Recent Tony Paradiso Columns

Facebook now has a public face

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, May 20, 2012

The Facebook IPO was last week’s big story, but it didn’t completely overshadow the travails of J.P. Morgan Chase. Poor Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPM. …

Elections take center stage in global economy

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, May 13, 2012

President Barack Obama had better hope that the European elections aren’t an omen. For the first time in memory, incumbents throughout the world are at …

Revisionist history

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, May 6, 2012

The disadvantage of being ahead of the curve is that you have to wait for the news to catch up. It’s beginning to dawn on …

Signs of spring remain mixed

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, April 29, 2012

The Federal Reserve issued its quarterly forecast adjustment, which is to the upside. Am I missing something? As the year began, the employment and economic …

Applause for shareholders, president; boos for Europe, parents

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, April 22, 2012

I’m going to jump around today, starting with a round of applause for shareholders of Citigroup. They rejected a board-approved senior management compensation package that …

Market correction a cleansing process

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, April 15, 2012

The markets are rolling and the media investment shills are laser-focused on a continuing upward ramp. On days when the financial markets do decline, the …

Markets spooked by rise in yields

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, April 8, 2012

Rising yields on Spanish bonds spooked the markets last week, and as I pointed out in January, Spanish and Italian bond yields would be critical …

Concern over the economic recovery

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, April 1, 2012

I began the year attempting to be optimistic. I still believe this year will be better than the last, but not by much. Given the …

Will China drag us down?

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, March 25, 2012

China continues to rear its ugly head and the news is increasingly worrisome. The March flash HSBC Purchasing Managers’ Index posted another decline in manufacturing …

Optimism edges up at the Fed

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, March 18, 2012

Stocks were up seven straight days, Apple hit $600, and everything is one in the economic universe. Even the Fed expressed optimism, albeit of the …

Markets on a steady roll

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, March 11, 2012

Last week, I finally put a stake in the ground on how I expected the year to unfold. The day after the column published, one …

2012 Will Outperform 2011

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, March 4, 2012

I’ve been remiss in finalizing my 2011 record and announcing my Empty Suit awards. I’m sure everyone is disappointed. Today, I’ll correct the more important …

A week of big surprises

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, February 26, 2012

It was a week of incredible surprises the least of which is that I’m not going to discuss the president’s budget this week. First Fitch …

Obama budget dead on arrival

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, February 19, 2012

Although a logical choice for today’s column, I’m not going to discuss the president’s proposed budget for two reasons. The first is I haven’t reviewed …

Worst averted for 2012

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, February 12, 2012

I’ve dragged my feet on offering an assessment for 2012 because gauging the severity of Europe’s impact has been daunting. I originally thought they would …

Facebook could be the next Google

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, February 5, 2012

The most anticipated IPO since Google is in motion. Facebook is going public and its 27-year-old founder – Mark Zuckerberg – will enter the rarified …

What a state DC is in

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, January 29, 2012

More discouraging than the president’s campaign speech – I mean State of the Union address – was the Republican response. Though greatly flawed, the president …

Things to watch

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, January 15, 2012

Given the lack of notable news, this week I’m going to highlight some key data points to watch during the year. But first, I want …

2012 brings hope

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, January 8, 2012

With a new year upon us, hope, as they say, springs eternal. Regular readers know I don’t place much value in hope. I prefer reality …

The gift that keeps on giving

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, December 25, 2011

Merry Christmas -- or should I say -- Happy Holidays. As my last column of 2011, I want to end the year on a more …

Job figures not yet clear

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, December 11, 2011

Last week, I made a weak attempt at using a game show variation as a writing device. The goal was to illustrate how media headlines …

Banks buying time for Europe

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, December 4, 2011

Today, we’re going to play a game called headline reality. At the risk of dating myself, it’s a variation on “To Tell the Truth” wherein …

Rough week for stocks

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, November 27, 2011

Thanksgiving marked a brief respite for stock owners to recharge and recover from a rough week in the financial markets. December can’t come soon enough. …

Nerves still on edge over Europe

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, November 20, 2011

Last week’s column ended with a heads-up to watch the next day’s Italian bond auction. That auction went off reasonably well, and the markets spent …

No news coming out of Republican debate

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, November 13, 2011

I was terribly disappointed with the CNBC-hosted Republican debate. Granted, the debate – focused solely on economic issues – was probably the most substantive to …

