Monthly Archives: December 2009

Beware of “Closet Index Funds”

By Lon Jefferies | Published: December 8, 2009
Individuals have two basic investment options: they can invest in index funds that represent the state of the market in general, or they can pay professional money managers for their expert investment opinion. The Wall Street Journal recently identified a handful of large-cap mutual funds that are not keeping their end of the bargain to attempt [...]
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Unemployment: A Comparison

By Lon Jefferies | Published: December 4, 2009
Today, the Labor Department reported that nonfarm payrolls (jobs) decreased by 11,000 in November — the smallest decline since the recession began at the close of 2007. The following chart puts that decline into perspective by comparing job losses during the current economic recession (solid red line) to that of the last recession (dashed gold [...]
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Fed’s Beige Book a Mixed Bag

By Lon Jefferies | Published: December 3, 2009
The U.S. economy “improved modestly” since early October, according to the Federal Reserve. Unemployment continued to increase,though at a slower rate. Additionally, Consumer spending picked up, and commercial real estate weakened. For a more complete report, click here.
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