Diamonds and Dogs

Crystal Balls

In 1966, the government estimated the cost of Medicare would be roughly $12 billion in 1990. The actually cost in 1990 came in way over $100 billion and in 2002 the expenditures from the US government was $256 billion dollars. When the government makes long-term predictions about the cost of wars, healthcare reform, social security solvency, pension reform, etc. we should all take it with a big hunk of salt. Stocks are faltering a bit today, but even with the negative news from CSCO and rioting in the UK; you may have thought they would have fallen more. The bulls, backed by the Bernanke put of QE2, appear to still be in charge and my predicted sell-off in November has yet to materialize. We are keeping an eye on long term interest rates that are trading at a near term high, even with the Fed breathing down their backs.

Diamonds and Dogs market commentary is a journal of daily observations on anything that happens to be of interest to our author. Obviously, our primary focus is the stock market and world economic events, but for this page we have no defined topics. We want this page to be dedicated to the interests, concerns, and possibly to the financial gain of our clients and friends. All comments contained herein are for informational purposes only, and should not be considered as a solicitation to buy or sell any security. The firm does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information or make any warranties regarding results from it's usage.