Timely resources designed to provide actionable insight into
the ever-changing investment landscape.
Weekly Market Commentary
February 21, 2012
Weekly Market Commentary
Market Worries or Opportunities?
February 13, 2012
Weekly Market Commentary
Who Should You Believe?
February 6, 2012
Weekly Market Commentary
How do you spell market rally? How about "Jobs."
January 30, 2012
Weekly Market Commentary
Bulls vs. Bears
January 23, 2012
Weekly Market Commentary
Trends in 2012
January 17, 2012
Weekly Market Commentary
Europe and the Economy for 2012
January 9, 2012
Weekly Market Commentary
A Look Back and Ahead Into 2012
January 3, 2012
Weekly Market Commentary
The Year in Review
December 19, 2011
Weekly Market Commentary
Market Volatility is Hallmark of 2011
December 12, 2011
US Dollar Value Impact
December 5, 2011
Bank Cooperation Leads to Market Rally
November 28, 2011
It's a Small World After All
November 21, 2011
Money Printing
November 14, 2011
Greece and Italy Shift Leadership to Fix Financial Crisis
November 7, 2011
Global Financial Issues
October 31, 2011
Real European and US Debt Solutions?
October 24, 2011
Is No Bad News - Good News?
October 17, 2011
What happened to the economy?
October 10, 2011
Sometimes a Little Spark is All You Need
October 3, 2011
Market Volatility Continues
September 26, 2011
The Federal Reserve did "The Twist," but the financial markets ended up in "A Knot."
September 19, 2011
Are the world’s economic leaders focused on solving the wrong problem related to Europe’s sovereign debt woes?
September 12, 2011
Are we heading toward a “currency war?” When there’s turmoil in the stock market or in the geopolitical environment, investors sometimes flee toward perceived “safe havens” in the hope of protecting a portion of their assets.
September 6, 2011
Two four-letter words -- "debt" and "jobs" -- are hanging over the economy like a noose that keeps tightening. This is not news; we've known for several years that debt is too high and jobs too scarce. Unfortunately, they’ve become intractable problems with no solution in sight.
August 29, 2011
Like wanderers in the desert, investors breathed a sigh of relief when an oasis appeared last week. After Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s speech, the Dow Jones Industrial Index posted its first weekly gain in more than a month, finishing at 11,284, an increase of more than 4 percent for the week.
August 22, 2011
The financial markets are currently filled with contradictions and that’s contributing to head- scratching and risk-aversion on the part of investors.
August 15, 2011
If there was ever a week for investors to be on vacation and “off the grid,” last week was it.
August 8, 2011
Brief Summary of This Week’s Extended Comments
August 1, 2011
“Uncertainty” is an overused, but appropriate word to describe the situation our country finds itself in.
July 2011
Weekly Market Commentary
How did our federal budget deficit become so large that we find ourselves in this political quagmire over raising the debt ceiling? In testimony before Congress last month, Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf laid out a few key points that we should all keep in mind.
July 2011
Weekly Market Commentary
“This is a big bucket of very cold water.” That was how Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, described last week’s ugly U.S. employment report. We know that one month does not make a trend. But, two months in a row, now that starts to raise an eyebrow. Last week’s employment report was stunningly weak, well below market expectations and the second month in a row that employment numbers were distressingly low, according to The Wall Street Journal. It’s hard to have sustained economic growth when employment growth is in the doldrums.
July 2011
Weekly Market Commentary
Will they or won’t they? Republicans and Democrats are squabbling over raising the federal debt ceiling and jeopardizing a projected August 2 “drop-dead” date for avoiding a default on part of our outstanding debt obligations. Both parties agree that default has to be avoided, but, so far, they’ve been unable to meet in the middle on an agreement. Meanwhile, the economy suffers.
July 2011
Weekly Market Commentary
επεκταθείτε και προσποιηθείτε - If that looks like Greek to you, that’s because, well, it is. It’s Greek for “extend and pretend” and that’s what happened last week to Greece’s debt problem. Deeply in debt, Greece’s parliament passed legislation filled with tax increases, spending cuts, and privatization plans “aimed at meeting European Union aid requirements and staving off default,” according to the Sydney Morning Herald and Bloomberg. By passing the austerity plan, Greece is now in line to receive as much as $124 billion in new financing to keep the country afloat.
