After a pair of stopgap funding measures, Washington is getting ready to play hardball on the government budget. Both sides have drawn clear lines in the sand, and April 8 looms as the day when government buildings could be officially locked, government employees told to stay home and all non-essential services could grind to a halt. Whether the shutdown lasts a few days or a few weeks, your portfolio will feel the impact. And you need to start preparing now… Too many uncertainties Investors crave certainty. Yet this is an especially murky time. Key questions need… Read More
After a pair of stopgap funding measures, Washington is getting ready to play hardball on the government budget. Both sides have drawn clear lines in the sand, and April 8 looms as the day when government buildings could be officially locked, government employees told to stay home and all non-essential services could grind to a halt. Whether the shutdown lasts a few days or a few weeks, your portfolio will feel the impact. And you need to start preparing now… Too many uncertainties Investors crave certainty. Yet this is an especially murky time. Key questions need to be asked. Will Japan’s economy go into recession as its government tackles the economic effect of the current crisis? How will the Middle East play out (and what will happen to oil prices)? Will more European economies need a bailout? How will the U.S. markets handle the end of the Federal Reserve’s second round of quantitative easing (QE2)? [I also wrote earlier about how investors’ record levels of borrowing on margin could bring the market crashing down…] The market has climbed a “wall of worry” in recent quarters, but the wall keeps getting… Read More