Russell Bailyn's Financial Planning Blog

At times like this, old-fashioned advice such as ‘buy, hold, and don’t pay attention’ works extremely well. I’ve had several clients call over the past few weeks concerned about the day-to-day volatility in the stock and bond markets. I try to quickly remind everyone that asset allocation, diversification, and a solid financial plan are the ways to help achieve wealth--not cashing out a stock when it’s making money and trying to time getting back in after the price drops. That strategy, known as market timing, is a losing proposition over the long run and is better to avoid altogether. So what has the market in such a panic? I’ll give you a few different perspectives:

Continue reading "Is a Recession on the Horizon?" »

Posted by Russell Bailyn at 04:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Last week my office huddled together in the conference room to discuss the looming correction in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. A market correction is sometimes defined as a drop of at least 10%, but not more than 20% over a short period of time. The major difference between a bear market and a correction is magnitude and duration. Bear markets last much longer, and the magnitude of loss is greater. Last week, during a wild day of trading, the Dow briefly hit a level which was 10% below the high of 14,015 which we reached on July 19th. Fortunately, the market has shown a bit of strength--partially aided by some emergency policy decisions of the Federal Reserve Bank--and moved up a few hundreds points since its lowest levels. So what should you know? And what should you do?

Continue reading "Market Jitters Bring Volatility & Uncertainty" »

Posted by Russell Bailyn at 03:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The stock market had a rally on Tuesday for a very specific reason: the inflation data came in low and, at this point, its becoming increasingly likely that the Fed will cut interest rates later this year. A reduction in rates could fuel the somewhat sluggish growth rates we’ve seen throughout the economy for the past few quarters. And while all different types of economic data have an effect on the stock market, inflation is perhaps the most carefully scrutinized issue. If today’s reading of the consumer price index had come in even slightly higher than market analysts forecasted, we may have seen a big correction (drop) in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Instead, the Dow is trading at yet another all-time high.

Continue reading "May Newsletter - Dow 14,000 - Inflation & Hedging your Costs" »

Posted by Russell Bailyn at 09:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

On February 27th the Chinese stock market plunged 9% on fears of increased government intervention in the booming Chinese economy. Combined with some disappointing news about durable goods spending, the broad market averages declined sharply, erasing many of our gains for the year. Two weeks later, the markets are still jittery, with the Dow swaying near that psychologically important 12,000 level. The latest concerns are regarding sub-prime lending--an important concept which I’d like to explain.

Continue reading "March Newsletter from Premier Financial Advisors" »

Posted by Russell Bailyn at 03:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We're well into September now and it seems the market has carefully tiptoed around its current worst fears: inflation, recession, and expensive oil. The Federal Reserve apparently pleased investors when it stopped raising interest rates last month, giving the bond market a chance to breathe as well. It will be interesting to see how the Fed proceeds from this point forward. It's my feeling that the retail season may be fairly strong this year, especially if a barrel of oil can stay in the $60 range. Remember, some people aren’t overly dependent on oil (such as city dwellers), but others spend a lot of money on gasoline both for heating their homes and powering their cars. If corporate earnings are strong in October and throughout the holiday season, the stock market may start hitting some fresh highs. Some of the major indexes have already closed in on multi-month highs this week, a good sign for September, which is traditionally not a great month for the stock market.

Continue reading "September Newsletter from Premier Financial Advisors" »

Posted by Russell Bailyn at 02:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)