Despite a turbulent week filled with mixed news from Europe and rising Middle East tensions, stocks closed higher on hopes that Chinese assistance would mean a bailout plan for Greece. The S&P 500 closed at 1361.23, a level not seen in nearly a year, having gained 8.2% so far in 2012. Other major indexes also rose for the week, the Dow advancing 1.2% and the Nasdaq climbing 1.7%.[1]

In not-so-great news, crude oil prices rose for a third straight day on U.S. markets Friday, topping $103 a barrel, sparked by increased saber rattling from Iran over its nuclear energy policies. A sustained surge in prices could weigh on the global economic recovery. Drivers are seeing the effect at the pump, with gas prices up by 0.9% since January, topping $3.50 a gallon in many places. Every added penny at the gas pump diverts roughly $1 billion in consumer spending away from other sectors of the economy.[2]

Thankfully, inflation isn’t looking bad overall. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) only rose 0.02% in January, which was in line with expectations. The Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, also matched expectations, gaining 0.02%. Year-over-year gains were 2.9% for the general CPI and 2.3% for the Core CPI. If overall inflation was higher, economic growth could be threatened by rising prices, and the Fed would likely respond by raising interest rates. The Fed’s statement following the January FOMC report described price pressures as “subdued”, and indicated that they plan to keep rates low until at least late 2014.[3]

In simple English, last week was really a mixed bag. While we are happy with the stock market’s performance, progress in Europe, and low inflation, unrest in the Middle East is a wild card. Every time bad news out of that region hits headlines, speculators drive gas prices through the roof. At this point, all we can do is monitor the situation, hoping that with diplomatic pressure, Iran will listen to reason.

ECONOMIC CALENDAR

Monday: U.S. Markets closed for President’s Day
Wednesday: Existing Home Sales
Thursday: Jobless Claims, FHFA Housing Price Index, EIA Petroleum Status Report
Friday: Consumer Sentiment, New Home Sales

PERFORMANCE

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

Greece won a second massive financial bailout in the early hours of Tuesday morning when its partners in the 17-country Eurozone finally stitched together a €130 billion ($170 billion) rescue, meant to avoid a potentially disastrous default and secure the euro currency.[4]

Congress passed a payroll tax cut and job benefits bill in a rare show of bipartisan support. Under the new bill, workers would continue to receive a two percentage point increase in their paychecks (taken out of the 6.2% Social Security payroll tax). People out of work for more than six months would keep jobless benefits averaging about $300 a week.[5]

Jobless claims plunged last week to a nearly four-year low, in the latest bit of good news for the U.S. economy. Initial unemployment claims totaled 348,000 in the week ended Feb. 11, said the U.S. Department of Labor. That’s 13,000 less than the week before.[6]

Iran threatened to disrupt oil trade through Strait of Hormuz in response to pressure from the U.S. and European Union to shut down a uranium enrichment program aimed at producing nuclear weapons. Oil prices have been rising steadily since hitting a seasonal low in October.[7]

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 Housing Market Index (HMI) is a weighted average of separate diffusion indices based on a monthly survey of NAHB members designed to take the pulse of the single-family housing market. Each resulting index is then seasonally adjusted and weighted to produce the HMI.

The BLS Consumer Price Indexes (CPI) produces monthly data on changes in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services. Survey responses are seasonally adjusted and weighted to produce a composite index.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) is a composite economic index formed by averages of several individual leading economic indicators, which are weighted to produce the complete index.

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.

[2] http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/17/10435968-oil-price-surge-could-dampen-global-recovery

[3] http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-18/leading-indicators-point-to-sustained-u-s-growth-economy.html

[4] http://www.usatoday.com/money/world/story/2012-02-20/Greece-bailout/53183092/1

[5] http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/house-passes-payroll-tax-cut-jobless-benefit-bill-legislation-heads-senate-article-1.1024421

[6] http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/16/news/economy/unemployment_benefits/index.htm

If you’ve been following us on Facebook or Twitter lately, you probably know that several of us recently attend the Kingdom Advisor’s Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida. We spent three days listening to incredible speakers and attending numerous breakout sessions to help us serve you more effectively.

We also came away with copies of a brand new book that we think you’ll find extremely valuable. If things like “We can’t afford to give right now,” “The more we have, the happier we’ll be,” or “As long as we can make our payments, we’re okay. . . aren’t we?” sound all too familiar, you’re not alone. In fact there are millions of other Americans struggling with the same questions. The problem is that, at some point despite our good intentions, we’ve confused God’s view and the world’s view of money and have bought into the “money lies.” As a result, it’s no wonder that so many of us find ourselves scratching our heads when it comes to managing our finances!

