2007 Charts of the Week
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- 2nd Quarter Market Review (as of 6/30/07)
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted July 6, 2007
- Capital markets, with the exception of the bond market, earned postive returns for investors in the second quarter of 2007.
- U.S. Dollar Versus Euro and Yen
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted June 29, 2007
- As the USD Continues to depreciate relative to the Euro and appreciate relative to the Yen, Euro-based investments will be worth more in U.S. dollars while Yen-based investments will be worth less.
- 30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rates
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted June 22, 2007
- Last week, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages as measured by Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey averaged 6.74%, up from 6.53% the prior week which was the highest the rates have been since July of last year.
- Home Sales
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted June 8, 2007
- New home sales experienced an unexpected jump of 16% in April. This followed a surprising jump in existing homes sales in February. However, the overall trend for home sales is down and analysts are continuing to monitor the housing market closely. The general consensus is that weakness in home sales will continue through the rest of the year as housing demand remains low.
- Global Interest Rates
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted June 8, 2007
- Recently, there has been a great deal of speculation in the news about whether or not the Federal Reserve will increase the Fed Funds Rate in 2007. The Fed Funds Rate is a key interest rate which the US Central Bank (the Federal Reserve) uses as a tool to help implement monetary policy in the US. If the Fed believes that the economy is growing too quickly they may implement a tightening policy by raising interest rates, which makes borrowing more expensive and hopefully slows the pace of economic growth.
- S&P 500 Record Close
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted June 1, 2007
- On Wednesday, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, a widely accepted measure of the domestic equity market, closed above its record high of 1527.5 set in March 2000. The previous record was set on March 24, 2000 just before the dotcom bubble burst. After the dotcom bubble burst the S&P 500 lost nearly half its value bottoming out at 776.8 on October 9, 2002. However, analysts are not anticipating a repeat performance as corporate earnings growth remains healthy and global demand for US products stays strong.
- Stable Value
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted May 24, 2007
- When investing in any asset class in the market, an investor assumes some level of risk.
- Risk and Reward
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted May 18, 2007
- When investing in any asset class in the market, an investor assumes some level of risk.
- Top Ten Countries in the MSCI EAFE Index
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted May 11, 2007
- The Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Europe, Australasia, and the Far East (EAFE) Index is a representative benchmark used to measure the performance of the international stock market as a whole, in US dollar terms.
- Treasury Inflation Protected Securities
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted May 4, 2007
- Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) are a type of US Treasury note or bond that are designed to help protect the bondholder from the effects of inflation.
- S&P 500 Sector Performance
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted April 27, 2007
- Just as the market as a whole can post a good or bad year, so too can individual sectors of the market.
- Gas Prices Approach Last Year's High
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted April 20, 2007
- The national average price of gasoline has been rising quickly over the past few months and causing concern with consumers.
- Consider the Tax Effect
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted April 13, 2007
- The effect to taxes on investment earnings can be considerable. For example, if you were to assume and annual salary of $40,000, an annual contribution rate of 8%, an average annual return of 7%, and a 25% federal tax bracket over a 40 year period the ending balance in a tax deferred account would be 60% greater.
- 1st Quarter Market Review (as of 3/31/07)
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted April 5, 2007
- Capital markets finished the first quarter of 2007 with positive results. Bonds as measured by the Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond Index rose 1.50% for the quarter and are up 6.59% for the trailing year. U.S. equities represented by the S&P 500 Index (larger capitalization stocks) and the Russell 3000 Index (broad stock market) also posted positive returns for both the quarter and 1-year periods. International equity markets represented by the MSCI EAFE Index made the largest gains over both periods, returning 4.15% for the quarter and 20.69% over the last year.
- Interest Rate Changes
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted March 30, 2007
- In a "normal" interest rate environment, short-term rates are lower than long-term rates as investors expect higher yields for having their money tied up for longer periods. Over the past year, however, shorter-term yields have been higher than longer-term yields. Historically, long periods of interest rate "inversion" have been correlated with an onset of economic weakness.
- The Current Account
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted March 23, 2007
- A nation's Current Account reflects the value of imports, exports, and the current earnings on capital invested.
- Portfolio Rebalancing
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted March 16, 2007
- Retirement investors should remember to periodically check their asset allocations to make sure they are still close to their targets, and rebalance if necessary.
- Market Volatility
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted March 9, 2007
- Volatility, as measured by the Chicago Board of Options Exchange VIX Index, increased significantly last week.
- Asset Growth in Target-Date Funds
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted March 2, 2007
- In recent years, target-date funds have been increasing in popularity at an accelerating rate.
- Yearly Fund Inflows
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted February 23, 2007
- The graph above shows the flow of new money into equity funds on a year by year basis.
- Money Supply
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted February 16, 2007
- The Federal Reserve Board attempts to use money supply as a tool to influence inflation in the economy.
- Retirement Balance Based on 4% Withdrawal Per Year
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted February 9, 2007
- Investors should remember that even during retirement it is still important to keep a long-term focus in order to stay ahead of inflation and withdrawals.
- Reduction of Risk Over Time
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted February 2, 2007
- The market may flucuate in the short-run, but returns tend to stabilize in the long-run.
- Patchwork Chart of Investment Returns
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted January 26, 2007
- The table of investment returns ranks key indices, representing asset classes, in order of performance (high to low) each year. Using this table, we can make several observations about the market.
- Long-term Focus and the 2% Difference
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted January 19, 2007
- Increasing the amount you contribute to your retirement account by as little as two percent can make a significant difference over time.
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