Last
week, Bonds increased, U.S. Stocks decreased, and Foreign Stocks were
unchanged. During the last 12 months, STOCKS outperformed BONDS.
LAST
WEEK -Here is a look the cause of the volatility created this week by
hedge funds, institutions, and those we call “traders.”
Returns through 10-4-2013
1-week
Y-T-D
1-Year
3-Years
5-Years
10-Years
Bonds- BarCap Aggregate Index
-.1
-2.0
-1.7
2.8
5.3
4.7
US Stocks-Standard & Poor’s 500
0.0
20.5
18.3
16.6
11.4
7.3
Foreign Stocks- MS EAFE Developed Countries
-.7
12.5
16.8
3.8
4.8
4.5
Source:
Morningstar Workstation. Past performance is no guarantee of future
results. Indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly.
Three, five and ten year returns are annualized excluding dividends.
“Your Financial Choices” The show airs on WDIY
Wednesday evenings, from 6-7 p.m. The show is hosted by Valley National’s
Laurie Siebert CPA, CFP, AEP. This week Laurie
will discuss: “Financial Planning
Week and the Financial Planning Association’s network of resources”
Financial
Planning Week is a celebration to help individuals discover the value of
financial planning and make smart financial decisions to achieve life goals and
dreams. Laurie will take your calls on
this topic and other inquiries this week. This show will be broadcast at the regular
time. WDIY is broadcast on FM 88.1 for reception in most of the Lehigh Valley;
and, it is broadcast on FM 93.9 in the Easton and Phillipsburg area; and, it is
broadcast on FM 93.7 in the Fogelsville and Macungie area – or listen to it
online from anywhere on the internet. For more information, including how
to listen to the show online, check the show’s website www.yourfinancialchoices.com and visit www.wdiy.org.
I had the
opportunity to take a golf oriented vacation last week to a special place in
Oregon called Bandon Dunes in the same group of 8 guys that travelled to
Dublin, Ireland last year.Even though I
kept an eye on the political events in Washington, the trip was all about the
golf.
Stocks rode the D.C. seesaw last week as the broad
market fell, rose, and ultimately finished flat on the week amid daily, if not
hourly, conflicting comments from senior political leaders. Large-company share
prices, however, dropped more than 1% for the week.
With
the third-quarter-earnings reports season not beginning until this week,
investors remain fixated on the partisan battle over the federal budget and the
government’s need to raise its debt-ceiling authority. As of Friday, the
partial government shutdown was in its fourth day.
The
market’s rebound on Friday demonstrated how closely investors were watching
Washington, as stock prices rallied on media reports suggesting that Speaker of
the House John Boehner was perhaps more flexible than previously thought in
working to increase the U.S. debt limit before the estimated Oct. 17 deadline.
Technically, in the event that deadline isn’t met, the federal government
probably wouldn’t run out of money until the end of the month.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 186 points, or 1.2%, to 15,072.58, a second
consecutive weekly drop. But the S&P 500 index finished essentially
unchanged at 1690.50. The Nasdaq Composite index bucked the trend, rising 0.7%,
or 26 points, to 3807.75.
“It
was a manic-depressive market,” says Paul Nolte, a portfolio manager with
Dearborn Partners. There’s hope of a handshake on the debt ceiling, but the
competing sound bites from Democrats and Republicans aren’t helping, he says.
With
shares off just about 2% from highs, the market hasn’t reacted much to the
stalemate, he adds, and certainly less painfully than the 10%-plus slide back in
August 2011. That’s when Standard & Poor’s downgraded U.S. debt amid the
wrangling over lifting the ceiling. As things stand, the debt ceiling is more
pressing than the budget (Source:
Barrons Online).
Health insurance exchanges, now known
as marketplaces, are set to launch in October but imposter exchanges can
already be found online and are expected to increase.
There are four common Obamacare scams
you should be aware of. Always contact your local police department or district
attorney’s office if you encounter one of these scams. A con artist calls you
claiming to be a federal employee, offers to sell you a new federal insurance
card under the Affordable Care Act, and needs your personal information. There
is no need for any new national insurance card, do not give out your
information.
Scam artists prey on seniors telling
them they need a new Medicare card because of changes from the Affordable Care
Act and request their Medicare numbers. Medicare numbers are identical to
Social Security numbers and enable scam artists to commit identity theft. There
is no need for a new Medicare card. Never give your Medicare number to a
stranger.
Scammers were also found using a real
health reform provision that allows young adults up to age 26 to remain on
their parents’ health plan. They tried to sell a “new young adult policy from
the ACA.” There is no need for a separate individual policy for children on
their parents plan. This is the point of the provision.
Fake exchanges are already online with
the word “exchange” in a banner on their home pages. Often, these sites collect
personal data that may be used to commit identity fraud. The real health
insurance exchanges aren’t available until Oct. 1.
Most
of the time, the U.S. stock market looks to 3 factors to support its upward
trend – let’s grade each of the factors:
CONSUMER SPENDING: I grade this factor a C (neutral).
THE FED AND ITS POLICIES: I continue to grade this factor an A+ (extremely favorable) because the
FED cannot do much more than it is doing to support the stock market and asset
prices. And, the FED today (9/18/2013)
announced it intends to continue the highly accommodating policy to stimulate
the economy.
BUSINESS PROFITABILITY: I graded this factor an A (very favorable).
NOTE: the above grades are unchanged from last
week.
Last week, Bonds increased, U.S. Stocks decreased, and Foreign Stocks were unchanged. During the last 12 months, STOCKS outperformed BONDS.
LAST WEEK -Here is a look the cause of the volatility created this week by hedge funds, institutions, and those we call “traders.”
Returns through 9-27-2013
1-week
Y-T-D
1-Year
3-Years
5-Years
10-Years
Bonds- BarCap Aggregate Index
.5
-2.0
-1.8
3.0
5.3
4.6
US Stocks-Standard & Poor’s 500
-1.3
21.0
21.2
16.4
9.4
7.7
Foreign Stocks- MS EAFE Developed Countries
0.0
14.4
20.3
5.4
1.9
5.2
Source:
Morningstar Workstation. Past performance is no guarantee of future
results. Indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly.
Three, five and ten year returns are annualized excluding dividends.
“Your
Financial Choices” The
show airs on WDIY Wednesday evenings, from 6-7 p.m. The show is hosted by
Valley National’s Laurie Siebert CPA, CFP, AEP. This week, Laurie will discuss: “Estate planning and fiduciary responsibility.”
Laurie will take
your calls on this topic and other inquiries this week. This show will be broadcast at the regular
time. WDIY is broadcast on FM 88.1 for reception in most of the Lehigh Valley;
and, it is broadcast on FM 93.9 in the Easton and Phillipsburg area; and, it is
broadcast on FM 93.7 in the Fogelsville and Macungie area – or listen to it
online from anywhere on the internet. For more information, including how
to listen to the show online, check the show’s website www.yourfinancialchoices.com
and visit www.wdiy.org.
