I can't believe another holiday season is upon us. It seems like only a few months ago I was taking down Christmas decorations.
On the other hand, it seems like our stock market turbulence has been going on for an eternity. After three great years, 1997 saw four corrections of about 10%, but the real trouble started in the 4th quarter with that correction spilling over into January of 1998. 1998 has seen additional corrections of 8.5% in May and June and then the big one (20%+) in July and August, the worst correction since 1987 and 1989. As one of our money managers put it, "A nice walk in the park until we ran into those Russian Bears, South American Killer Bees and Asian Tigers." Reminds me a little bit of the market in '94 when Greenspan raised the interest rates 6 times.
Hopefully the worst is now behind us and you can pat yourself on the back for having survived a very paranoid market.
This is also a special time to remember those less fortunate; we certainly don't need to look very far to find those in need. Please give a helping hand through your favorite charity.
Join me in giving thanks for our many blessings, family, friends, individual freedoms, modern technology and medical science, just to name a few.
Happy Thanksgiving.
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jpw@financial-architects.com
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