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Independent Investor | November 2014
Reduce Debt, the Systematic Way As the holidays approach, you may be planning a gift list for those special people in your life. You may also be worrying about adding to your already sizeable credit card balances. In America today, carrying some debt is unavoidable, and even desirable, for most households. But between mortgages, car…
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Portfolio Compass | Week of November 10, 2014
Navigating the Markets Compass Changes No changes. Investment Takeaways Although the S&P 500 has achieved our total return forecast for 2014 (10 – 15% gains), we continue to favor U.S. stocks through year end with support from continued steady earnings growth.* We favor U.S. stocks over their foreign counterparts due primarily to lackluster growth and…
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Current Conditions Index | Week of November 10, 2014
How to Use the CCI The CCI is a weekly measure of the conditions that underpin our outlook for the markets and economy. It provides real-time insight into the trends that shape our recommended actions to manage portfolios and has proven to be a useful investment decision-making tool. This index is not intended to be…
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Bond Market Perspectives | Week of November 10, 2014
Highlights We find it premature to draw conclusions regarding oil prices and the performance of the broad high-yield bond market. Default rates, the pace of economic growth, and the strength of credit quality metrics among high-yield issuers–not oil prices –will be the primary drivers of high-yield bond market returns. High-Yield Bonds & Oil Prices The…
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Weekly Economic Commentary | Week of November 10, 2014
Highlights The drop in gasoline prices over the fall and summer months has been a plus for spending, but other factors have a much bigger impact on the consumer. The better tone to the labor market, the sharp rise in household net worth, and prerecession levels of consumer confidence all act as supports for the…
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Weekly Market Commentary | Week of November 10, 2014
Highlights While the certainty provided by an election outcome has been positive for the stock market over time, our positive stock market outlook is based much more so on fundamentals. It does not get more fundamental than earnings, which are on track to grow by 10% year over year for the second straight quarter. Earnings…