I've been a bad, bad blogger

Geez, it's been over two weeks since my last post! And only two or three posts per week for the last several months. How did that happen?

Well, let's see. Three months ago I started a new job that's been pretty demanding and the change alone is somewhat stressful. So, longer hours and a more demanding job have been a factor. Add to that some travel. It's just hard to blog when you're away from home, even with a laptop and the wireless access that most hotels offer.

And then there was the 20th anniversary trip to Hawaii with Mrs. THC. Blog from Hawaii? C'mon, get serious.

Most recently, I spent eight days away at a Financial Planning Association program in the Midwest. I had my laptop with me but there just wasn't time to do any blogging.

Now I'm back home and things are settling down a bit. No promises, but I hope to be a bit more attentive to The Happy Capitalist. I've missed it.

Cartoon Tuesday

Cameron (Cam) Cardow, The Ottawa Citizen

The week in review

• DJIA lost 355.95 this past week, 3.16% to finish at 10,891.92. Very ugly.
  

• Nasdaq Composite shed 84.35 points or 3.80% this past week to finish at 2135.06.
  

• S&P 500 lost 35.92, 2.79% and finished the week at 1252.30.
  

• 10-year Treasury yield fell 0.021 percentage points to finish at 4.979%. Below 5%, this is interesting.
  

• Crude oil dropped $0.70 or 0.97% to finish the week at $71.63.

ca·pit·u·la·tion (k-pch-lshn) n.

1. The act of surrendering or giving up. See Synonyms at surrender.
2. A document containing the terms of surrender.
3. An enumeration of the main parts of a subject; a summary.

The question on my mind, now that this market downturn has become a significant correction, is whether capitulation is necessary to end it. Do we really need to see the Dow blow off 500 points in a day before it can turn around?

Cartoon Tuesday

Marshall Ramsey, Jackson, Mississippi, The Clarion Ledger

The week in review

• DJIA lost 30.74 for the week, 0.27% to finish at 11,247.87. That's still positive by 530 points for the year.
  

• Nasdaq Composite gained 9.04 or 0.41 this past week to finish at 2219.41.
  

• S&P 500 gained 8.06, 0.63% and finished the week at 1288.22.
  

• 10-year Treasury yield fell 0.052 to finish at 5.00%. Could it drop below 5%?
  

• Crude oil rose by $0.96 or 1.35% to finish the week at $72.33. I paid $4.29/gallon for gas on Maui last week, so the Bay Area's $3.35 doesn't seem nearly so bad.
  

Treasury Secretary John Snow resigned May 30th and President Bush nominated Henry Paulson, Jr. of Goldman Sachs to head the Treasury. If confirmed, Paulson will be the first Treasury Secretary from Wall Street to lead the department during the Bush administration. Snow, who had been Treasury Secretary since February, 2003, came from the railroad industry. Bush's first Treasury Secretary was Paul O'Neill who had been with International Paper and Alcoa.