Now What: A Guide to Retirement During Volatile Times

Dow closing in on 13,000 with better than expected economic news

After a week of mixed performance, major indexes locked in weekly gains on Friday, buoyed by positive economic data. The S&P 500 closed at its highest level since 2008, having gained 8% so far this year. The Dow increased about 0.3% this week and flirted with its highest close since May 2008, while the Nasdaq added 0.4% to close at its highest level since December 2000!

Positive economic numbers released this week included an unexpected boost in consumer confidence in February as Americans continue to be optimistic about economic growth. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final index of consumer sentiment rose to 75.3 from 75 in January, sustained by gains in the job market. Optimistic consumers tend to spend more and invest more – two things that are very good for economic growth.

Additional positive news came out of the housing market as sales of existing U.S. homes rose 4.3% in January, sustained by record-low interest rates and bargain prices. At the same time though, sales of new homes fell in January after four straight months of gains as more Americans purchased previously-owned homes. According to the Commerce Department, new-home sales dropped 0.9% from December, falling short of forecasted growth. However, since hiring is on the rise and existing homes are selling briskly, we expect to see continued improvements in the overall housing market as stockpiles are depleted and consumers keep taking advantage of low mortgage rates.

Unfortunately, gas prices continued their rise this week, increasing 2.7 cents to a nationwide average of $3.67 a gallon on Saturday. Tensions with Iran and Syria caused crude oil to hit $109.77 at Friday’s close; however, consumers are still responding relatively well. In related news, St Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard made a statement Friday expressing confidence that since Americans adjusted to high gas prices in 2008, the rising prices we now see are unlikely to derail the recovery. We hope he is correct in this assumption.

Overall, despite some midweek market turbulence fueled by concerns over Europe and high gas prices, the week ended well, with positive economic news boosting confidence that the recovery will continue. Although a sustained rise in gas prices could put a damper on future growth, most economists remain cautiously optimistic, and so do we.

ECONOMIC CALENDAR:
Monday: Pending Home Sales Index, Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey
Tuesday: Durable Goods Orders, S&P Case-Shiller HPI, Consumer Confidence
Wednesday: GDP, Chicago PMI, Ben Bernanke Speaks at 10:00 AM ET, EIA Petroleum Status Report, Beige Book
Thursday: Motor Vehicle Sales, Jobless Claims, Personal Income and Outlays, ISM Manufacturing Index, Construction Spending

Data as of 2/24/2012 1-Week Since 1/1/2012 1-Year 5-Year 10-Year
Standard & Poor's 500 0.33% 8.60% 4.57% -1.18% 2.53%
DOW 0.26% 6.26% 7.58% 0.53% 3.02%
NASDAQ 0.41% 13.77% 8.25% 3.57% 7.19%
MSCI EAFE 1.16% 11.35% -5.61% -3.65% 3.86%
10-year Treasury Note (Yield Only) 2.01% N/A 3.44% 4.68% 4.83%

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 Federal government could open the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to curb rising oil prices. Tapping the SPR often comes up when gas prices soar and politicians feel pressured into action. Opening the reserve would quickly lower prices; however, doing so might leave the country open to future shocks, meaning that it is unlikely to be opened unless a severe supply disruption occurs.

Greece launched a sovereign debt swap worth €107 billion- designed to restructure its debt load and stave off default. The swap will allow investors to take a 53.5% loss on the face value of their government bonds – which is much less than the actual loss, estimated at between 73-74%. It is hoped that the debt swap will lower Greece’s overall debt from 160% of GDP to 120% by 2020, paving the way for a return to solvency.

The Federal Reserve bought $1.9 billion in long-dated bonds as part of a bond-buying program designed to support the economy by keeping long-term interest rates low. The Fed plans to purchase a wider variety of bond maturities next week.
A prominent economist is bearish on the economy. Despite the positive economic indicators, Lakshman Achuthan believes the economy is headed for a new recession. However, Achuthan's views are not widely accepted; a December CNNMoney poll of economists cut the double-dip recession risk down to 20%, citing job growth, increased retail spending, and higher consumer confidence.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
‘The truth is, if one of us succeeds, we all do’ Dr. Wayne Dyer



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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.
The Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers is an index based on a survey of a nationally representative of U.S. households designed to gauge how consumers feel the economic environment will change. Survey responses are correlated and weighted to create single index value.
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.

