Now What: A Guide to Retirement During Volatile Times

The Final Stretch for 2011

by ken | 08:36 in |

The Final Stretch for 2011

It looks like the stock market got a shot of holiday cheer as major U.S. indexes logged better than 3% gains last week. The Dow is now up 6% for the year, and the S&P 500 is back in positive territory. While many were calling for a so-called “Santa Clause rally,” others were concerned that fears surrounding Europe’s situation would continue to be a drag on the markets.
Last week however, Europe’s troubles were of little account as stocks rallied to their third weekly gain in four after Congress approved an extension of the payroll tax cut to ensure taxes won’t increase on January 1. In addition, tentative signs of improvement seen in government reports on personal spending, income, and housing, all helped boost equity markets last week.

What’s in store for the week ahead? With Wall Street closed for business on Monday, a number of major players on vacation, and few economic reports expected, trading volume will probably be light. Even so, there is something interesting we would like to share with you. According to the Stock Trader’s Almanac, the five trading days before January 1, and the two trading days that follow, typically generate abnormally high returns, yielding positive returns in 31 of the last 41 holiday seasons. Of course, past performance cannot be relied upon to predict future results, and other factors must be considered, but the trend is worth noting.

While many investors have already closed their books for the year, we head into the final stretch eager to end 2011 in the black. Regardless of what happens during the final four trading days of the year though, we encourage you to take comfort in knowing we will keep an eye on things for you. Again we urge you to relax and enjoy some well-deserved time with your family and friends.

Stay tuned for our annual recap due next week!

ECONOMIC CALENDAR:
Monday – U.S. Holiday Observed – Christmas Day
Tuesday – Consumer Confidence, S&P Case-Shiller HPI
Wednesday – EIA Petroleum Status Report
Thursday – Jobless Claims, Chicago PMI, Pending Home Sales

Notes: All index returns exclude reinvested dividends, and the 5-year and 10-year returns are annualized.
Sources: Yahoo! Finance, MSCI Barra. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. N/A means not available.

HEADLINES:

Gasoline rose to a six-week high after a U.S. government report that durable goods orders increased last month signaled an improving economy. Prices advanced 8% this week, capping the biggest weekly gain since March.

While some workers are worried about smaller paychecks next year, more than 1.4 million low-income earners will see their wages go up on New Year's Day. Minimum wage rates in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington will rise between 28 and 37 cents per hour on January 1, thanks to state laws requiring that minimum wage keeps pace with inflation.

The total value of Americans' retirement assets stood at $17 trillion at the end of September – a drop of 7.5% from the record high of $18.4 trillion recorded on June 30, 2011.
Shoppers will return $46.28 billion in holiday merchandise, a record high, according to the National Retail Federation. At brick-and-mortar stores, holiday returns can boost business because it gets shoppers into the store once more. "If people return something, there's a 70% chance they will buy something else," said Britt Beemer, retail analyst and chairman of America's Research Group.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK for 2012

“Each experience in your life was absolutely necessary in order to have gotten you to the next place, and the next, up to this very moment” – Dr. Wayne Dyer

HEALTH TIP OF THE WEEK:

Wear a Pedometer
New research suggests routinely wearing a pedometer encourages people to walk about an extra mile each day, lose weight, and lower their blood pressure. Aim for at least 30 minutes of brisk walking and a total of 10,000 steps per day.

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Investing involves risk including the potential loss of principal. No investment strategy can guarantee a profit or protect against loss in periods of declining values.

The Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted average of 30 significant stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq. The DJIA was invented by Charles Dow back in 1896.
The MSCI EAFE Index was created by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) that serves as a benchmark of the performance in major international equity markets as represented by 21 major MSCI indexes from Europe, Australia and Southeast Asia.
The 10-year Treasury Note represents debt owed by the United States Treasury to the public. Since the U.S. Government is seen as a risk-free borrower, investors use the 10-year Treasury Note as a benchmark for the long-term bond market.
Google Finance is the source for any reference to the performance of an index between two specific periods.
Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice and are not intended as investment advice or to predict future performance.
Past performance does not guarantee future results.
You cannot invest directly in an index.
Consult your financial professional before making any investment decision.
Fixed income investments are subject to various risks including changes in interest rates, credit quality, inflation risk, market valuations, prepayments, corporate events, tax ramifications and other factors.
These are the views of Platinum Advisor Marketing Strategies, LLC, and not necessarily those of the named representative or named Broker dealer, and should not be construed as investment advice. Neither the named representative nor the named Broker dealer gives tax or legal advice. All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however, we make no representation as to its completeness or accuracy. Please consult your financial advisor for further information.

