Investment Commentary – December 10, 2014 Dow – 17,533.15 (12/10/14 close) S&P 500 – 2,026.14 (12/10/14 close) 10-year Treasury – 2.16% (12/10/14 close) After 4 years when oil prices routinely ran more than $100 per barrel, it seemed like high energy prices might never go away. It was getting harder to find and develop new [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: Throughout your career, contributions to the Social Security fund have been deducted from your paychecks. You expect those benefits to be available to you when you need them someday, and you may even be depending upon Social Security as a significant part of your future retirement income. It's important to keep [...]
Investment Commentary – December 3, 2014 Dow -17,879.55 (12/2/14 close) (all-time high) S&P 500 – 2,066.55 (12/2/14 close) 10-year Treasury – 2.29% (12/2/14) · Stock market performance has been impacted by a couple of big themes of late: Central bank stimulus overseas and the plunge in oil prices. · Last Friday OPEC took no action [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: As you approach your retirement years, it's time to start thinking about your future budget. Once you quit working, you'll be living off a combination of Social Security and the pension or investment income you've managed to establish during your career. As you enter the home stretch of your working years, [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: Employer-sponsored retirement plans are a valuable tool in securing your financial future. But like most tools, they must be used correctly in order to achieve the best results. Managing the assets within your retirement plan can be confusing. While it's important to keep in mind that there is no single plan [...]
Investment Commentary – November 19, 2014 Dow – 17,685.73 (11/19/14 close) S&P 500 – 2,048.72 (11/19/14 close) 10-year Treasury – 2.35% (11/19/14 close) · The broad equity markets have remained resilient in the face of lower energy prices because it is widely understood that the falling price of oil has more to do with the [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: The Social Security administration has announced that all benefits recipients will see a 1.7 percent increase in their monthly checks, beginning January 15, 2015. The increase is due to the program's annual cost of living adjustment (COLA), which is tied to the Consumer Price Index. When prices of goods and services [...]
Investment Commentary – November 12, 2014 Dow – 17,614.90 (11/11/14 close) (all-time high) S&P 500 – 2,039.68 (11/11/14 close) (all-time high) 10-year Treasury – 2.36% (11/11/14 close) After a strong September jobs report, the October report further confirmed that the summer weakness was probably a blip. The board of labor statistics (BLS) reported that nonfarm [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: Most people are aware that having life insurance is important, but a much bigger question is usually, “How much life insurance do I need?”. The truth is that there is no single answer that will work for everyone. But there are definitely factors most of us need to consider before arriving [...]
Investment Commentary – November 5, 2014 Dow – 17,383.84 (11/4/14 close) S&P 500 – 2,012.10 (11/4/14 close) 10-year Treasury – 2.34% (11/4/14 close) Republicans captured majority control of the Senate Tuesday, gaining at least 7 seats as Democrats faced strong political headwinds in midterm elections where discontent with President Obama was a decisive theme. In [...]