Financial analysts are still debating over the degree to which the state and nation are recovering from the many months of recession. As 2009 nears its conclusion, a financial advisor from north-central Iowa says he views the new year with encouragement. Jim Tausz, owner of the Bradford Financial Center in Clarion, says 2010 looks very promising.
“I think we’re going to finish in good shape this year compared to where we were,” Tausz says. “If we look back at March of this year, it was not just a disaster waiting to happen it was a disaster that had happened.” He notes, it’s the worst off our nation’s economy has been since the Great Depression. Tausz says the state of Iowa and the nation have endured major economic setbacks before and bounced back, though we were in pretty foul financial shape a year ago.
“We’ve come a long ways since then but that doesn’t mean we aren’t down right now, because we are, we’re severely down,” Tausz says. The Dow Jones was over 14,000 at its height and it’s now around 10,000, so we need to make 40-percent more just to get back to where we were. “But I tell you what,” he says, “it’s a whole lot better than what it was.” Tausz says he anticipates the new year’s arrival with much optimism.
“I look forward to a great year in 2010,” Tausz says. “When you have a severe down like this, usually you have a substantial rally on the other end. That rally runs for 12 to 18 months. This rally did not begin until the end of March so we’re just in the youthful part of this rally.” He says the rally has the potential to be huge before things return to a more normal picture.
By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City