By clicking on these links, you will leave our server as they are located on another server. We have not independently verified the information available through this link. The link is provided to you as a matter of interest. Please click on the links below to leave and proceed to the selected site.

Will a Santa Clause Rally kick in?

Each week, through this commentary, we aim to bring you a brief summary of the most important financial-related news. Our primary goal is to educate you about factors that have the potential to affect your investments, and to help you cut through all the media clutter to find some clarity. Sometimes, finding that clarity can be especially challenging.

Last week, we were faced with a barrage of headlines from all over the world, and each piece of news seemed to have its own unique impact. In the end, investors struggled to make sense of all the news, and stocks ended a roller-coaster week in which all three indexes lost more than 2.5%.

Historically, the stock market has been sensitive to news. But amidst the uncertainty of recent years, its sensitivity has been heightened to an unprecedented scale. Headlines that would have barely made the evening news 10 years ago can easily lead a rally or retreat in a matter of minutes or hours in today’s environment.

Case in point from last week: Fitch put seven European countries on credit watch negative, and the markets retreated. Fitch affirmed the ratings of France, Belgium, Spain, Slovenia, Italy, Ireland, and Cyprus, and the markets rallied. Data came out showing holiday sales slowing, and the markets retreated. Headlines came out showing that holiday shopping boosts confidence in the recovery, and the markets rallied. We could repeat this scenario with housing data, gold prices, oil prices, and nearly any other shred of financial-related news.

What is our point? Don’t buy into the hype! Is it important to monitor world events for signals about how investments could perform? Yes. But is it healthy to dissect every smidge of news and then alter your investment strategy at each sign of strength or weakness? No. When signals are mixed and finding clarity is difficult, it is especially important to stick to your long-term investment strategy. Letting short-term, erratic moves dictate your investment decisions can easily lead to unnecessary losses.

It can be a jungle out there – there’s no doubt about it. But just as you would trust an experienced jungle guide to lead you to safety, please trust us to guide you through these uncertain times. Use the weeks ahead to enjoy some quiet time with your family and friends, and tune out the noise for a little while. We urge you not to let the media steal your focus from the things that matter most.

ECONOMIC CALENDAR:
Monday – Housing Market Index
Tuesday – Housing Starts, Redbook
Wednesday – Existing Home Sales
Thursday – GDP, Jobless Claims, Consumer Sentiment, Leading Indicators
Friday – Durable Goods Orders, Personal Income and Outlays, New Home Sales

Data as of 12/16/2011 1-Week YTD 1-Year 5-Year 10-Year
Standard & Poor's 500 -2.83 -3.02 -1.87 -2.91 0.86
Dow -2.61 2.50 3.19 -0.93 2.09
NASDAQ -3.46 -3.68 -3.11 0.80 3.08
MSCI EAFE -5.29 -15.4 -14.1 -5.03 2.01
10-year Treasury Note (Yield Only) 2.05 N/A 3.48 4.60 5.16

Notes: All index returns exclude reinvested dividends, and the 5-year and 10-year returns are annualized.
Sources: Yahoo! Finance, MSCI Barra. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. N/A means not available.

HEADLINES:
The U.S. House of Representatives On Friday approved a nearly $1 trillion bill to fund the government through the rest of the fiscal year that runs to the end of September 2012. Republicans and Democrats have been haggling for several months over spending plans for the rest of the fiscal year. The fate of a temporary payroll tax cut, however, was still undecided as of mid-Friday.

Gold futures climbed Friday to break a four-session losing streak, but prices finished the week with a loss of 6.9%.

The final convoy of U.S. troops left Iraq on Sunday, bringing an end to almost nine years of war in which tens of thousands of Iraqis and nearly 4,500 Americans died, media reports said.

Kim Jong Il, the dictator who used fear and isolation to maintain power in North Korea and his nuclear weapons to menace his neighbors and threaten the U.S., has died, North Korean state television reported early Monday.

