Second Quarter 2008|Jim Williams| The most important and difficult task for an investor at a time like this is to manage emotions. It is a constant struggle to maintain equilibrium in such an environment, and many folks succumb to the siren's song and start taking actions based on emotions. Wrong thing to do. Wrong time.
Fourth Quarter 2007|Jim Williams| In a world where there is a highly precise mechanism to allocated scarce resources among competing uses. It's called price.
Third Quarter 2007|Jim Williams| It's difficult to turn on the television or open a newspaper lately without seeing a headline about the subprime mortgage "crisis," and how it is enveloping more and more of America.
Fourth Quarter 2006|Jim Williams| I recently came across an interesting article in The New Yorker magazine written by Malcolm Gladwell, the author of “The Tipping Point” and “Blink." A central point of Gladwell’s article is the distinction between puzzles and mysteries. So, what do we care whether Enron was a puzzle or a mystery? It has to do with what lessons might be learned. Mostly what seems to have been learned is based on the model of puzzle, not of a mystery. What else might we learn?
First Quarter 2006|Jim Williams| What causes a trade deficit and why is it so scary? The general perspective is to look at the flow of goods and services, look at the balance/imbalance and then decide whether to start sounding the alarm. But this ignores the other part of the transaction, that is: the money. The money side of the trade deficit is U.S. dollars in the hands of foreigners.
Third Quarter 2005|Jim Williams| Energy prices will never again be what they were a year or so ago, so go ahead and reserve your Prius. While as individuals we feel the pain of high energy prices, we will also see that conservation, alternative energy sources, more production from marginal oil & gas properties, and increased exploration will clearly result.