Market Perspectives

4th Quarter 2011   A flight to quality benefited most domestic indices for the quarter and the year.  While international equities were positive for the quarter they were down substantially for the year.   The S&P 500 was up 11% for the quarter and was flat for the year.   Bonds were mixed with Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index up 1% for the quarter and 8% for the yea ...

3rd Quarter 2011   It was the worst quarter for equities since 2008.  Global equities were down 17% for the quarter and 14% year-to-date while the S&P was down 14% quarterly and 9% for the year.  European equities were the worst performers down 23% this quarter and 16% year-to-date while Asian indices were down 12% quarterly and 14% for the year.  Not a single Dow Jones C ...

2nd Quarter 2011   For the quarter, domestic equity indices managed small gains or losses while holding on to substantial returns year-to-date.  The Dow was up 1.4% for the quarter and 8.6% for the year.  The S&P and NASDAQ were both almost flat for the quarter, up 0.1% and down -0.3%, but up 6% and 4.5% for the year.  A dominant factor from a U.S. investor’s perspective ...

1st Quarter 2011   It was another positive quarter for U.S. equity investors.   The Dow was up 6.4%, the S&P 5.9% and the NASDAQ 4.8%.  The market’s resilience in the face of the Fukushima earthquake, Middle East rebellions, and euro uncertainties was remarkable.  The U.S. economy continued to demonstrate significant signs of recovery with 216,000 new jobs in March and a ...