Quote of the week:

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree or Menorah: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. - Burton Hillis (Better Homes and Gardens)


RECIPE OF THE WEEK:
Homemade Eggnog



Who knew making your own eggnog could be so easy?
Recipe by: Sharon Tyler Herbst | from The Ultimate A-to-Z Bar Guide

Ingredients:
12 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
16 oz. (1 pint; 2 cups) brandy
16 oz. (1 pint; 2 cups) bourbon or dark rum
32 oz. (1 quart; 4 cups) milk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
32 oz. (1 quart; 4 cups) whipping cream
½ tsp. salt
freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:
Beat egg yolks with the sugar until creamy and light. Stir in brandy, bourbon, milk, and vanilla; cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or until very cold. Whip cream until it forms soft mounds; fold into eggnog mixture. May be refrigerated for 1 to 2 hours at this point. Just before serving, beat egg whites and salt to the soft-peak stage; fold into eggnog. Sprinkle with nutmeg.

NOTE: Only use pasteurized eggs when making your eggnog to avoid salmonella.



Share the Wealth of Knowledge!
Please share this market update with family, friends, or colleagues. If you would like us to add them to our list, simply click on the "Forward email" link below. We love being introduced!

If you would like to opt-out of future emails, please reply to this email with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.


Investing involves risk including the potential loss of principal. No investment strategy can guarantee a profit or protect against loss in periods of declining values.

The Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted average of 30 significant stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq. The DJIA was invented by Charles Dow back in 1896.
The MSCI EAFE Index was created by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) that serves as a benchmark of the performance in major international equity markets as represented by 21 major MSCI indexes from Europe, Australia and Southeast Asia.
The 10-year Treasury Note represents debt owed by the United States Treasury to the public. Since the U.S. Government is seen as a risk-free borrower, investors use the 10-year Treasury Note as a benchmark for the long-term bond market.
Google Finance is the source for any reference to the performance of an index between two specific periods.
Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice and are not intended as investment advice or to predict future performance.
Past performance does not guarantee future results.
You cannot invest directly in an index.
Consult your financial professional before making any investment decision.
Fixed income investments are subject to various risks including changes in interest rates, credit quality, inflation risk, market valuations, prepayments, corporate events, tax ramifications and other factors.
By clicking on these links, you will leave our server as they are located on another server. We have not independently verified the information available through this link. The link is provided to you as a matter of interest. Please click on the links below to leave and proceed to the selected site.

Naughty or Nice for the markets?

by ken | 08:28 in |

Naughty or Nice for the markets?

Yet again, investors found themselves watching Europe last week – no surprises there – and were apparently pleased with what they saw. Word of a “new deal” incited a rally in stocks Friday that pushed the Dow Jones industrial average up 187 points, or 1.6%, the S&P 500 up 21 points, or 1.7%, and the Nasdaq up 50 points, or 1.9%. All major domestic indexes finished positive for the week on a wave of optimism.

What is this “new deal” everyone’s talking about? Basically, the 17 nations that use the euro agreed to sign a treaty that allows a central authority to oversee their budgets more closely. The agreement is made up of fiscal rules designed to prevent countries from veering further into crisis mode, and to rescue them if they do. The Friday proposals also commit the countries to put their €500 billion ($670 billion) European Stability Mechanism bailout fund into action next year, instead of in 2013.
While Britain chose not to support the plan, the majority of EU members are hailing this as a new beginning. German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed that Europe has “…achieved a breakthrough to a stability union. A fiscal union, or stability union as I call it, will be developed further, step by step in the years to come." And French President Nicolas Sarkozy confidently boasted, “We're doing everything we can to save the euro.”

Whether this deal will be a new beginning for Europe, or turns out to be little more than political posturing, only time will tell. Either way, we are confident their debt saga is far from over. While tighter fiscal controls are definitely a crucial ingredient in mending this crisis, Friday’s agreement is only a partial solution, and we have seen agreements like this deteriorate before. Until a clear path to fiscal austerity has been established for the region, the markets will keep responding to hype and headlines.

When it comes to investing, rather than reacting to every shred of nice (or naughty) news, we still believe it is better to have a long-term plan and stick to it. We take great pleasure in helping you do just that!

ECONOMIC CALENDAR:
Monday – Treasury Budget
Tuesday – Retail Sales, Business Inventories, FOMC Meeting Announcement
Wednesday – Import and Export Prices, EIA Petroleum Status Report
Thursday – Jobless Claims, Producer Price Index, Empire State Manufacturing Survey, Industrial Production, Philadelphia Fed Survey
Friday – Consumer Price Index

Headlines:
Online sales for the holiday season to date (since November 1 to Friday) totaled $24.6 billion, a 15% increase over the $21.4 billion spent during the same period last year, ComScore reported. Last week's spending totaled $5.9 billion, also a 15% increase over the corresponding period last year.

