Invesra, Invest in your Future

Stocks ended the month with little fanfare and a modest loss. As the Ides of March drew near, volatility rose to above average levels before settling down at month end. March was also characterized by the Fed’s notable and history making rescue of Bear Stearns. Bear Stearns’ collapse created new fears that the sub-prime lending debacle might not be over. The major players who bought and sold these complex and opaque instruments continued to announce writeoffs and take losses. Only now, post rescue, are we hearing how bad it could have been if Bear Stearns had been allowed to fail.

Hand wringing and bad news make for great headlines. Meanwhile the smart money is looking for buying opportunities as evidenced by a sharp run up in the beaten down financial stocks. Financial stocks rose 7.5% on April 1st. This was not an April Fools joke.

With Bernanke using the “r” word now, recession seems to be a foregone conclusion. Many say it’s a not matter of how long but rather how severe the recession will be.

Despite all the bad news, Fed Chairman reminded us that we will work through this economic downturn. Bernanke told the Senate Banking Committee, “But among the strengths of our economy is its ability to adapt and to respond to diverse challenges.” We hope he’s right.

For a little more reading on the first quarter of 2008, click here: Market Summary