Review of July 2011 Results & This Month's Changes
Crisis of Confidence :
It started with the political shenanigans in Washington, which drove the market and our stocks down in July. But it didn’t end with the raising of the U.S. federal debt ceiling. Instead, things got worse. When I wrote this on Thursday, the Dow had dropped 513 points. What’s happening?
The gridlock in Washington cast a pall over everything and forced many, including corporate CEOs, to curtail spending, just in case. Those decisions are already being reflected in weak economic reports, which are raising the possibility of a double-dip recession.
Meanwhile, in Europe, attention has shifted to a potential liquidity crisis in Italy, which because of its size, will be much harder to fix than Greece.
Underlying the market’s selloff is the realization that the U.S. government, which many see as dysfunctional, will be unable to cope with economic issues. Similarly, most don’t think that European leaders have what it takes to solve their problems.
Last month.
Starting with our Sample Portfolios; Conservative dropped 1%, Growth & Income lost 3%, and High Yield/Speculative fell 7%.
| Portfolio | Last Mo. Average Return |
Dividend Speculators | 3% |
ETF Monthly Income | 1% |
Oil Industry | 0% |
Canada Real Estate Investment Trusts | 0% |
Canada Stocks Ex-Energy | 0% |
Preferred Stocks | -1% |
Utilities | -1% |
US Real Estate Investment Trusts | -2% |
Canada Energy | -2% |
Insurance | -3% |
Manufacturing & Services | -3% |
Partnerships - Energy | -4% |
Business Development Corps. | -5% |
Closed-End Funds | -5% |
Large Banks | -6% |
Regional Banks | -7% |
Rural Telecom | -8% |
Partnerships Ex-Energy | -9% |
Our individual Industry and Special portfolios did no better. Speculators, up 3%, and ETF Monthly Income, up 1%, were our only portfolios to score gains. Partnerships Excluding Energy, down 9%, and Rural Telecom, down 8%, were our biggest losers. Here’s the complete list.