Anti-Wall Street protesters plan to attempt to block major West Coast ports on Monday. By marching on U.S. ports from California to Alaska, organizers look to call attention to economic inequalities in the country and a financial system they complain is unfairly tilted toward the wealthy.

Scammers across the nation are targeting the Better Business Bureau. They're using BBB's good name to try and spread a computer virus. The scam e-mail says the BBB has received a complaint from one of your customers and says, "We encourage you to use our online complaint system to respond." When you click on the link, it reportedly installs a virus. If you receive one of these e-mails, delete it immediately and do not open the link.

Developing nations led by China and India pledged they’d work toward an agreement that would limit their fossil fuel emissions for the first time, the biggest advance in the fight against global warming in 14 years.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

The movie Elf staring Will Ferrell

Santa: That's another thing... Buddy you should know that your father... he's on the naughty list.
Buddy: Nooooo!



GREEN TIP OF THE WEEK:
Stop the Junk Mail

The amount of household garbage in the U.S. increases by about one million tons of trash between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, according to the EPA, and much of that is Christmas gift packaging. If you’re mailing gifts, use recycled packing materials like newspaper and cardboard. Shiny, metallic, and plastic-coated wrapping paper can’t be reused or recycled, but there are lots of wrapping papers and ribbons that are made of 100 percent recycled waste, and gift bags are a great reusable option.


Share the Wealth of Knowledge!
Please share this market update with family, friends, or colleagues. If you would like us to add them to our list, simply click on the "Forward email" link below. We love being introduced!
If you would like to opt-out of future emails, please reply to this email with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.


Investing involves risk including the potential loss of principal. No investment strategy can guarantee a profit or protect against loss in periods of declining values.

The Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted average of 30 significant stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq. The DJIA was invented by Charles Dow back in 1896.
The MSCI EAFE Index was created by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) that serves as a benchmark of the performance in major international equity markets as represented by 21 major MSCI indexes from Europe, Australia and Southeast Asia.
The 10-year Treasury Note represents debt owed by the United States Treasury to the public. Since the U.S. Government is seen as a risk-free borrower, investors use the 10-year Treasury Note as a benchmark for the long-term bond market.
Google Finance is the source for any reference to the performance of an index between two specific periods.
Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice and are not intended as investment advice or to predict future performance.
Past performance does not guarantee future results.
You cannot invest directly in an index.
Consult your financial professional before making any investment decision.
Fixed income investments are subject to various risks including changes in interest rates, credit quality, inflation risk, market valuations, prepayments, corporate events, tax ramifications and other factors.
These are the views of Platinum Advisor Marketing Strategies, LLC, and not necessarily those of the named representative or named Broker dealer, and should not be construed as investment advice. Neither the named representative nor the named Broker dealer gives tax or legal advice. All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however, we make no representation as to its completeness or accuracy. Please consult your financial advisor for further information.

By clicking on these links, you will leave our server as they are located on another server. We have not independently verified the information available through this link. The link is provided to you as a matter of interest. Please click on the links below to leave and proceed to the selected site.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Market

by ken | 08:59 in |

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Market

The story starts with after drinking a potion of his own creation; Jekyll is transformed into the smaller, younger, cruel, remorseless, evil Edward Hyde, representing the hidden side of Dr Jekyll's nature brought to the fore. Dr Jekyll has many friends and has a friendly personality, but as Mr Hyde, he becomes mysterious and violent. As time goes by, Mr Hyde grows in power. After taking the potion repetitively, he no longer relies upon it to unleash his inner demon i.e. his alter ego.

It seems that at times our market is similar to that of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde the past two weeks. The market seems to have a ‘split personality’ of sorts.
From the worst Thanksgiving week since 1932 , to the best weekly gain since 2009, last week illustrated how fickle the stock market can be. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 7% for the week, bouncing back from a 5% loss the previous week on news about… are you ready for it… positive developments in Europe.
Basically, several central banks made dollar financing cheaper through swap arrangements, and finance ministers took steps to expand the European Financial Stability Facility. Just as bad news from Europe pushed markets down during Thanksgiving week, good news from Europe pulled markets back up last week. At this point, it should be clear to everyone that we are dealing with highly Europe-charged investor sentiment right now.

So does last week’s rally mean we’re out of the woods and the bulls are back on top? It’s possible, but we don’t recommend counting on it. While some analysts are expecting stocks to maintain their momentum on the “Santa Clause effect” (Stocks have risen in December nearly four out of five times since 1945, according to S&P Capital IQ, and have risen almost 2% in December after dropping in November – as they did last month) , most understand that Europe is still a wild card.

