The Markets
If anyone doubted the power of Twitter, their skepticism was laid to rest this week. Early Tuesday afternoon, a tweet from the Associated Press reported President Obama had been injured by explosions in the White House. Stock, bond, and commodity markets fell sharply on the news and then rebounded when the Associated Press communicated that its Twitter account had been hacked. This wasn’t the first time such a thing had happened on Twitter or the first time false and market moving information had been posted. In February, the stocks of Burger King and Jeep moved after a post on each company’s Twitter account indicated the company had been sold to a rival firm. The lesson to take from these events? Everyone may want to be wary about buying or selling investments based on news reported through Twitter or any other social media feeds.
Economic and earnings news was mixed during the week. Durable goods orders were off by almost 6 percent which was a mark in the negative column. There were fewer jobless claims than analysts expected which was a positive. The initial estimate of U.S. GDP growth for first quarter was released by the Commerce Department. Growth was about 2.5 percent annualized during the first quarter. That was significantly above fourth quarter’s 0.4 percent annualized growth, but below expectations for 3.0 percent growth. An above average number of companies beat expectations for the quarter. Sixty-nine percent of the companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 beat analysts’ expectations, according to Thomson Reuters data reported on Yahoo! Finance. Since 1994, about 63 percent of companies have beaten expectations on average.
Markets generally recovered from Twitter trickery and were unfazed by mixed economic news. Stock markets finish the week higher with the Standard & Poor’s 500 gaining 1.7 percent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising by 1.1 percent and NASDAQ Composite Index up 2.3 percent. Treasury prices were higher by the end of the week. According to Bloomberg.com, that’s an indication the world still believes U.S. Treasuries are a safe haven.
|
Data as of 4/26/13 |
1-Week |
Y-T-D |
1-Year |
3-Year |
5-Year |
10-Year |
| Standard & Poor’s 500 (Domestic Stocks) |
1.7% |
10.9% |
13.0% |
9.3% |
2.5% |
5.6% |
| 10-year Treasury Note (Yield Only) |
1.7 |
N/A |
2.0 |
3.8 |
3.8 |
3.9 |
| Gold (per ounce) |
4.7 |
-13.1 |
-11.0 |
8.4 |
10.6 |
16.0 |
| DJ-UBS Commodity Index |
0.3 |
-5.1 |
-5.5 |
-1.0 |
-9.2 |
1.7 |
| DJ Equity All REIT TR Index |
0.2 |
12.8 |
19.4 |
15.6 |
6.1 |
12.5 |
Notes: S&P 500, Gold, DJ-UBS Commodity Index returns exclude reinvested dividends (gold does not pay a dividend) and the three-, five-, and 10-year returns are annualized; the DJ Equity All REIT TR Index does include reinvested dividends and the three-, five-, and 10-year returns are annualized; and the 10-year Treasury Note is simply the yield at the close of the day on each of the historical time periods.
Sources: Yahoo! Finance, Barron’s, djindexes.com, London Bullion Market Association.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. N/A means not applicable.
what’s the story with gold? According to an April 2012 Gallup Poll, Americans believe gold is the best long-term investment. Overall, real estate, stocks, and savings accounts were near-followers. When Gallup broke the statistics down demographically, they found men prefer gold while women prefer real estate, independents prefer gold while Democrats and Republicans prefer stock, and wealthier people prefer real estate and stocks while middle and lower income Americans prefer gold.
Gold’s popularity is interesting because research suggests investors hold less than 20 percent of the world’s $9 trillion gold supply. Much of the world’s gold is held by central banks – the U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, and others – and other financial institutions. One of the world’s largest holders of gold is the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF is “an organization of 188 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.”
The IMF and central banks hold gold as foreign exchange currency reserves because gold is universally accepted and highly liquid, according to The Economic Times. The World Gold Council reports developed countries often hold a significant portion of their reserves in gold. The United States has 75.1 percent of its reserves in gold, Germany has 72.1 percent, Italy has 71.3 percent, France has 69.5 percent, and the Netherlands 58.7 percent. In addition, central banks in emerging countries hold gold reserves although their reserves are often smaller than those of developed countries. Early in 2013, 9.5 percent of Russia’s reserves were gold, 9.6 percent of India’s, and 1.6 percent of China’s.
