News and Opinion

(Michael Schwartz) - So far, so good. The S&P 500 index rose every day last week and finished with a 2.7% gain. This gain came despite a disappointing jobs report, which showed another 85,000 jobs were lost in December. A survey from MarketWatch expected a gain of 15,000 jobs. On the bright side, temporary-help jobs rose by 46,500. This is often a precursor to growth in full-time jobs.

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(Tad Majerek) - Like most people, you’ve probably spent years building your retirement savings in an IRA by saving in a disciplined manner and investing to help it grow. If you’d like your children and grandchildren to benefit from your retirement savings, consider the benefits of a “stretch-out” IRA.

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(Tad Majerek) - If you are like many investors, you most probably have been noticing and keeping up with the recent market fluctuations. During these times, you may be looking for opportunities to help protect your investments and possibly generate some income from your portfolio. The good news is there are several strategies investors can use to help increase the income generated from their investments and help protect your portfolio during turbulent markets. Let’s take a look at some of these strategies:

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(Lee Siler) - Stocks are indicating a strong opening on the first trading day of the New Year. The question on everybody's mind is whether or not stocks can perform anywhere close to 09's performance? As intelligent investors, we know that at some point this year the Fed will start cutting stimulus to the economy and in fact, they already have to some degree. Considering we're at historically low interest rates there's only one direction they can go. Obviously, Wall Street is listening to every word the Fed says to try and get a clue when the tightening trend will begin. The fact of the matter is that rates have started going up; it's just the Fed Funds rate is still holding still.

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(Hampton Scurlock) - Many may not understand what a Roth IRA is, and what some of the benefits of a Roth IRA are. But there are three advantages that a Roth IRA can offer if your estate value is under the Applicable Exclusion Amount ($1.5 million in 2005, and $2 million in years 2006 & 2007) and if one of your planning goals is to leave as much money as possible to your heirs.

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(Hampton Scurlock) - For many investors, investing typically begins with one stock or mutual fund. Over time, other selections are added because many people understand it may not be prudent to invest everything in a single security, even if it has a “blue chip” reputation. However, just “spreading money around” in a haphazard way may create only an illusion of diversification.

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(Michael Schwartz) - Take your pick – gold surging past $1,100 an ounce, the jobless rate hitting double digits, Warren Buffett’s, “all-in wager on the economic future of the United States,” a 3.2% rise in the S&P 500 index – there was something for everyone last week in the economy and the financial markets.

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(Lee Siler) - Stocks took a big hit yesterday on a stronger dollar and Citigroup news. The demand for the Citigroup secondary offering was much less than the company thought. Citi was trying to get around $3.35 a share for the $20+ billion offering. The company ended up pricing the offering at $3.15. At this price the Treasury department decided not to sell our tax payers shares at this time. The Treasury said they would hold off for 90 days and after that would sell within the next 12 months.

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(Caren Sgarlato) - For many investors, investing typically begins with one stock or mutual fund. Over time, other selections are added because many people understand it may not be prudent to invest everything in a single security, even if it has a “blue chip” reputation. However, just “spreading money around” in a haphazard way may create only an illusion of diversification.

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(Lee Siler) - Big news this morning has Exxon/Mobil buying Natural Gas player XTO energy for $31 billion in stock. Exxon/Mobil will be issuing .7098 shares of their stock for each share of XTO. The deal helps XOM gain control of a huge portion of the natural gas market...The deal is valued at a 25% premium from Friday's close.

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