Articles made by Gary R. Matthews PhD, CPA/PFS AIF®

When markets are volatile, sticking to a long-term investing strategy can be a challenge. To keep the ups and downs in perspective, it might help to look at past market cycles to see how recent market action compares.

Bears versus bulls

Corrections of 10% or more and bear mar...

We all want to know where the markets are heading, and whether another recession is imminent. We watch the headlines about government debt problems in Europe and in the U.S., and we watch our politicians, our so-called "leaders," fight, fumble, and fail. With the Great Recession of 2008 still ...

I've been married for 32 years and I know my wife pretty well. I know that when we are together and she is being very quiet, something is amiss. Sooner or later, I ask the first question, "Is something wrong?" A non-committal answer, no or yes, usually means, "Yes, something is wrong." Continu...

As August 2 approaches, you'll likely hear increasingly urgent debate over the nation's debt ceiling. That's the approximate date by which the Treasury estimates it will no longer be able to borrow under the current $14.3 trillion limit. Treasury officials have warned that if the Treasury can ...

I flew out of the Newark Airport on Tuesday afternoon, May 24, headed to Dallas, TX to present a resolution at the ExxonMobil* annual shareholders’ meeting on behalf of Green Century Capital Management. The resolution was related to oil drilling operations in the tar sands of Alberta, C...

Proposing "to inspire and create a positive impact in the world," Heather Schultz, a corporate change consultant and former senior executive with Save the Children, talked with a group of 75 business and religious leaders on May 17th about Thriving Leadership.

The event was a remarkabl...

Article written by: Forefield, Inc.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), signed into law in 2010, makes significant changes to our health care delivery system. Some of these reforms took effect in 2010 while many others take place in 2011. The following is a brief de...

You might be wondering what the impact of the recently concluded mid-term elections will be on your SRI (sustainable, responsible) portfolio. After all, the hoped-for social and environmental objectives of that portfolio do not exactly reflect the social agenda of the new conservative politici...

It is clearly time for me to comment on the BP disaster, one of the worst environmental accidents the world has faced. My personal feelings of supreme dismay and outright nausea aside, these comments are focused on the relationship, past and present, between BP and the sustainable and responsi...

The market has now entered into its first "correction" (a 10%+ pull back from recent highs) since the bull market began about 14 months ago. Painful memories are still fresh from 2008. What now? What is the correct response to a correction?

First, let me say what I think is going on...

Just before 3 pm on Thursday, May 6, the common shares of Proctor & Gamble* seemed to have fallen 37%. The rest of the market followed quickly, and in just over 20 minutes the Dow Jones Industrials^ fell just shy of 1,000 points. Never before has the market fallen that far, that fast. I...

At one of my recent client lunches one of my clients asked whether there are viable “community bank” alternatives to the “mega banks” where she could bank conveniently and still feel good about her money. The question has come up often in my discussions with people sinc...

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A few months ago we asked for advice or input on priorities for shareholder advocacy. The five issues that rose to the top of the list included climate change, human rights, executive compensation, environmental health and access to healthcare and drugs. We have been quite bu...

Among Elite Group of Leaders Attending 20th Annual SRI in the Rockies Conference

Leading investment conference highlights industry trends in sustainable and responsible investing

Tucson, AZ-November 3, 2009

SRI in the Rockies...

Let’s be optimistic and assume for a moment the markets have indeed turned around and the next bull market has begun.  What will the recovery look like?  The question requires a brief comment about our economy.  Capitalism is the most wealth-enhancing economic system t...

In April, we noted the market’s March turnaround and wondered whether it would continue.  The hopeful signs were economists’ predictions of an end to the recession in the 3rd quarter of this year, and a lot of cash on the sidelines waiting to take advantage of new opportunitie...