Bull’s still in charge despite Greek’s tragedy

As the old expression goes; what goes up must come down. During the final minutes of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average trimmed its gains, falling 89.23 points, or 0.7%, locking in a weekly loss of 0.5%. For the day, only one of the Dow’s 30 components rose. The broad-based S&P 500 fared similarly, retreating 9.31 points, or 0.7%, for a loss of 0.2% for the week, while the tech heavy Nasdaq declined 23.35 points, or 0.8%, ending the week down 0.1%.

In an action reminiscent of 2011, worries about stalling efforts to keep Greece from defaulting sparked this pre-weekend decline. As stocks fell, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Volatility Index (VIX) jumped above 20 for the first time in nearly two weeks, rising more than 11%. While we don’t view this as a major cause for alarm, it is a reminder that all is not yet well with our European counterparts. After a week dominated by both hopes and fears about a nation at the center of Europe’s debt crisis, stocks finally snapped their five-week winning streak as negotiations faltered.

Equity markets have been red-hot this year, and frankly, last week’s pullback should come as little surprise. If stocks continued their ascent at the same fiery pace we’ve seen so far in 2012, the S&P would end the year up over 60%! Such remarkable gains are completely unrealistic to expect, and would be totally unsustainable. Healthy markets move up and down on a daily basis. While it is generally accepted that the stock market will grow in value over time, short-term movements can happen for a variety of reasons too numerous to list. It’s just the nature of the stock market.

It may be easier said than done, but we encourage you not to let unpredictable short-term moves in the market overly influence your investment decisions. In the long run, we believe Europe is going to muddle through this, though there are bound to be bumps along the way.

ECONOMIC CALENDAR:

Tuesday – NFIB Small Business Optimism Index, Retail Sales, Import and Export Prices, Business Inventories
Wednesday – Empire State Manufacturing Survey, Treasury International Capital, Industrial Production, Housing Market Index, EIA Petroleum Status Report, FOMC Minutes
Thursday – Housing Starts, Jobless Claims, Producer Price Index, Ben Bernanke Speaks at 9:00 AM ET, Philadelphia Fed Survey
Friday – Consumer Price Index, Leading Indicators




Data as of 2/10/2012 1-Week Since 1/1/2012 1-Year 5-Year 10-Year
Standard & Poor's 500 -0.17% 6.76% 1.57% -1.33% 2.25%
DOW -0.47% 4.78% 4.68% 0.35% 3.14%
NASDAQ -0.06% 11.47% 4.06% 3.61% 5.97%
MSCI EAFE -1.17% 7.55% -9.60% -3.78% 3.56%
10-year Treasury Note (Yield Only) 1.95% N/A 3.71% 4.78% 4.88%
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:
Apple's stock soared to new heights on Thursday, pushing the company's market capitalization to $456 billion, a number that is greater than the values of rivals Google and Microsoft combined.

Gold fell on Friday, following losses in the euro and U.S. equities, as uncertainty over negotiations on a bailout package for Greece prompted investors to sell the metal and hoard cash.

Photography giant Kodak has said it will stop making digital cameras in the next six months, a media report said on Thursday. The 130-year-old Eastman Kodak Company, which invented the digital camera in 1975, has now said it will try to license its brand to other camera manufacturers. Kodak has filed for bankruptcy protection, having lost almost 90% of its market value in 2011.

Greek lawmakers looked set to endorse a new austerity deal on Sunday to secure a multi-billion-euro bailout and avert what Prime Minister Lucas Papademos warned would be "economic chaos."

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
‘Having a plan for success isn’t necessarily unhealthy, but falling in love with the plan might be, don’t let your plan become bigger than you are’. Dr 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!

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.

