Thursday, September 23, 2010

Yield to Maturity (YTM) & Interest Rate Risk

This post introduces YTM, and explains why rising interest rates result in falling bond prices.



Bond Price and YTM/Interest Rates

The above graph summarizes the relationship between the two; the post helps explain why this is so.


Calculating a Bond's Yield to Maturity
In the fundamentals of investment valuation post, we introduced the concept of present value, and arrived at

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Houston Texans 2010 Kickoff


Texans' 2009 Accomplishments


The Texans finished the 2009 National Football League season with a 9-7 record, and came within a tiebreaker of making their first trip to the playoffs. Along the way, they accumulated some impressive offensive statistics -- for example, number one in passing, and fourth in total yards (league-wide).

After a horrible 0-3 start with the defense giving up an average of over 200 yards/game rushing, the team was 9-4 over the final 13 games. During that 13-game stretch, the Texans were second in the NFL in rushing defense and fourth in overall defense.

Average Offensive/Defensive Rank & Net Yardage Differential

Over the final 13 games, therefore, you could argue that the Texans were

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

September 2010 Stock Market Update

100 Year Dow Chart with 25-Year Moving Average


Dow 25-Year Moving Average

Above is a very long-term chart of the Dow, including the 25-year moving average (click chart to expand); it uses this past month's close for this year's close. It shows that the market rarely falls very far below its 25-year moving average.

August, Year-To-Date & Recovery-To-Date Review
Note: click here for September data


In early March 2009, I posted Dow At 25-Year Moving Average. The Dow continued lower for several more days before bottoming at 6547 on March 9 --