Argent Quarterly Investment Commentary – July 2012
“Some problems are so complex that you have to be highly intelligent and well-informed just to be undecided about them.” – Wall Street adage
Austerity vs. more spending; tax cuts vs. tax increases; less regulation vs. more regulation. So goes the debate on how to cure world economic ills. Largely impacted by this debate, the second quarter included a significant May swoon which, despite a strong June rally, left investors lighter in the wallet than they were on March 31. Nonetheless, it was a good first half overall for both stock and bond investors, with the quarter ending on a strong up-note. There was some particularly big news at the end of the second quarter – European leaders agreed to a more comprehensive bailout of troubled banks and the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act.