Greece dilemma all about politics

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, November 6, 2011

Democracy must rule! On second thought, we don’t need no stinkin’ referendum! It appears that the Greek prime minister doesn’t know which end is up. …

Europe tops list of good news

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, October 30, 2011

In fairness to Rick Perry, I was planning to review his tax plan. That, and I could use a good laugh. But the veritable avalanche …

‘9-9-9’ is a no-no-no

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, October 23, 2011

I’m constantly amazed by how little those who run for public office understand about economics. Come to think of it, I’m constantly amazed by how …

‘Jobs czar’ Jeff Immelt on top of things

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, October 16, 2011

I was riveted by the “60 Minutes” interview of jobs czar General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt. It’s no accident this pioneering show has lasted so …

With Steve Jobs’ passing, Apple shines a little less

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, October 9, 2011

There are very few people to whom I would tip my cap. With Steve Jobs’ passing, there is one fewer. Admittedly, during my career in …

Good news turns to bad

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, October 2, 2011

With a string of encouraging economic reports, and in the spirit of optimism, I had planned to focus solely on good news this week. But …

Officials fiddle while US squirms

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, September 25, 2011

The president’s proposed deficit reduction plan seems more political theater than a genuine effort at deficit reduction. Like most of his predecessors, the president seems …

Plan for a great nation

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, September 18, 2011

Before delving into the president’s jobs plan, a comment on optimism. Readers know I’m no “Mary Sunshine.” Logic and reality rule my thinking. I focus …

Keeping hope for future

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, September 11, 2011

The president took a kitchen sink approach with his jobs plan: ask for a bunch of things and settle for a few. Given the dysfunction …

Where the Fed will focus this fall

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, September 4, 2011

The financial markets have returned to treating bad news as good and vice versa. The reason: they believe that bad news will force the Fed’s …

Your campaign money might be better spent in housing

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, August 28, 2011

Congratulations to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz for calling upon his CEO colleagues to boycott campaign contributions until our elected officials start acting like leaders rather …

Will PIGS fly?

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, August 21, 2011

About the only good that comes from times like this is that columns write themselves. Well, good for me. The best analogy I can think …

Manic markets make no sense

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, August 14, 2011

Setting a record, the Dow had 400-plus point swings in opposite directions on four consecutive days. Ponder that for a second. Days after averting default, …

Scary market decline

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, August 7, 2011

Reading last week’s Wall Street Journal headlines was like reading a summary of the last six months of this column: “Home Listings Fall but Woes …

It’s the jobs, stupid

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, July 31, 2011

There were several interesting jobs-related articles in the Wall Street Journal last week. Collectively, they made me laugh. But it wasn’t the “that’s hilarious” kind …

China’s economic fortune cookie

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, July 24, 2011

A couple of weeks ago I’d originally started my column by indicating my call for a second-half downturn might be wrong. But then the June …

The more things change

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, July 17, 2011

Roger Clemens may have dodged a bullet without the help of steroids. Prosecutors pulled a Bill Buckner – which may end the entire affair on …

Jobs hinder debt deal

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, July 10, 2011

With retail sales, factory orders and manufacturing metrics indicating we may be exiting the economic soft patch, the second half was off to a promising …

Business is back to order

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, July 3, 2011

So that release from the strategic oil reserve certainly did the trick. When I said it was a political move whose impact would be fleeting, …

Obvious eludes the Fed

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, June 26, 2011

The Fed spoke, and everyone listened. But if anyone expected good news, they walked away disappointed. In a shocking announcement, the Federal Reserve lowered its …

Debate lacked fresh ideas

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, June 19, 2011

Did you catch the Republican presidential debate? I did, and the experience was comparable to having one’s teeth drilled. Let me recap for those who …

A note to the Fed chair

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, June 12, 2011

Dear Ben Bernanke: I’m a bit confused and I’m hoping you can help clarify things. In your recent speech you set a dour tone. Sure, …

Signs point to another slump

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, June 5, 2011

Last week I blamed the Democratic Party exclusively for putting politics over the country’s well-being and this was unfair. True, the Dems are attempting to …

Clinton: Default no big deal

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, May 29, 2011

Former President Bill Clinton has been in a bit of a press coverage dry spell. Last week he broke out of his slump in a …

Oil’s strange brew

Tony Paradiso | Sunday, May 22, 2011

There were some strange happenings in the oil markets last week. Well, strange if you believe the oil mavens are more competent than your average …