If you have a minute, go to my blog archive on the right hand side and take a look at my January 16, 2009 entry "Good Riddance 2008". I talk about the difficult year we had in 2008 and how discouraged we were as Americans. And indeed our pessimistic attitude seemed appropriate as the economy spiraled downward in the first and second quarters of 2009 with the stock market dropping a total of 57% (October 2007 - March 2009) and unemployment hitting 10% (16% in Michigan). I fielded may nervous phone calls from clients and Tom James, the CEO of Raymond James, said it was the most difficult period he had seen in his 45 years of investing.
As I write this today, it is hard to believe how far we have come since March. While we still have many concerns such as commercial real estate, the federal deficit, unemployment and a weak dollar, the fundamentals of our economy have moved away from crises mode and steady improvements are being made. The Dow Jones has improved from 6,500 to 10,500 since March. Some of my clients even sent me holiday cards this year :).
In my January 16, 2008 posting, I stated that American had been through many tough years before and had always bounced back. People work hard, tough decisions are made, and we go back to the real priorities of life. The last ten years have been a difficult decade but I feel good about the future and the next 10 years. It is much more satisfying going though life with an optimistic attitude. So Happy New Year everyone and best wishes for 2010.
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