Feb 17th
Idaho Business Matters, a short daily radio feature broadcast on Boise State Public Radio recorded by Boise State University’s Dr. Nancy Napier, recently focused on QE2. Professor Napier’s scripts were written by Harmonic’s Kenn Lamson.
Recordings of the commentaries can be heard by clicking on the links below.
Jan 28th
I’ve noted in several research pieces that I believe that the US stock markets entered a secular bear market in March 2000 that will probably end sometime 2014-2016. The chart below helps provide a bit of the background for that assertion.
The chart is of the price of the S&P Composite that has been adjusted for inflation and placed on a logarithmic scale. The Composite includes more stocks than the largecap S&P500 so is a better sample of the total stock market; since inflation erodes the value of any investment it’s good to know the real spending power of that investment; and the log scale helps smooth the parabolic curve evident in the typical long-term stock market graph, making linear analysis easier.
The graph also shows a regression line that indicates an approximate annual price return of 1.7%. Add dividends (about 4.9%) and inflation (about 2.3%) to get the “nominal” annualized return of 8.9% with which we’re more familiar.
The red line segments are periods when the market traded lower – secular bear markets.
{hat tip: DShort.com. Doug Short’s website has become one of my favorites for excellent graphical analysis of economic and market subjects.)
Jan 27th
This week’s Economist magazine offers a scathing review of President Obama’s recent State of the Union address. One can agree or not with the article’s points (for what it’s worth, I agree) but what caught my attention and fancy was the illustration that accompanies the commentary. Posted here for your consideration (and entertainment):
Dec 31th
While I doubt I’ll join the forecasting fray (at least not in print, where it’s incorrect the moment I write it and might be used to nefarious ends), this final day of 2010 offers the opportunity to pass along a few illustrations regarding the year’s markets and economic activity.
The Economist published an excellent review of the main economic and market events of the year, A Year In Nine Pictures. Two dark spots of the US economy, housing and employment, appear among their nine charts.
The New York Times is known as the home of the uber-Keynesian Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman, but they also have a heckuva good graphics team. Here are a few illustrations from Snapshots Of the Economy, which appeared earlier this week.
Joshua Brown, who writes The Reformed Broker blog, keeps a list of annual investing fads that runs back to 1996. Reviewing it’s the investing equivalent of seeing pictures of yourself in neon parachute pants in the 80s or a huge butterfly bowtie in the 70s (sorry, you’ll find no pictures of us dressed like on this website).
If you’re a chart-watcher (I admit to leaning on that discipline from time to time), you may find StockCharts Top 10 Technical Developments in 2010 intriguing. I closely watch the performance of the each economic sector so this graph is both familiar and encouraging.
Finally, one of my favorite resources for online graphics, VisualEconomics, features their best Infographics of 2010. Here’s a snippet of one I could definitely identify with.
Dec 20th
It’s UK-centric, but this graphic from the website Money.co.UK does a great job of reviewing the financial collapse, subsequent recession and the tepid growth seen in its aftermath. Needless to say, the picture in the US hasn’t been much different than “across the pond.”
View the full graphic here.
hat tip: Ritholtz.com
Dec 17th
The New York Times recently published a look at Census data by census tract, illustrating topics including income, education, housing and ethnicity. Drilling down on the Treasure Valley is a visually interesting way to view our fair city.
% CHANGE IN MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME SINCE 2000
% CHANGE IN HOUSEHOLDS SPENDING >30% OF INCOME ON MORTGAGE
DISTRIBUTION OF RACIAL AND ETHNIC GROUPS
Dec 08th
The title of this post is also that of a recent book by Gordon Murray, a former bond salesman turned index fund investing acolyte. The thing that sets Mr. Murray apart, beyond his privileged East Coast upbringing, is that he’s used his final months to write the tome, having ceased treatment for a form of brain cancer.
We are proud to note that Mr. Murray’s recommendations, based on his experience as a consultant for Dimensional Fund Advisors, very closely mimic Harmonic’s strategy.
The story, originally published in New York Times, is here.
Dec 02th
This clock, courtesy of poodwaddle.com, keeps track of more items than I’ve seen in one place. Interesting, if not immediately useful.
hat tip to InvestmentPostcards.com
Nov 04th
More to come on this topic later, but I found this chart from The Economist useful in understanding the historic magnitude of Tuesday’s legislative shift.
Mar 29th
Top 10 Dying Industries
Author: Kenn Lamson
Comments: 0
Not good news for Boise-based companies like Guerdon Enterprises, Record Exchange and Costume Shop…
Analysis by IBIS World, via the Wall Street Journal, listing 10 industries that contracted 2000-2010 and are expected to contract through 2016 (the end of the forecast period.)