In April, I ran my first marathon. Running a marathon was never a bucket list item for me or anything I wanted to achieve. It wasn’t important. It was never on my radar. Hockey is the sport I played all my life – so unless the marathon included full contact, I wasn’t so interested. Finding […]
Archive | 2017 First Quarter Report
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2017 First Quarter Report
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Are we in the late stages of a bull market-that time when the market suddenly takes off like a rocket for no apparent reason?
Over the last eight years, the S&P 500 index has returned more than 300%. But the tail end of this run seems to have accelerated the trend. The first quarter of 2017 provided the highest returns for U.S. large-cap stocks since the last three months of 2013. The Nasdaq index has booked its 21st record close of the year so far, and the indices have recorded a 30% rise over the past six quarters, marking the fastest advance since 2006.
The first quarter of 2017 has seen the Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index-the broadest measure of U.S. stocks-rise 5.72%, while the comparable Russell 3000 index gained 5.91% in the first quarter.
Looking at large cap stocks, the Wilshire U.S. Large Cap index gained 6.01% in the first quarter. The Russell 1000 large-cap index finished the first quarter with a 6.23% performance, while the widely-quoted S&P 500 index of large company stocks was up 5.53% in the first three months of 2017.
Meanwhile, the Russell Midcap Index gained 5.15% in the first quarter.
Sources:
Marketwatch-Dabate
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The best apps to block robocalls on cellphones – from The Washington Post
“Call me, maybe?” is on the brink of becoming “Call me, never.” Robocalls, those computer-generated shysters, are making some people stop answering the phone altogether. The rest of us trust unknown calls about as much as truck-stop sushi. By several estimates, Americans got more than 5.2 billion automated calls in March — a record of about 16 […]
LONGEST BULL MARKET IN HISTORY AND WHAT IT TELL US
A Bull market is defined as a period that starts at the bottom of the previous bear market (a market drop of at least 20%), and continues to move up without a new bear market drop of 20%. By that definition, we have been in a Bull market far longer than any previous Bull markets. […]
The Equifax Fiasco: How to Respond to a Data Breach
Amidst the fires in the west and the hurricanes in the south, and continual worry about friends and family located in all parts of the country, you may have read that hackers broke into the Equifax database and stole personal information tied to 143 million people. While the safety and care of people is most important, we […]
It’s May … let’s Appreciate Mothers, let’s Appreciate Women
In the Colman Family, May is an unusually hectic month of the year. There are several birthdays, an anniversary, school endings, and… of course, Mother’s Day. It was common to wish for 60 days in May just to handle the “extras” – almost doubling the 31 days our calendar provides. That wish has never been […]
Higher Rates: The Tempest in the Teapot
Anybody who was surprised that the Federal Reserve Board decided to raise its benchmark interest rate this week probably wasn’t paying attention. The U.S. economy is humming along, the stock market is booming and the unemployment rate has fallen faster than anybody expected. The incoming administration has promised lower taxes and a stimulative $550 billion […]
With Gratitude and Peace
The Acorn offers many metaphors and symbols, including a few noted below. Members of Colman Knight share this token with you during the present Thanksgiving season as a symbol of precious life and the invitation to nourish all life with care, connection and dignity. May this Thanksgiving generate a wellspring of gratitude in you for […]
The 2016 Presidential Election and your Investments
Whether you are a Democrat, Republican or Independent, the 2016 Presidential Election seems to be heading towards a Hillary Clinton victory. We do not know who will win but so far it appears that unless a major disaster befalls the Clinton campaign, Hillary Clinton will be our next president. With that stated, it is important […]
Brexit (British Exit of the Eurozone) And You
Although we sent something out this past Friday, the events of Brexit are so dramatic that another more in depth discussion is warranted. In general, your portfolios are behaving as we expected and the surprise Brexit vote will not create a liquidity or banking crisis similar to the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. We […]
Does the Social Security Administration (SSA) Really Need Military Assault Weapons?
In a recent Op Ed. piece in the Wall Street Journal, Tom Coburn and Adam Andrezejewski opine about the amount of military assault weapons issued to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and other agencies. The article talked about the billions spent by our non-defense government agencies to purchase military style weapons and ammunition to potentially […]