MWBoone & Associates Wealth Management blog

Current Conditions Index

2010-03-09T17:38:29Z

Over the past week, the LPL Financial Current Conditions Index held steady at 1.7. The level of the Current Conditions Index indicates an environment fostering trend-like growth in the economy and markets. We expect that the CCI may…..

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www.wboone.com/library/Current_Conditions_Index_3_3_10

A Tale of Two Surveys

2010-03-09T17:37:16Z

Key Reports Last Week:

The economic data last week was a mixed bag, but financial markets generally reacted well, even to the data that fell short of expectations. Many of the U.S. economic reports last week were impacted by severe weather in February, but the impact was more muted than we (and most market participants) expected. The key report of the week was the February jobs report. Bad weather kept more than……

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www.mwboone.com/library/Weekly_Economic_Commentary_3_8_2010

Groundhog Day Comes Late

2010-03-02T20:57:39Z

Groundhog Day came late in February for the stock market. Last Thursday’s worsening weekly unemployment claims data spooked stock market investors worried about job growth as February winter storms negatively impacted the data. In that labor report, the stock market saw……

To see the rest of this article, please click on the link below: www.mwboone.com/library/Weekly_Market_Commentary_3_1_10

A Blizzard of Data

2010-03-02T20:46:58Z

Key Reports Last Week:

It was definitely a mixed bag for U.S. economic data last week, with more good news on the Business sector offset by some disturbing news on the consumer sector and the Labor Market. On balance, the market reacted well to the mix of generally weaker news, suggesting……

To see the rest of this article, please click on the link below: www.mwboone.com/library/Weekly_Economic_Commentary_3_1_10

Watch Your Step

2010-02-24T17:47:59Z

The Federal Reserve moved another step in the process of “normalizing” monetary policy last week, announcing a 25 basis point increase to the discount rate—the rate the Fed charges banks who borrow money from the Fed—after the market closed on Thursday. The move was well telegraphed, as Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke mentioned ……

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www.mwboone.com/library/Weekly_Economic_Commentary_2_22_10

Snow Day

2010-02-18T00:14:11Z

Believe it or not, 49 of the 50 states (sorry, Hawaii) had some snow on the ground on Friday, February 12, capping off a historic week for snowfall in many mid-Atlantic cities. Barring an unlikely heat wave over the final half of the month, February’s harsh weather pattern is likely to impact economic data ranging from……

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www.mwboone.com/library/Weekly_Economic_Commentary_2_16_10

Where Are the Jobs?

2010-02-09T19:02:04Z

The economic data released last week was solid, but largely overlooked, as markets focused on sovereign credit risk in southern Europe. The week’s attention grabbing report, the January employment report, was……

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www.mwboone.com/library/Weekly_Economic_Commentary_2_08_10

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly… And the FOMC, Too

2010-02-02T17:53:38Z

The data released last week (and early on Monday, February 1) can be grouped into The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. The “Good” news dominated the “Bad” and “Ugly”, suggesting that the economic data was……

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www.mwboone.com/library/Weekly_Economic_Commentary_2_1_10

FOMC Meeting, Q4 GDP Report On Tap This Week

2010-01-26T18:38:27Z

The economic data released last week was largely a sideshow, given the news on the special election in Massachusetts, financial regulation, the late -week drama surrounding the reappointment of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and policy tightening in China. The two most disturbing reports released last week were……

To see the rest of this article, please click on the link below: www.mwboone.com/library/Weekly_Economic_Commentary_01_25_10

Lost and Found

2010-01-21T16:05:35Z

Many consider the 2000s to be a “lost decade” for stock market investors. This view is not surprising since the 2000s marked the biggest loss for the S&P 500 of any decade, including the 1930s. However, it wasn’t what you invested, as much as how……

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www.mwboone.com/library/Weekly_Market_Commentary_1_19_10

Q4 GDP Tracking to a 4.5% Gain; Relatively Quiet Week Ahead

2010-01-19T23:25:48Z

On balance, last week’s economic data did little to change our forecast for real gross domestic product (GDP) growth in Q4 2009, or our outlook for Federal Reserve policy or inflation in 2010.

This week, the economic data takes a backseat to the deluge of Q4 corporate earnings reports, as the market……

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www.mwboone.com/library/Weekly_Economic_Commentary_01_19_10

Labor Market Recovery? Not Quite Yet.

2010-01-16T01:16:11Z

Last week’s batch of U.S. economic data provided a favorable backdrop for U.S. equity prices. The reports showed that while the U.S. economy continued to expand in late 2009/early 2010, it was not expanding quickly enough to warrant any immediate action from…….

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www.mwboone.com/library/Weekly_Economic_Commentary_1_11_10

Buyers and Sellers

2010-01-05T19:18:21Z

At the heart of it, all markets come down to buyers and sellers. Taking a look at who is buying and who is selling can tell us something about the durability of the market’s performance and what may lie ahead.

Presently, there are four notable trends in buying and selling in the stock market….

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http://www.mwboone.com/library/Weekly_Market_Commentary_1_4_10.pdf

Current Conditions Index

2009-12-24T16:13:51Z

The LPL Financial Current Conditions Index rose by 0.1 to 1.5, making another new high for the year. The CCI has had a late year growth spurt over the past several weeks. The index reflects current conditions aligned with the high end of our base case outlook, established at the end of last year, for mid-teen gains in the stock market an mid-single digit gains in the bond market in 2009, as measured by the S&P 500 index and the Barclays Aggregate Index respectively. The markets have already achieved these gains. However, the CCI implies the economy and markets are on track for an outcome somewhat better than our original base case outlook for 2009.

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http://www.mwboone.com/library/Current_Conditions_Index_12_23_09.pdf

The Decade Ahead

2009-12-22T21:03:03Z

Investors are ending the year bidding a fond good-bye to 2009 and good riddance to the decade of the 2000s. After the stock market's steady rise in the 1980s and 1990s, the volatility and losses of the 2000s made for an unpleasant experience for many investors.

Just how bad was the past decade? The 2000s were the worst decade in history for the S&P 500. In the 2000s, the S&P 500 total return (including dividends) is down about 11%, or an annualized loss of -1% for the decade. That is worse than the -.01% annualized loss during the Great Depression decade of the 1930s.

To see the rest of the article, please click on the link below:

http://www.mwboone.com/library/Weekly_Market_Commentary_12_21_09.pdf