Current Events: Last
week proved to be another strong week for the Dow Jones Industrial and S&P
500 indexes, backed by better than expected earnings from many corporations. This
was the first time in 5 years that the S&P 500 index touched the 1500 mark.
While Thursday's slide in the Nasdaq was enough to keep the index from
finishing the week on a high like its counterparts.
What to Look for This Week
The busiest week of
the fourth quarter is ahead as 122 of the S&P 500 companies are scheduled
to release earnings. Many investors are looking for a continuation of current
positive trends as many companies have reported better than expected earnings
this quarter, in large part due to very poor expectations from Wall Street.
News Affecting the Markets
Apple, the innovative
giant in the field of technology for over the past decade, suffered a
significant loss in value on Thursday as over 800,000 shares, worth roughly
$300 million, were quickly dumped. News from the tech leader in recent months
has not been promising as cuts in iPhone 5 manufacturing due to less than
expected demand has caused unforeseen weakness. The latest bit of bad news to
strike Apple comes from the trading community. Those in use of technical
analysis have now publicly noted the head and shoulders pattern that has
appeared, which has lead to speculation that more of a slide is to come.
Smart Investing
Retirement Income
Property Planning: If you purchase the
right property at the right price and on the right terms a rental property can
produce significantly more income than traditional passive investments. If you
plan to finance your purchase with a mortgage, you'll need to take action
before you retire. Mortgage lending guidelines typically require applicants to
be employed and have at least two years of steady employment history in the
same occupation. Lenders require a substantial down payment, typically 30% or
more, if you won't be occupying the property. If you don't have the cash to
make such a large down payment, consider using your IRA funds. All equity
growth and income from rental receipts will grow inside your IRA tax-free.
Purchasing the property with funds inside a Roth IRA, on which you've already
paid taxes, means all your earnings and equity can grow tax-free perpetually.
Owning income-producing property can be a viable resource to provide retirement
income and leave a legacy to pass on to your beneficiaries, but it's important
to have as much knowledge as you can going into the purchase so you have
realistic monetary expectations.
Earnings for the Week
Monday: BMC Software Inc (BMC) {After the Close},
Caterpillar Inc (CAT), Celanese Corp (CE) {After the Close}, Plum Creek Timber
Company Inc (PCL) {After the Close}, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL), Seagate
Technology PLC (STX) {After the Close}, Union Bankshares Inc (UNB), VMware Inc
(VMW) {After the Close}, Yahoo! Inc (YHOO) {After the Close}
Tuesday: ACE Limited
(ACE) {After the Close}, AK Steel Holding Corp (AKS), Amazon.Com Inc (AMZN)
{After the Close}, Ashland Inc (ASH), Boston Properties Inc (BXP) {After the
Close}, Boston Scientific Corp (BSX), CapitalSource Inc (CSE) {After the
Close}, CIT Group Inc (CIT), Corning Inc (GLW), D.R. Horton, Inc. (DHI),
Danaher Corp (DHR), Eli Lilly and Co (LLY), Ford Motor Co (F), Harley-Davidson
Inc (HOG), Harris Corp (HRS), Illinois Tool Works Inc (ITW), International
Paper Co (IP), JetBlue Airways Corp (JBLU), Jones Lang LaSalle Inc (JLL) {After
the Close}, Lexmark International Inc (LXK), Nucor Corp (NUE), Peabody Energy
Corp (BTU), Pfizer Inc (PFE), Ryland Group Inc (RYL) {After the Close},
Tupperware Brands Corp (TUP), Tyco International Ltd (TYC), United States Steel