Instead of merely writing yet another financial self-help tips book, seasoned financial expert Russ Crosson teams up with talented communicator Kelly Talamo in The Truth About Money Lies to expose the common lies that people believe about money. Through fictional, yet realistic, stories about everyday men and women struggling with these issues, as well as some of their own personal experiences, they refute these lies by revealing what God’s Word says is the truth about money. Included are in-depth, yet easy to understand, discussions about debt, contentment, budgets, saving, taxes, inheritances, working, and many many more issues.

We encourage you to check out the link on the BWC Bookshelf on our website and let us know how we can help you. Remember, God owns it all and we’re just stewards of His resources. Let’s use them wisely!

Here’s a little preview from Chapter 1:

The Lie: “There are unlimited uses of money.”

The Truth: “At the end of the day, anything you do with your money will                 fall into one of five categories. . .”

The BWC Family Continues to Grow

Notice another new name on the sidebar? Cassandra Chandler is the latest addition to the team as our Executive Vice President & Director of Strategic Development and serves clients from our newest branch office in Iselin, NJ. She is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER(TM) professional and holds a Master’s Degree in Adult Education and an MBA, both from Rutgers. She is currently pursuing the Qualified Kingdom Advisor designation and is the author of The Retirement Game for Nurses.

Prior to joining BWC last month, Cassandra managed Education and Organizational Development for 5,000+ employees as a health care executive before owning her own financial services practice. These skills, coupled with her passion for lifelong learning, have greatly equipped her for her present role leading strategy and developing client education at BWC.

To find out more about Cassandra or her book, visit our website. We know you’re going to love getting to know her as much as we have!

2012 Shining Lights Scholarship

We are pleased to announce that we will soon be offering a college scholarship to help a deserving student be a Shining Light for Christ on his or her college campus and in the community. It is intended for high school seniors or current college students planning to attend a secular 4-year college or university as a committed Christian beginning in the Fall. This opportunity is open to both clients and their families, as well as the general public. Please visit our website for full details and the application form. The deadline for returned applications is April 20th. Download Application Here.

One Final Note

Don’t forget to find us on Facebook and follow @Beacon_Wealth on Twitter!

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%.[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%.[2] 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

PERFORMANCE

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.[3]

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.[4]

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.[5]

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.”[6]

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.

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.[1]

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.”[2] 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.[3] 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.”[4]

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

PERFORMANCE

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.[5]

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.[6]

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.[7]

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.[8]

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.

With only a couple trading days left in January, stocks are positioned to lock in four straight months of gains and finish with their best performance since 1997.[1] Unfortunately, some momentum was lost last week after the government said the U.S. economy expanded at a slower-than-expected pace in the fourth quarter. For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq notched modest gains.[2]

Because the figures reported by the Commerce Department were lower than expected and stocks pulled back, should that lead us to conclude that economic growth was poor? Not at all. Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation’s economic health, grew at a 2.8% annual rate during the last three months of the year, which is a major improvement from the 1.8% we saw during the third quarter, and is the fastest growth we’ve experienced since the second quarter of 2010.[3]

On the other hand, when you look closely at the numbers, there are some important points to note. One is that the majority of the growth came from one area – business inventories. Private businesses increased inventories $56.0 billion in the fourth quarter, following a decrease of $2.0 billion in the third. Of course that sounds wonderful, but it can also be a double-edged sword. While it shows that businesses are optimistic about the health of the economy and feel confident they can sell their goods, if sales fall short of expectations, it can create a financial burden for them in the future. Only time will tell how this works out.

Another important point is that “real final sales of domestic product” – GDP less the change in private inventories – only increased 0.8% in the fourth quarter, compared with an increase of 3.2% in the third. So while GDP as a whole picked up in the fourth quarter, real sales slowed down. This is likely one of the reasons why the Federal Reserve lowered its outlook for the economy in 2012, announcing that they expect it to grow between 2.2% and 2.7% this year.[4]

What’s next? The week ahead is a heavy one for economic data that includes personal income, consumer confidence, auto sales, manufacturing, construction, and the key nonfarm payrolls figure at the end of the week. In addition to the economic news, nearly 100 companies in the S&P 500 will report quarterly earnings.

Why are all these numbers important? For months, U.S. economic indicators have taken a back seat to headlines out of Europe, but as confidence grows that the Eurozone will survive, focus should gradually shift back to the health of the U.S. economy. We’ll be watching this data and sharing our thoughts with you along the way.

