Posts Tagged ‘Economy’

Client Communications: Third Quarter Reports

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

October 25, 2011

To Our Valued Clients

Here are your Third Quarter Reports.

The Quarter to Forget, an October to Remember (so far)

As we told you in our October 7th e-mail, the third quarter produced the worst results for stocks and bonds since the market meltdown in the Fall of 2008, wiping out 2011 gains and putting returns solidly in the red as of September 30th.

The good news is that October has been a very strong month and returns for 2011 have returned to the black, or are close to it, as I write this in the last week of October.  If this week is decent, your Schwab October statements will bring a smile to your face and some joy to your heart.

Europe and Congress: Full of Promise but Resolution Still Elusive

Just as fear of a European meltdown and some troubling economic data about the pace of GDP growth and unemployment caused the terrible third quarter, the belief that European leaders now are serious about solving that problem and some solid U.S. earnings reports and resultant low p/e ratios, have caused the October rally.

In order for the rally to continue (more…)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Blog, Client Communications | No Comments »

Client Communication: Market and Debt Ceiling Update

Monday, July 11th, 2011

To Our Valued Clients and Friends

 June started out badly, but rallied at the end of the month and closed only moderately down for the month.  (Markets were down for the month, but are up for the year.  See below).

 The major U.S. stock indexes were down from 1% to 2.5% for the month.  The EAFE index (Developed International Markets) was down 1.2%, and the iShares EEM (Emerging International Markets) was down 0.94%.  For the year through June 30th, all major domestic and international stock indexes are up, from 8.6% for the DJIA and Russell 2000 (domestic small cap) Growth; to 0.91% for the iShares EEM.

Domestic and international bond indexes were negative for the month, with the Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index down 0.45% and the Barclays Capital Global Treasury Ex-US Index down 0.01%.  For the year through June 30th these indexes are positive.

Commodities and REITs, both domestic and international, were negative in June, and the commodity index has gone negative for the year.

All Starmont Client portfolios are positive for 2011 through June 30th—with the amount dependent on how their assets are allocated among the various asset groups.  So far in 2011 the higher the allocation to equities, the better the portfolio performance.  Your First Half Reports will be sent to you later in the month.

July Could Be A Volatile Month—Buckle Up!

(more…)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Blog, Client Communications, The Market | 1 Comment »

Politics Drives Stock Market Down

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Massachusetts Senate Election Creates Uncertainty in Washington

Stock prices normally are driven by earnings and how those earnings are valued (think p/e ratios).  Earnings are impacted by the state of the economy.  The economy appears to be recovering, although slowly, from its near death experience in the Fall of 2008.  So why the 3.5% drop in the market in January?

The victory of the Republican Senate candidate in Massachusetts on January 19th, and the implications of that victory for the passage of the Health Care legislation, or indeed the passage of any major legislation in 2010, roiled the market.

President Obama’s 70 minute State of the Union message the following week indicated that he and his people still are having trouble focusing on just a few priorities to which they might be able to get the Congress to agree

Markets hate uncertainty.  And there is nothing but uncertainty in Washington at the moment.

Tom Friedman wrote in the New York Times from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland that he was being asked about “political instability” in the United States, something he says he has never heard before.  “We’ve become unpredictable to the world” writes Friedman.  “We’re making people nervous.”  And markets hate political unpredictability.  That is why people traditionally invested in the United States, instead of in Russia, or Iran or Honduras.

(more…)

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Blog, The Market | 4 Comments »

Click to Read General & Research/Outlook Disclosures