this is certainly good news, the real question is “Is this a suckers rally or is this the beginning of a long term upswing?” My position is that it might be both. I maintain that in the long run things will be fine but in the short run I believe we are still going to see a lot of volatility as there remains a great deal of uncertainty out there as it relates to the banking system, residential and commercial real estate, and the job market. However the level of pessimism that has permeated the markets over the last year or so has subsided significantly as of late. In fact, I am actually seeing some signs of optimism for a change.

For those of you who have not been paying close attention to the falling interest rate environment perhaps you should. Rates for mortgages have fallen dramatically. If you have a 30 year fixed rate mortgage at 5.5% or above, you might save yourself a nice chunk of change so to speak by refinancing. The difficulty right now is lending standards have tightened and property values have fallen as hard as interest rates so many who would like to refinance simply cannot qualify.

For those who have been considering the purchase of a retirement/vacation home, now might be a very good time to at least begin your search and get your financial ducks in a row. Prices have been falling and as I mentioned above, interest rates are low. I cannot say that prices in residential real estate have bottomed which is why I use the phrase “at least begin to search”.

In closing I would like to thank everyone for their continued support. I would also like to especially thank those of you who have referred friends, family, associates, and co-workers. Should you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to call or e-mail.

Market Update – April 21, 2009

Bob — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 21:17:24 +0000

As you have probably noticed, the past month or so has yielded some very positive returns in the markets. We have had better than expected news on many fronts that has helped move the S & P 500 up about 25%. Although high levels of volatility still exist, it is not nearly as volatile as it was in the 4th quarter of 2008. This is the good news. Unfortunately, I still expect to see significant ups and downs for at least the next six months or until we get clarity on the health of the banking system and figure out the impact of bad or underperforming commercial loans. The commercial loan arena is believed to be the next shoe to drop by most experts including myself. I do not expect the commercial loan arena to be as bad as the residential mortgage arena because commercial loans were underwritten with greater scrutiny than residential loans.

My prognosis for 2009 is that the S & P 500 will post a positive yearly return with heavy volatility along the way. I believe that residential and commercial real estate will continue to be a drag on the overall economy with prices drifting lower in both sectors. I still believe that the recession will technically end in 2009 but it won’t feel that way at least until the second quarter of 2010. This prognosis is based on the assumption that the banking system continues to heal and the powers that be make the right decisions.