These past few days have brought more evidence that economies worldwide are indeed recovering. As we write this newsletter, the Commerce Department reported that sales from retailers (excluding car sales which plunged with the end of the "clunkers" program) increased in September, for a second consecutive monthly gain. There are also encouraging signs that unemployment might peak sooner rather than later, hopefully bringing additional support to a still fragile US economy. Thankfully, inflation continues to be absent.

We are now entering earnings season, and some of our portfolio companies have already reported. We continue to anticipate an improvement in business conditions, a good portion of which might already be priced in for some shares. When we feel this is the case, we will not hesitate to reduce or eliminate an investment. October is traditionally a month that makes investors nervous. We would not single it out though. We agree with Mark Twain: "October. This is one of the peculiarly dangerous months to speculate in stocks. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August, and February."

Enjoy our selection of financial news stories and articles. As always, please feel free to share with us your thoughts on these articles, since an open dialogue can only help you to better realize your investment goals.