Gratitude!

I was looking at the last section of the Wall Street Journal this morning and on the front page of section D they had an article about Grateful People. They indicated that grateful people are happier and healthier. Further it indicated that they have more energy, are more optimistic, less likely to be depressed, earn more money, sleep soundly and have greater resistance to viral infections. Wow! First, it made me stop and think of the past two years. In November of 2008 it seemed like the world was in a melt down and everything was off track. By November of 2009 things had improved and we didn’t have that feeling of panic of the prior year but were still very worried and troubled. This November it seems people are finally coming out of their shells, looking around and feeling a bit more normal. It seems “normal” has changed though. People are more careful with their spending and don’t want to take on more debt. Many people are still out of work and for them it is difficult to feel grateful. What I think we all can feel this Thanksgiving is gratitude. Gratitude for living in this country, having friends and family, for the food we eat, for the roof over our head and the clothing we wear. Sometimes we get carried away and think that what we “want” is what we “need”. The vast majority of us can be grateful that our daily needs are met. If we stay away from envy and desire we can truly be grateful for what we have. We can show gratitude by sharing what we do have with others and that too will make us happy. Thanksgiving to me is about gratitude and sharing. I am grateful for all of my family, friends and clients. Thank you all for letting me be a part of your lives. Happy Thanksgiving! Ed Mallon

Correction!

It appears to me at this time that a correction in the stock market is imminent. The condition I believe we are seeing is similar to the mid-March to mid-April period this year. At that time, the market seemed to be overbought and ahead of where it should have been. That correction, in hindsight, appears to have been a mid-bull-market correction, which is usually a correction of 10% or more, as was that correction. It also lasted about four months. The coming type of correction is usually more of a modest correction of 2% to 5%. I would not be surprised to see the S&P 500 drop to the 1160 range. It should be short-lived. This is a healthy event for the market, as the correction should lead to a longer-term healthy market advance in an ongoing bull market. All and all the skeptics are still worried about the direction of the economy, but it seems to me to be advancing, though modestly. Ed Mallon