As we close out the year 2009 and look back over the past 12 months, North American stock markets have exhibited both the best and the worst of times. In retrospect, extreme investor pessimism of mid March provided excellent opportunities for those who were opportunistic and focused on undervalued fundamentals. Conversely, the stock market run up over the past several months including the present Santa Claus rally have taken common share prices to fully or moderately overvalued levels. Looking ahead, while we expect 2010 to be a reasonably good investment year, we anticipate continued volatility and periodic price weakness. Currently, we would utilize the present market strength to lighten up on certain equity holdings and would commit increased cash reserves over time on any significant share declines.
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