Monthly Archives: June 2009

What Influences the Price of Oil?

By Lon Jefferies | Published: June 5, 2009
The decline in crude oil prices that began in mid-2008 was historic – plunging over $90 per barrel in just eight months. Over the past four months, however, crude oil prices have spiked up nearly $30 per barrel. Today’s chart provides some perspective on the historic decline and recent spike with a long-term view of [...]
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Health Savings Accounts

By Lon Jefferies | Published: June 3, 2009
Six years after health savings accounts were introduced, only 59% of the population has heard of them, only half of these people actually understand them, and only 14% of the overall population own them, Guardian Life Insurance found in its Spotlight on Consumer-Driven Health Plans Survey. Fifty-two percent did not know that contributions to HSAs [...]
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Advisor Sentiment Turns Positive

By Lon Jefferies | Published: June 2, 2009
Advisor confidence in the economy and the stock market improved in May, to a reading of 100.48—up nearly seven points from 93.59 in April, according to the Rydex/SGI AdvisorBenchmarking Index. May’s reading is the highest level reached since October 2007. Stronger advisor confidence stemmed from increased consumer optimism and recent signs of economic revival, according [...]
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Diversification, Rebalancing, and the Pain to Gain Ratio – Bringing it all Together

By Lon Jefferies | Published: June 1, 2009
In previous posts, I’ve stressed the importance of diversification and finding an asset allocation that reflects an investor’s risk tolerance. The following chart illustrates the rates of return of the major assets categories, both during the market decline that began in October of 2007 and during the market rebound that began on March 9th. Several [...]
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