Table of Contents
Cover Story:
The Tourist Trade
We need 'em, We want 'em, We got 'em.
Feature Story:
How'd He Do That?
Some words of advice from Union State Bank's Tom Hales
DEPARTMENTS:
Economics Roundup
• The Smart Investor
Bold moves can be exciting, but also fruitless
• Economic
Viewpoint
The Fed's bark may be worse than its bite
Business Roundup
• Technology Viewpoint
Five steps to drive more traffic to your website
• The Fine Art of Advertising
Building a good campaign - how would you rate you?
Retail Round-Up
• Retailers Seeing Green
Shoppers plan to open their wallets this holiday season
Invest in Your Community
• Get The Ball Rolling
Learn how your company can help Meals on Wheels
Odds & Ends
• From The Publishers
• PR Patter
Dedicated Section:
Rockland Business Association:
The President’s Desk
Want to help Rockland and the business community gain some respect?
Here's how.
Bridging
Borders EXPO 2006
Recent Business-to-Business Expo a great success
RBA Happenings
• Other News
• Committee and Council Info
• Calendar of Events
• New Members
The
Smart Investor
Bold Moves Can Be Exciting,
But Often Fruitless
By Ken Mahoney
Take a long-term approach
Ever been on a crash diet? Even if you lost the weight, you probably
put it back on afterwards, right? As in all worthwhile changes
in life, your financial well-being will come about through long-term
planning and by taking lots of little steps on a consistent basis
over time. Bold moves are exciting, but often fruitless in the
end.
It’s never too late to learn
new behaviors
Even people who lay out careful financial plans encounter new factors – like
changing tax laws – that force them to revisit their plans.
Take a step back and consider the state of your finances today.
Do you have a balance between cash, growth investments, and savings?
Do you know what your needs will be a year from now? Ten years?
Will you be prepared? Are your estate planning documents available,
should your family ever need them? Past mistakes can be rectified
and future mistakes can be avoided. No matter how jumpy the market
is, you can be secure and relaxed. You just have to teach yourself
to be that way.
Start today
There’s never a better time than the present to get your
financial house in order. Make it a belated New Year’s resolution.
Whether your financial health is tip-top or you’ve been under
the weather, it’s never too late to make improvements. Once
you have financial well-being, you’ll never want to be without
it! RBD
From Then to Now...
Since last issue of the Rockland Business Digest, the stock market has been in full rally mode. The Dow for the first time in history pierced 12,000.
The S&P is still beating the Rockland Stock Index 11.30% ytd vs. 9.9% ytd.
Many of the investors’ concerns have eased and the result has been a 'Fall Rally'.
T he themes that have been hurting the markets have reversed. The concerns were mainly higher energy prices and higher rates. Lower energy prices and a the Federal Reserve 'on hold' (or a pause) have lead to better investor sentiment.
AT&T has lead the Rockland Stock Index this year. They have added BellSouth and will bring Cingular under direct control. RBD
Name Symbol Wachovia WB Wyeth Wye Dress Barn DBRN Verizon Vz Pharm Resources PRX AT&T T Usb Holding UBH Barr Labs BRL Provident Bank PBNY Footstar FTAR
FTAR Bank of NY BK Novartis NVS Gannet GCI Avon AVP Presidential Life Plfe Praxai PX Paxar PXR Lecroy LCRY ConEdison ED
This is for your information only and is not an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, securities or instruments mentioned. Information has been obtained or derived from sources believed by us to be reliable, but we do not represent that it is accurate, complete or timely. Any opinions or estimates contained constitute our judgement at date of publication and are subject to change without notice.This Stock Index is comprised of local stocks of interest based in Rockland County. The chart reflects the collective stock price performance based on a standardized benchmark of 1000 on January 1, 2003. Any market prices are only indicators of market values and are subject to change without notice. It is not possible for an investor to directly invest in the Rockland Stock Index.
