Quite a few important economic and market events occurred last week, not the least of which was the Sunday night vote by the House of Representatives passing comprehensive health care reform. This bill changes the landscape of the one-sixth of the U.S. economy that is represented by the healthcare sector. Until President Obama signs the bill into law, it isn’t a done deal, and there are still hurdles that must be cleared in the Senate before it becomes law. Most political observers, however, believe that the biggest obstacle—an up or down vote in the House of Representatives—has been overcome. (more…)

The underlying theme of most market news last week was one of improvement. It seemed that on an almost daily basis, the news out of Greece improved and the odds of a sovereign default declined. Second, the House of Representatives approved a jobs bill that had previously been in question. Third, the Fed’s Beige Book survey of regional economic activity showed continuing, yet slow, improvement in most regions. Finally, when the unemployment rate was released on Friday, its message was again one of modest improvement. (more…)

Last week I had the pleasure to speak with some investors who were concerned about two mutually exclusive things after pulling a large percentage of their investments out of their plan after the market chaos of early 2009. Their first concern was not being able to meet their retirement goals with a portfolio dominated by cash, and the second was the general risk of investing. I imagine most investors share both of these anxieties to some degree or another at different stages in their lives. (more…)