A SHORT HOLIDAY IN A ROUGH MARKET

Pardon the timing, but your editor is about to step out for a few days. Wouldn’t ‘ya know it? Just as we’re heading for Los Angeles, Mr. Market decides to take a dive. So it goes. Maybe the brief interlude from blogging will dispense some additional perspective. Insightful or not, we’ll be returning on Monday, March 5 for another round of fun. Meanwhile, Tuesday’s crumble in stocks reminds once again that there’s a reason to include bonds as part of a comprehensive asset allocation strategy: low correlation with equities. That profile was in all its glory today. The iShares Lehman Aggregate Bond ETF managed to post a modest gain on Tuesday. No big deal, except for the fact that the modest gain came amid a roaring sell off in stocks. Diversification among asset classes has merit after all.