ECONOMIC CALENDAR

Monday – Personal Income and Outlays
Tuesday – Employment Cost Index, Redbook, S&P Case-Shiller HPI, Chicago PMI, Consumer Confidence
Wednesday – Motor Vehicle Sales, ADP Employment Report, ISM Manufacturing Index, Construction Spending, EIA Petroleum Status Report
Thursday – Jobless Claims, Productivity and Costs
Friday – Monster Employment Index, Employment Situation, Factory Orders, ISM Non-Manufacturing Index

PERFORMANCE

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

On Friday, the Obama administration said it was expanding eligibility for its Home Affordable Modification Program, known as HAMP, to borrowers with higher debt loads and tripling the incentives it pays banks that reduce principal on loans. While the new changes could greatly expand the number of homeowners that receive help from HAMP, subsidizing real estate investors with taxpayer money could also create controversy.[5]

The leaders of Denmark and Finland said China is “willing” to contribute to International Monetary Fund efforts to bail out debt-ridden southern Europe, within limits. Speaking at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, prime minister of Denmark, and Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Tapani Katainen stressed the need for China and the European Union to cooperate on some form of bailout from the IMF.[6]

A U.N. nuclear team arrived in Tehran, Iran early Sunday for a mission expected to focus on Iran’s alleged attempt to develop nuclear weapons.[7]

Facebook may finally be ready to go public. The company is planning to file IPO registration papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission next Wednesday, according to the Wall Street Journal. Few additional details are available so far.[8]

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.

[1] http://blogs.barrons.com/stockstowatchtoday/2012/01/27/another-big-week-puts-dow-in-strong-position/

[2] http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/29/markets/sunday_lookahead/index.htm?iid=Lead

[3] http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/gdpnewsrelease.htm

[4] http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/25/news/economy/fed_interest_rates/index.htm?iid=EL

[5] http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/27/real_estate/hamp_program/index.htm?iid=HP_LN

[6] http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2012/01/28/china-closer-to-bailing-out-europe/

[7] http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/01/28/un-nuclear-team-arrives-in-iran/

[8] http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2012/01/27/report-facebook-ipo-filing-next-week/?iid=HP_MPM

There’s an old adage you may have heard recently which says: “As goes January, so goes the year.” What is this January barometer all about? According to the Stock Traders Almanac, the month of January tends to predict the direction of the market with an 88.5% accuracy ratio, with only seven major errors recorded since 1950.[1] Those aren’t bad numbers.

What causes the “January effect”? Most sources attribute it to a calendar-related anomaly in the financial markets where security prices increase in the month of January because investors sell losing positions in December and reposition themselves after the first of the year, or vice-versa.[2] While this is certainly not exact science, and it is far too early to know if January will accurately predict the rest of the year, it is interesting to note.

So far, the Bulls are really showing off. With seven trading days left to go in January, the benchmark indexes are all up between 4% and 7%. The S&P 500’s 4.5% YTD gain marks its best start since 1987![3] So does this bull have legs? Skeptics will tell you it doesn’t and idealists will tell you it does. We’d like to tell you that we don’t know. We’re not clairvoyant. (Sorry, we know you wish we were.) What we do know is that markets don’t move up or down in a straight line, and we won’t be surprised if we experience a pullback in the weeks ahead. This is not something we fear; it’s just the nature of the stock market.

There are both positive and negative factors at work right now, and we are monitoring many of them. Europe is still on the map, and our economy is growing at a slower-than-average rate that leaves it somewhat vulnerable to external shocks. At the same time, we see the strengthening in various sectors such as financials, basic materials, durable goods, and technology[4] as reasons to sustain our optimism that both the stock market and the economy will fare well in 2012.

ECONOMIC CALENDAR

Tuesday – Redbook
Wednesday – Pending Home Sales Index, EIA Petroleum Status Report, FOMC Meeting Announcement
Thursday – Durable Goods Orders, Jobless Claims, New Home Sales, Leading Indicators
Friday – GDP, Consumer Sentiment

PERFORMANCE

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 economy probably grew at its fastest pace in a year and a half during the fourth quarter; a key U.S. report is expected to show. The current MarketWatch forecast of economists predicts 3.0% growth in the fourth quarter, well above the third-quarter level of 1.8%. That would be the fastest pace of growth in a year and a half.[5]

Amid heightened tensions with Iran, an American aircraft carrier has sailed through the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf. The Navy says it’s a routine maneuver. Iran recently suggested it might use military force to close the Strait in retaliation for new international economic sanctions.[6]

The average price for regular gasoline at U.S. filling stations rose 3.48 cents to $3.3944 a gallon last week, according to Lundberg Survey Inc.[7]

Postage rates jumped Sunday for the first time in two and a half years as the U.S. Postal Service hopes to generate more revenue amid historic losses. First-class postage stamps now cost 45 cents each; a price jump that officials anticipate will generate an additional $888 million in annual revenue.[8]

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.

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