Government Affairs Information Updates
July 2011
Information Update – Government Affairs
The Federal budget is still an issue. Talks have not been going well and the Republican negotiators ended negotiations, which should resume again sometime soon. The main points are tax increases and the debt ceiling. Some are saying that if the debt ceiling is not fixed asap that people might not receive their social security checks and doctors might not receive Medicare payments.
March 2011
Information Update - Government Affairs
The House is facing early turnover after the 2010 election. Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) announced her resignation, setting forth a special election in Los Angeles.
February 2011
Information Update - Government Affairs
House Votes to Repeal Health Care Law and FDIC Sues Former Bank Officers.
January 2011
Information Update - Government Affairs
Lame Duck Session Highlights, Tax Cuts Extended and FCC Regulates Internet.
Quarterly Investment Commentary
First quarter 2010
Quarterly Investment Commentary
The first quarter of 2010 was a good one, with U.S. stocks enjoying healthy gains and bonds earning at least small positive returns.
Fourth Quarter 2009
Quarterly Investment Commentary
We’ve enjoyed strong absolute and relative returns this year after a difficult 2008.
Third Quarter 2009
Quarterly Investment Commentary
It’s now widely understood that we’ve been living through a period for the financial history books.
Second Quarter 2009
Quarterly Investment Commentary
The overall environment has improved, but plenty of problems remain.
Fourth Quarter 2008
Quarterly Investment Commentary
2008 will go down as one of the worst periods in stock market history.
Second Quarter 2008
Quarterly Investment Commentary
Stocks were sharply lower in June amid renewed concerns that fallout from the housing crisis and credit crunch will drag down the economy.
First Quarter 2008
Quarterly Investment Commentary
Stocks were down sharply for the first quarter across market caps and valuations.
Quarterly Investment Commentary
The subprime- fueled liquidity crunch in the third quarter cascaded into broader risk avoidance by investors, hedge funds, and other financial market players. With the Fed’s rate cut, things have settled down but they have not returned to normal.
Special Reports
October 2008
Special Report: The $700 Billion Question Mark
Last Friday the U.S. Congress passed, and the president signed, a $700 billion financial rescue plan (“bailout”) designed to unlock seized credit markets and restore confidence to the nation’s banking system. So why isn’t the stock market celebrating?
September 2008
Dramatic Changes to the Financial Landscape
In perhaps the most dramatic Sunday in market history, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy, Merrill Lynch & Co. agreed to be sold to Bank of America Corp., and insurance giant AIG searched desperately for an emergency lifeline of cash.
July 2008
Mariner Socially Responsible Portfolio Changes
In our socially responsible portfolios, we recently liquidated our positions in Deere (DE) and Agco (AGCO). Both companies have been strong performers over the past few years, and valuations were being stretched.
March 2008
Mariner Economic Report - The Current Crisis of Credit
A Brief 20-Year Look Back. The current crisis is concerning, and it is truly a crisis of credit.
January 2008
Mariner Economic Report - Market & Economic Turmoil
With the stock market off to its rockiest start on record, as defined by the S&P 500, the Federal Reserve slashed the fed-funds rate by three-quarters of a percentage point today—the biggest single rate move since 1994.
January 2008
Mariner Investment Update - Mariner Tactical Portfolio
As 2008 begins, the financial markets are being battered with headlines of a negative nature. Stories of the subprime lending mess, weakening consumer confidence, and the threat of increasing rates of inflation abound in investment journals, newspapers, and on the business channels.
August 2007
Recent Market Volatility
The month of July witnessed roughly a 3% retreat in the overall market, with smaller companies—$2 billion or less in size—falling at double that rate. The major culprit: housing market concerns and anxiety surrounding subprime lending.
October 2009
Local Wealth Managers Help Ring Closing Bell on Record Day for The Stock Market.
Mariner Wealth Advisors (MWA) is pleased to announce that its CEO, Marty Bicknell, and company president, Bruce Kusmin helped ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, October 19, 2006.