By now, you’ve probably heard that the Standard & Poor’s debt rating agency has downgraded all U.S. government debt with more than a year of maturity, from the top AAA rating down to AA+.  To put that in perspective, now only 17 countries enjoy the AAA rating on their government bonds.  Typically, that means that [...]

With inflation continuing to rise in today’s economy, how do we best plan clients’ portfolios to combat this issue? There is no surefire way to beat the inflation problem, but there are several strategies which can help defend against the current economic situation. With CPI currently running upwards at 3% and rising, there definitely needs [...]

The U.S. just recently finally came to terms on the debt deal, but there is another large dilemma to face: the free-falling stock market and growing concerns that have ensued and further curb the already slow economy. Signs of further slow growth have been building. Unemployment remains high, consumer spending is low, and lending is [...]

One of the advantages of Timothy Financial is our hourly model where clients can call in any time any where with any question and this week is no exception. As the market does cartwheels and somersaults, we’re here to help you navigate the circus.  Mark Berg even gave an example to the Wall Street Journal and [...]

Chances are, you noticed that Moody’s Investors Service, the credit rating service, has placed the U.S. government’s sterling AAA bond rating on review for a possible downgrade.  The reason was clear, but Moody’s spelled it out anyway: there is uncertainty whether Congress will raise the U.S. government’s debt ceiling by August 2.  If it doesn’t, [...]

This month, we observed an unusual two-year anniversary: 24 months from the low point in the global markets, the point of maximum pain and panic following the 2008 economic meltdown and so-called Great Recession. On March 9, 2009, the S&P 500 had fallen to its low of 676, the lowest it had been in 13 [...]

In a keynote presentation in Las Vegas, David Kelly of JP Morgan Chase addressed an audience of financial advisors.  His presentation provided a cautious optimism about our economic growth for 2011.  The current economic recovery has been slow by historical standards. Usually, economic growth roars back after a deep recession, but the latest numbers show [...]

The S&P 500 has moved over 20% since July 2009, the equivalent of two good years in the stock market.  Call today to see if you need to rebalance.  Once again, all asset classes in the table below were positive for the 4th quarter though more muted than the substantial 3rd quarter rally.  In our [...]

The trend in consumer retrenchment has not changed with the strong stock market performance.  Outstanding consumer credit continues to drop by more than $10 billion per month.  As we have said before, we believe this to be a multi-year trend rather than a short-term phenomenon.  Anecdotally, many of you are feeling the wage pressures and [...]