Weekly Commentary for March 1, 2011
Mary Meeker, former Morgan Stanley analyst (now a partner of venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins), published a terrific report on “USA Inc.” …looking at the United States as if it were a public company. This is some useful information for clients of a fee only financial advisor in Monmouth County, NJ.
Here are some of the highlights from her report:
1. Spending as a percent of GDP rose 3 percent each year from 1790 through 1930. But in 2010: spending rose 24%.
2. Debt levels will be three times current levels by 2030. Entitlements and interest — alone — will exceed total revenue by 2025. All revenue will go to these two items.
3. Only 1 in 50 Americans needed Medicaid when it was first created in 1965. Today: 1 in 6 Americans receives Medicaid now.
4. Extended unemployment benefits could set back America Inc. $34 billion in the next two years.
Despite these lousy stats, Meeker is still very positive on “USA Inc.” Her article is this week’s cover story in Bloomberg Businessweek this week. (by the way, Business Week was a terrible mag until Bloomberg got involved. I look forward to it now.)
If you are relying on a blog post for specific investment advice, you are making a huge mistake. Please speak with an investment adviser before making ANY investment decisions.
If you do not have an investment adviser, we encourage you to contact Mullooly Asset Management at 732-223-9000, or through our website.
Under no circumstances should the content discussed on this post be considered specific investment advice.
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OK, so we sold a few things recently… especially some international in the past few weeks. And we have some cash. Cash earns nothing. So…what’s the plan?
Often times, we can “turn down the volatility” in your account simply by selling the weakest performer in the group. We accomplish two things:
1. We cut the loser and keep the winners.
2. We raise cash, to help reduce some volatility.
We also accomplish something else: we now have some cash, ready to add if we experience any kind of pull back. All good. Overall, we continue to run offensive plays. As long as we have control of the football, that is what we will do. People ask me all the time: when will we take money off the table?
Answer: When the charts change, we will change. At the moment, the short-term picture gets sloppier. But that *is* what happens in the short term.
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