Slowly but Surely for U.S Markets

by ken | 08:06 in |

Slowly but Surely for U.S Markets

As investors increasingly put aside fears of economic calamity and focused again on fundamentals, the Dow Jones Industrial Average broke through to its highest close since May 2008, back before the Lehman Brothers collapse and ensuing economic meltdown. The combination of strong job growth, a three-year low in unemployment, and other positive developments, propelled the Dow ahead 156.82 points, or 1.23%, on Friday. At this point, the blue-chip index would have to rise just 10% to reach its record close of 14164.53, hit Oct. 9, 2007.

The biggest economic news last week surrounded Friday’s Employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), though the results are being heavily debated. According to the report, total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 243,000 in January, and the unemployment rate decreased to 8.3%. The report added “job growth was widespread in the private sector, with large employment gains in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing.” Sounds good, right?

Skeptics argue the reason the employment numbers look so good is because 1.2 million Americans dropped out of the workforce in January; they gave up looking for work. In simple English, if less people are looking for work, it looks like less people need jobs. Also last week, the Congressional Budget Office released its projected employment outlook for the next few years, in which they predicted the unemployment rate will be at 8.9% during the last quarter of 2012 and rise to 9.2% for the last quarter of 2013. Those numbers aren’t so good. So what’s the real story? Frankly, it probably exists somewhere in the middle.

Employment reports, like most other economic reports, are based on estimates. Like a thermometer, these reports can be used to take the temperature of the recovery, not to diagnose it. They only tell us a little bit about one symptom. If we rely too much on one report, we set ourselves up for disappointment.

It is much more effective to look at trends. What trend are we seeing? To quote a recent commentary from First Trust, “Private sector jobs have increased for 23 consecutive months, total cash earnings are up 4.6% in the past year, and previous months’ data are being revised upwardly, not downwardly. The bottom-line is that the economy is getting better.”

Like a patient recovering from traumatic injuries, our economy is still going to have good days and bad days. It may not be completely well, but it is healing. Slowly, but surely.

ECONOMIC CALENDAR:

Tuesday: Ben Bernanke Speaks at 10:00 AM ET, Consumer Credit
Wednesday: EIA Petroleum Status Report
Thursday: BOE Announcement, ECB Announcement, Jobless Claims, Wholesale Trade
Friday: International Trade, Consumer Credit, Ben Bernanke Speaks at 12:30 PM ET, Treasury Budget

Data as of 2/3/2012 1-Week Since 1/1/2012 1-Year 5-Year 10-Year
Standard & Poor's 500 2.17% 6.94% 2.89% -1.43% 1.98%
DOW 1.59% 5.28% 6.63% 0.33% 2.98%
NASDAQ 3.16% 11.54% 5.51% 3.47% 5.20%
MSCI EAFE 2.69% 8.82% -8.55% -3.60% 3.44%
10-year Treasury Note (Yield Only) 1.90% N/A 3.54% 4.83% 5.03%

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 New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots at Super Bowl XLVI for the second time in the Super Bowl in recent years. New York managed to survive a valiant effort on a Hail Mary attempt from Tom Brady in the last seconds, and held on for a 21-17 win. As a long-time Giants fan, I may not have a voice for the remainder of the week!

Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos struck a tentative deal with political parties on austerity measures demanded by international creditors. They agreed in a five-hour meeting Sunday to make additional reductions this year equal to 1.5% of gross domestic product. With the country’s stability at stake, the accord marked another step forward.

The European Union's total government debt rose slightly to 82.2% of economic output in the third quarter of 2011, the EU's statistics agency said on Monday, lower than the United States but still a burden that could take decades to pay down.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sued banking’s Big Three – JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo – on Friday in New York State Supreme Court over their use of an electronic mortgage database that played a key role in financing the nation’s historic housing bubble. "Our action demonstrates that there is one set of rules for all -- no matter how big or powerful the institution may be -- and that those rules will be enforced vigorously," said Schneiderman in a statement.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
"All our dreams can come true - if we have the courage to pursue them." – Walt Disney



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.