This Week's Message: On the ground, things look good...

Fed Chair Janet Yellen gave her 2-day semiannual report to Congress this week and offered up what you might say was a moderately optimistic view of the economy going forward. Like us, the Fed tracks an array of published economic data to gauge its view of general conditions.

The Fed's overall assessment is what guides its monetary policy moves. Our overall assessment influences (technical data plays prominently into our view as well) the sector and regional weightings within our portfolios' equity exposures, and -- along with our technical market assessment -- guides our approach to the fixed income allocation.

Quote of the Day: Stealing the benefits of a steel glut...

Driving by Clovis Community Hospital yesterday evening I noticed a large construction project on the south-end of the complex. The setting sun reflected brilliantly off of the building-to-be's dense steel skeleton. I suddenly found myself pondering the current threat of what I consider to be the most destructive government act of cronyism imaginable -- the tariffing of foreign imports.

Chart of the Day: China Risk

To the dismay of those who've been betting big that China's gotten too far out over its skis, its economy remains unwilling to buckle under the weight of a rapidly expanding credit system.

Charts of the Day: Who Buys U.S. Exports?

As we all know (right?), political narratives (influenced dictated by political incentives) often stray far from reality.

Amazingly, two countries that combined account for less than 4% of the world's economy (ex the US) buy an astounding 1/3rd of U.S. exported goods!

This Week's Message: Trade Data Says Global Economy Growing -- which has to have (some) short-term traders wary...

Thursday morning we added two charts (U.S. and Australian trade data) to our current trends file. Both speak positively about the current state of the global economy.

While we believe the U.S. trade deficit receives far too much, and ill-conceived, attention, we do look into the data to help gauge our view of the global economy. We agree with Bloomberg's note below that American export growth speaks positively:   click charts to enlarge...

This Week's Video: The U.S./Foreign Equity Setup Vs A Year Ago

Once playing, click the icon in the lower right corner for full screen. Focus should occur after a few seconds; if not, click the wheel to the left of the YouTube icon to adjust:

Quote of the Day: Know the risk before you go chasing the return!

Highly respected money manager Colm O'shea, in his interview for the Market Wizards series, explains why he bought beaten down Berkshire Hathaway amid the late '90s dotcom mania:   (emphasis mine)