Shop Talk

I have readers in Sunnyvale and Mountain View,California.Southern Cal won its third straight Rose Bowl yesterday,to the chagrin of Penn State fans.The markets back East are still being cheerful,but the volume is light,so we cannot be quite sure about this.There is a consensus that the markets will recover in the second half of 2009,yet enough caution in the wind to give us pause.Everyone has been wrong before,and we are in the worst financial crisis in more than a generation,so a prolonged downturn would seem more than reasonable.It is also more than reasonable,then,to keep the portfolio defensive for the foreseeable future.Yes,you could miss some of the upswing,but once it occurs,there will be plenty of it to get in on.Have a safe drive home,if you aren't there already.