Volume 59 May, June, 2008

A Penny for My Thoughts...

    They say that if you don’t like the weather in Mississippi , just wait a day!

     A few weeks ago, a tornado tore through Jackson , just missing the office by about half a mile. We were all at lunch, and it created an interesting afternoon. Roads were blocked. Power was out.

     For three straight weeks, weather systems blasted through on Friday afternoons. While we expect bad weather around here, this was getting tiresome.

     Luckily, the office and my house stayed intact throughout these events. At home, the biggest problem was that it was garbage day! I spent several hours picking up trash. I found someone’s shutters in my flowerbed.

     My daughter and her husband  live in New York . As we relayed our stories of a harrowing afternoon, they become nostalgic. They miss those Mississippi storms!  Hmm… what’s there to miss about a bad storm?

     Then, we get those glorious “days after.” Beautiful blue skies and cool breezes. And I find myself thankful for the unpredictable Mississippi weather.  

      Gold is having a bad day. So why am I so happy?

     The gold market marches in lock-step with the dollar. Lately, the U.S. dollar has been taking it on the chin. This has contributed to rising costs for imported goods.

     A stronger dollar is a good and welcome sign for our economy. The first quarter of 2008 was a tough one for stocks. By the end of March, recession was the talk at the corner barbershop. Surely, everyone said, we were in the throes of a tough economy. On the President ial campaign trail, the economy became the number one issue—nothing like a shrinking wallet to get people’s attention!

     Just when we were all gnashing our teeth and wringing our hands, the tide turned. In April, stocks experienced significant gains. The Dow added 1.3%, and NASDAQ gained 2.1%-- good signs for investors.

     Now, the dollar is developing a little muscle. If this continues, the high prices at the pump and at the grocery store will quiet down. We’ll all start to feel better about the economy.

     I can’t predict these swift changes. I can only recognize them after the fact. And I know that trying to time the stock market in these conditions is like trying to predict the weather in Mississippi !   

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