Economy & Markets
The important economic and stock market news that advisors need to know.
Three Global Financial Scenarios for 2012
By Bill CoffinThe global economy in 2012 will likely remain in a so-called “Great Idle,” with slow, positive growth and an economic crisis avoided, according…
January 31, 2012
Who Will Regulate the Regulators?Why did U.S. regulators fail to react to the alarming increases in leverage at financial institutions, or the shift of trillions of dollars of assets from banks balance sheets that were packaged into complex securities? Three former regulators propose a solution to what ails our regulatory system.
January 31, 2012
IMCA Speaker Rejects Investor Objections to Buying EquitiesMany of the reasons cited by investors for not buying equities, generally, and U.S. stocks, in particular, are not justified by the facts, says a speaker at the IMCA Conference.
January 31, 2012
Carriers See Brighter Disability Claims PictureProblems crop up in Australia, but StanCorp finds signs of improvement in the U.S. market.
January 31, 2012
Advisor Confidence Moving in Positive DirectionThis slight shift is similar to that of Spectrem Groups affluent-investor survey and the University of Michigans Consumer Sentiment Index
January 31, 2012
Top 5 International Bond FundsAlpha that comes from an international play, combined with lower risk associated with fixed income, could be the perfect fit. Zacks Investment Research lists the top five international bond mutual funds currently out there.
January 30, 2012
Growth Accelerates, but U.S. Has Lots of Ground to Make Up (New York Times)Even with the pickup in output last quarter, the pace was below the average of economic expansions in the United States since World War II.
January 30, 2012
Senate Sets Monday Vote on Banning Insider Trading by CongressSenate Democrats lobby in support of STOCK Act, say lawmakers 'should not be above the law.'