Post-Labor Day Random Thoughts

With Labor Day behind us, the long days of Summer getting shorter with every sunset*, and The Float back in business after a much-needed respite, a few thoughts on the state of things:

• After several months of bearishness on our part, we don't want to type the word out loud any more than we need to, but so far, today's intra-day action is the opposite of bullish.
• We saw this morning that excessive fees are now the leading reason retirement plan sponsors switch providers. Good. It's a start. But all you sponsors out there: Don't forget the importance of implicit costs and investment discipline. They can be even more important determinants of participants' long-term outcomes than explicit expenses.
• Gustav may have come and gone, but this season of financial storms isn't done yet. 
• The ongoing decline in commodity prices reveals that (1) demand matters and (2) "speculation" (i.e., market pricing) is a two-edged sword in which foolish buyers will be burned, not a one-way ticket to higher prices that needs to be regulated out of existence.
• We keep saying we don't do politics here, and it's pretty much true, but Sarah Palin is a deeply strange choice.
• Man on Wire is one of the coolest flicks we've seen in many moons. If it's playing near you, make time for it.

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* Bad news: Fewer golfable hours. Good news: Fewer killer mosquitoes.