Friendly Disagreement

Even the best of friends have their disagreements.

Humans are like that too.  Just watch any group that’s discussing religion, politics or the economy.   I try to steer clear of those debates.  So often what begins light-heartedly ends up with strong feelings and hot tempers.  I still remember a family reunion that got heated over the wisdom of investing your money.    When my mattress-stuffing uncle collided with a wall-street-wannabe cousin, the fur really flew. 

My personal philosophy is fairly middle-of-the-road, somewhere between stuffing money in the mattress and spending my last dime on high-risk stocks.    When it comes to investments, my money is on the chemical industry.  Throughout tough economic times, it has continued to grow and prosper.  While 2012 did not match the extreme pace of 2011, it still showed solid growth.  Prospects are optimistic for 2013 with increased chemical mergers andacquisitions anticipated as the industry focuses on emerging chemical markets in India, China and Brazil, whose 2012 increase in production is expected to continue and grow in the coming year. At home, shale gas promise to significantly increase capital spending and employment and recoveries in construction and automotive industries will also have a favorable impact on growth.  A chemical investment bank will have plentiful opportunities and chemical advisory boards will have full plates in 2013.