Posts Tagged ‘politics’

“Reforming” Washington

Wednesday, September 7th, 2011

I  usually check my wallet when the word “reform” is used. But I have an idea that just might break the political logjam in the nation’s capitol. It is inspired by this blog and by the fact that communication, including decision making, is dominated today by electronic media. (We have no Macy’s here in northeast Florida, but we continue to buy through the website; this message was delivered by e-mail; we pay our bank and utility bills on-line).

Why must politicians journey to D.C. to conduct business? Is it that they cannot master the laptop? Do they need to use sign language to communicate. (more…)

When Washington’s away, investors will play

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

With regulatory reform set to rock the trading universe, what’s happening in Washington is never far from the minds of investors. Political uncertainty can equal skittish markets these days. However, this phenomenon is nothing new. According to this MarketWatch story, the stock market historically has performed much better when Congress is out of session than when it’s in session (between 1897 and 2004, the Dow had annualized return of 5.3% when Congress was out of session vs. just 0.4% when it was in session). Congress is set to go on its summer recess at the end of this week, so, if history is any indication, the market could be in for a lift. (more…)