Author Archives: David Laidlaw and Ben Connard

The price of gold is trading at all time highs recently topping over $1,500 per ounce.  Ten years ago this precious metal was only trading for about $270 per ounce.  Buying gold and holding it for 10 years has produced … Continue reading →

Two years ago yesterday, the financial markets reached a nadir.  The S&P 500 closed at 676 on March 9, 2009.  Since then, the market has appreciated by 95% with the S&P 500 closing at 1320 yesterday.  The worst case scenarios … Continue reading →

The political uprisings which started with the self-immolation of a Tunisian fruit vendor continue to spread throughout the Mid-East.  The current scene is one of Colonel Moammar Gadhafi waging a bloody pitched battle against his own people to hold on … Continue reading →

While the markets gyrated wildly, 2010 was a good year for investors.  As illustrated in the table below, common stocks, bonds and commodities all produced solid returns.  Last year, the markets started strong, faltered after European sovereigns appeared on weak … Continue reading →

Municipal bonds have decreased in value substantially over the last few months.  From September 30th to the end of the year, the broad muni bond market has declined over 6% as exemplified by iShares National Muni Bond Market ETF (symbol: … Continue reading →