When we see encouraging news and market rallies, it is easy to become excessively positive when we should actually be cautiously optimistic. In the same manner, when we see bad news and steep declines, it is easy to become excessively negative when we should actually be moderately cautious. What is our point? In times of uncertainty and volatility, it is particularly critical to stick to a long-term investment strategy that aligns with your personal goals and risk tolerance. We encourage you to avoid letting short-term market moves and flashy headlines influence your investment decisions. If you have any questions about whether your current financial plan is still right for you, please feel free to reach out to us. We are always here to help guide you through turbulent times.

ECONOMIC CALENDAR:
Monday – Factory Orders, ISM Non-Manufacturing Index
Tuesday – Bank of Canada Announcement
Wednesday – EIA Petroleum Status Report, Consumer Credit
Thursday – BOE Announcement, ECB Announcement, Jobless Claims, Wholesale Trade
Friday – International Trade, Consumer Sentiment
Data as of 12/02/2011 1-Week YTD 1-Year 5-Year 10-Year
Standard & Poor's 500 7.39 -1.06 1.86 -2.18 0.92
Dow 7.01 3.82 5.78 -0.29 2.20
NASDAQ 7.59 -0.98 1.84 1.77 3.61
MSCI EAFE 9.34 -11.1 -8.09 -3.90 2.30
10-year Treasury Note (Yield Only) 1.97 N/A 3.00 4.43 4.74

Notes: All index returns exclude reinvested dividends, and the 5-year and 10-year returns are annualized.
Sources: Yahoo! Finance, MSCI Barra. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. N/A means not available.

HEADLINES:
It’s hard to believe it’s already been 10 years since Enron filed for bankruptcy on December 2, 2001. At the time the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history – the once high-flying energy company cemented its reputation as the very symbol of corporate fraud.
The unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage points to 8.6% in November, and nonfarm payroll employment rose by 120,000, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Employment continued to trend up in retail trade, leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and health care. Government employment continued to trend down.

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner will head to Europe next week to meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, new Italian leader Mario Monti, and other key government officials to discuss their efforts to resolve the debt crisis. Geithner, who has been urging European leaders to take more forceful action, will travel there for three days beginning Tuesday "for discussions with his counterparts on their efforts to reinforce the institutions in the Euro area," the Treasury Department said Friday.

The coming year-end spending spree after so much debate over budget deficits shows just how hard it is to stem the government's flow of red ink. Lawmakers are poised to spend $120 billion or so to renew a Social Security tax cut that averaged just under $1,000 per household this year. They're ready to commit up to $50 billion more to continue unemployment benefits to people out of work for more than half a year.

Quote of the week

‘Know that everything will happen at just the right time. At the right place, with just the right people’ Wayne Dyer


Share the Wealth of Knowledge!
Please share this market update with family, friends, or colleagues. If you would like us to add them to our list, simply click on the "Forward email" link below. We love being introduced!
.

Investing involves risk including the potential loss of principal. No investment strategy can guarantee a profit or protect against loss in periods of declining values.

The Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted average of 30 significant stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq. The DJIA was invented by Charles Dow back in 1896.
The MSCI EAFE Index was created by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) that serves as a benchmark of the performance in major international equity markets as represented by 21 major MSCI indexes from Europe, Australia and Southeast Asia.
The 10-year Treasury Note represents debt owed by the United States Treasury to the public. Since the U.S. Government is seen as a risk-free borrower, investors use the 10-year Treasury Note as a benchmark for the long-term bond market.
Google Finance is the source for any reference to the performance of an index between two specific periods.
Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice and are not intended as investment advice or to predict future performance.
Past performance does not guarantee future results.
You cannot invest directly in an index.
Consult your financial professional before making any investment decision.
Fixed income investments are subject to various risks including changes in interest rates, credit quality, inflation risk, market valuations, prepayments, corporate events, tax ramifications and other factors.
These are the views of Platinum Advisor Marketing Strategies, LLC, and not necessarily those of the named representative or named Broker dealer, and should not be construed as investment advice. Neither the named representative nor the named Broker dealer gives tax or legal advice. All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however, we make no representation as to its completeness or accuracy. Please consult your financial advisor for further information.

By clicking on these links, you will leave our server as they are located on another server. We have not independently verified the information available through this link. The link is provided to you as a matter of interest. Please click on the links below to leave and proceed to the selected site.