The S&P 500 Index and the Nasdaq diverged in the third quarter as energy stocks helped to stabilize the S&P while technology stocks pulled the Nasdaq sharply lower. The S&P fell 2.3% for the quarter, while the Nasdaq tumbled 7.4%. Your account
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If you look at a chart of the S&P 500 for the past quarter, it looks fairly calm with a net gain of 1.3%. But beneath this calm surface were some rather difficult undercurrents, especially in April as discussed in my previous
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The stock market’s momentum has slowed after a strong rebound year in 2003, but the S&P 500 Index still managed to eke out a gain of 1.3% for the first quarter. We were able to outpace that by a respectable amount; your
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The stock market’s momentum has slowed after a strong rebound year in 2003, but the S&P 500 Index still managed to eke out a gain of 1.3% for the first quarter. We were able to outpace that by a respectable amount; your
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The stock market had a good year, and our year was [almost; nearly; more than] twice as good. For the year, the S&P 500 Index rose 26.4%. Your account gained xx% (using the standard geometric average measure) or xx% using the internal
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The stock market continued its rally in the third quarter, though at a slower pace than we saw last spring. Despite a selloff at the end of September, the S&P 500 Index advanced 2.2% for the quarter. Your account gained xx%. That
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It is a pleasure to write after a quarter in which the market did well, and we did even better. The S&P 500 Index rose 14.9 %, and your account gained 23.8%. For the year-to-date, your account has gained 22.1% while the
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In my last quarterly letter, I alluded to the impact of war and/or terrorism on the market and stated that: “Stock valuations seem reasonable if not compelling….If the market should decline, I don’t think that current valuations will be to blame.” I
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The stock market just completed its worst showing in 28 years. The S&P 500’s decline of 23.4% in 2002 came close to the 26.5% decline in 1974. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 31.5% this past year. We did [considerably] better than the
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The stock market continued to post its worst year since 1974, when the S&P 500 fell 34.9 percent through September and 26.5 percent for the full year. After three quarters, the S&P 500 was down 29 percent year-to-date. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq has
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