Some experts believe high demand for gold from emerging countries combined with limited gold supply may push gold prices higher. Other experts have compared the recent highs of the gold market to the dotcom and housing bubbles. Who’s right? Only time will tell.
What’s happening at Solis Wealth Management?
Please enjoy this week’s commentary from ~ Tami Salzer, LPL Registered Administrative Associate
We are starting to say goodbye to all our winter clients, who are returning home where the weather is a bit more tolerable for the summer months.
I don’t mind the hot weather. It is a welcome change and a more relaxed pace for the valley, but by October I will be ready for the heat to disappear.
I attended the 75th Birthday for Palm Springs on Saturday April 20th where I watched a splendid fireworks show. My two granddaughters Lili and Demitra were in such amazement. I always enjoy life so much more when I have the opportunity to watch through there eyes.
I feel fortunate that my grandchildren are able to grow up in a country such as ours where people are so amazing under horrific circumstances. The people of Boston are to be commended for their resilience, kindness and patriotism.
God Bless to all, I hope you have a wonderful summer with family and friends!
As always, I am here if you need anything. ~ Tami
Best regards,
Greg R. Solis, AIF®
President
Solis Wealth Management
78-075 Main Street
Suite 204
La Quinta, CA 92253
Office: (760) 771-3339
Fax: (760) 771-3181
www.soliswealth.com (http://www.soliswealth.com/)
E-Mail: greg.solis@lpl.com
CA Insurance License #0795867
Greg R Solis is a Registered Representative with and
Securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC
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* This newsletter was prepared by Peak Advisor Alliance. Peak Advisor Alliance is not affiliated with the named broker/dealer.
* The Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general.
* The DJ Global ex US is an unmanaged group of non-U.S. securities designed to reflect the performance of the global equity securities that have readily available prices.
* The 10-year Treasury Note represents debt owed by the United States Treasury to the public. Since the U.S. Government is seen as a risk-free borrower, investors use the 10-year Treasury Note as a benchmark for the long-term bond market.
* Gold represents the London afternoon gold price fix as reported by the London Bullion Market Association.
* The DJ Commodity Index is designed to be a highly liquid and diversified benchmark for the commodity futures market. The Index is composed of futures contracts on 19 physical commodities and was launched on July 14, 1998.
* The DJ Equity All REIT TR Index measures the total return performance of the equity subcategory of the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) industry as calculated by Dow Jones.
* Yahoo! Finance is the source for any reference to the performance of an index between two specific periods.
* Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice and are not intended as investment advice or to predict future performance.
* Past performance does not guarantee future results.
* You cannot invest directly in an index.
* Consult your financial professional before making any investment decision.
Sources:
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-04-23/business/38764770_1_twitter-account-stock-market-jay-carney
http://articles.marketwatch.com/2013-04-24/economy/38775329_1_electrical-equipment-and-appliances-core-capital-goods-durable-goods
http://money.cnn.com/2013/04/25/news/economy/unemployment-benefits/index.html
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/wall-street-week-ahead-central-094959207.html
http://news.yahoo.com/wall-street-week-ahead-earnings-frenzy-apple-crushed-230827987–finance.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-24/treasuries-little-changed-after-35-billion-five-year-note-sale.html
http://www.businessinsider.com/gold-perceived-as-2nd-best-investment-2013-4
http://www.gallup.com/poll/154232/gold-americans-top-pick-among-long-term-investments.aspx
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2078535 (Click on the blue Download This Paper button to see the entire PDF document. First reference on Page 2; second reference on Page 44.)
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/slideshows/economy/why-central-banks-still-go-for-gold/what-is-the-percentage-of-gold-in-countries-forex-reserves/slideshow/19106065.cms
http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/gold.htm
http://www.businessinsider.com/countries-with-largest-gold-reserves-2013-4?op=1
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-25/gold-traders-most-bullish-in-month-as-buying-surges-commodities.html
http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2011ltr.pdf (Page 18)
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_faith.html