Summer Outlook – Continued Inclement Weather

The summer storms rolled in early this year wrecking devastating tornadoes across the Midwest and Southeast. And now for us in northeast Florida we have hurricane season to look forward to. NOAA predicts as many as ten hurricanes this season.

Besides the actual weather, we continue to deal with unsettling weather in our investments. Every day a different headline broadcasts bad news. Sovereign debt in Europe (most notably with Greece), Rising oil prices as a result of turmoil in the Middle East and exacerbated by the falling U.S. dollar and commodity speculators, Rising food costs, Supply chain disruptions as a result of the Japanese disaster, and the overall slowdown in the global economy.

Closer to home, unemployment continues to be high and private sector hiring remains limited. The housing situation is plagued by an enormous glut of homes on the market which is a real drag on economic growth. And just last month U.S. manufacturing slowed, putting further pressure on U.S. economic expansion. Continued debate over the U.S. debt ceiling and the deficit also creates uncertainly. Consumers - the life of our economy - remain on the sidelines stashing money away rather than spending it.

Up until recently, the stock market has basically shrugged off the bad news. While there was always some sort of dip in reaction to the headlines, the markets rebounded once the dust settled.

Most market and economic analysts predict we will continue to experience these ups and downs this Summer. Or at least until the time we can put all this bad news behind us.

Now would be a good time to consider adding to your investment holdings. Quality companies remain quality companies. As the markets get knocked down by world events, it presents a buying opportunity. Remember the goal is to buy low and sell high. Those who invested during the dark days of 2008 reaped tremendous profits once the markets recovered.

As we move into the latter part of 2011, I anticipate a flurry of activity to be generated by Washington to improve the U.S. economy. Despite the rhetoric, 2012 re-election at the local, state and federal levels will be driven by economy. Without economic improvement, and the resultant gain in the stock markets, politicians will pull rabbits out of their hats to kick start U.S. economic growth. Otherwise their re-election prospects will be considerably dimmer and we all know that their self-preservation is their first priority.