Industry News

Industrialized world still shaky

The industrialized world faces a period of extreme volatility, at a time when its governments must engage in severe fiscal tightening, according to economists and strategists at the Morningstar Investment Conference. “We went through the worst financial shock since the 1930s . . . the worst recession in the industrialized world since the second world […]

By Steven Lamb |August 17, 2010

2 min read

Is the recession really over?

Most people define a recession as two consecutive quarters of declining GDP. This definition gained popularity after it was included in a list of indications by economist Julius Shiskin in a 1974 New York Times article. Likewise, a recession is considered to be over when the streak of declining quarterly GDP concludes. In the U.S., […]

By Kash Hashemi |August 17, 2010

7 min read

Briefly:

Investors fearing a troubled U.S. economy cut their holdings of American equities this month to 2008 levels. According to a Bloomberg report, a BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research survey showed 14% of respondents were “underweight” U.S. stocks, compared with 7% who were “overweight” in July. A total of 187 fund managers participated in the survey […]

By Staff |August 17, 2010

2 min read

The paradox of transparency

A friend of mine has been busy for the past few years, converting his practice to a fee-based model. He charges his clients an annual fee, billed monthly and based on a percentage of the assets he manages for them. He receives no compensation from any products he uses in his model portfolios. ETFs, F-Class […]

By Harper Fraze |August 17, 2010

6 min read