Corp (X), Valero Energy Corp (VLO)
Wednesday: ADT Corp (ADT), Ameriprise Financial Inc (AMP)
{After the Close}, AvalonBay Communities Inc (AVB) {After the Close}, Boeing Co
(BA), ConocoPhillips (COP) {After the Close}, Electronic Arts Inc (EA) {After
the Close}, Facebook Inc (FB) {After the Close}, Health Net Inc (HNT), Hess
Corp (HES), L-3 Communications Holdings Inc (LLL), Manpower Inc (MAN), Murphy
Oil Corp (MUR) {After the Close}, Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC), Owens-Illinois
Inc (OI) {After the Close}, Rockwell Automation Inc (ROK), Southern Co (SO),
TCF Financial Corp (TCB), {After the Close}, {After the Close}, {After the
Close}, {After the Close}, {After the Close}, {After the Close}, {After the
Close}, {After the Close}, {After the Close}, {After the Close}, {After the
Close}, {After the Close}, {After the Close}, {After the Close}, {After the
Close}, {After the Close}, {After the Close}, {After the Close}, {After the
Close}, {After the Close}, {After the Close}
Thursday: Aetna Inc
(AET), Alliance Data Systems Corp (ADS), Altria Group Inc (MO), Ball Corp
(BLL), Blackstone Group LP (BX), Cameron International Corp (CAM), Chubb Corp
(CB) {After the Close}, Colgate-Palmolive Co (CL), CONSOL Energy Inc (CNX),
Dominion Resources Inc (D), Dow Chemical Co (DOW), Eastman Chemical Co (EMN)
{After the Close}, Essex Property Trust Inc (ESS) {After the Close}, Harman
International Industries Inc (HAR), Helmerich & Payne Inc (HP), Invesco Ltd
(IVZ), MasterCard Inc (MA), McKesson Corp (MCK) {After the Close}, Occidental
Petroleum Corp (OXY), PulteGroup Inc (PHM), Ryder System Inc (R),
Sherwin-Williams Co (SHW), Tellabs Inc (TLAB) {After the Close}, Tenneco Inc
(TEN), The Hershey Co (HSY), Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc (TMO), Time Warner
Cable Inc (TWC), Under Armour Inc (UA), United Parcel Service Inc (UPS),
Universal Technical Institute Inc (UTI) {After the Close}, Whirlpool Corp
(WHR), Xcel Energy Inc (XEL), Zimmer Holdings Inc (ZMH)
Friday: Chevron Corp
(CVX), Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM), Ingersoll-Rand PLC (IR), Lear Corp (LEA), Legg
Mason Inc (LM), LyondellBasell Industries NV (LYB), Mattel Inc (MAT), Merck
& Co Inc (MRK), National Oilwell Varco Inc (NOV)Newell Rubbermaid Inc
(NWL), Tidewater Inc (TDW), Tyson Foods Inc (TSN)
* Earnings dates and times are subject to change
Economic Data this
Week
MondayDurable Orders @ 8:30 AM for December (Est. = 1.6% to 2.5%, Prior = 0.8%)
Pending Home Sales @ 10:00 AM for December (Est. = 0.0%, Prior = 1.7%)
Tuesday
Case-Shiller 20-city Index @ 9:00 AM for November (Est. = 5.0 to 5.2%, Prior = 4.3%)
Consumer Confidence @ 10:00 AM for January (Est. = 61.0 to 65.1, Prior = 65.1)
Wednesday
MBA Mortgage Index @ 7:00 AM for 01/26 (Est. = n/a, Prior =
7.0%)ADP Employment Change @ 8:15 AM for January (Est. = 175K, Prior = 215K)
Crude Inventories @ 10:30 AM for 01/26 (Est. = n/a, Prior = 2.813M)
FOMC Rate Decision @ 2:15 PM for January (Est. = 0.25%, Prior = 0.25%)
Thursday
Initial Claims @ 8:30 AM for 01/26 (Est. = 345K to 365K,
Prior = 330K)Continuing Claims @ 8:30 AM for 01/19 (Est. = 3200K, Prior = 3157K)
Chicago PMI @ 9:15 AM for January (Est. = 50.0 to 50.5, Prior = 48.9)
Natural Gas Inventories @ 10:30 AM for 01/26 (Est. = n/a, Prior = -172)
Friday
Unemployment Rate @ 8:30 AM for January (Est. = 7.7%, Prior
= 7.8%)Non-Farm Payrolls @ 8:30 AM for January (Est. = 180K to 195K, Prior = 155K)
Michigan Sentiment @ 9:55 AM for January (Est. = 70.5 to 71.4, Prior = 71.3)
ISM Index @ 10:00 AM for January (Est. = 49.5 to 50.5, Prior = 50.7)
Construction Spending @ 10:00 AM for December (Est. = 0.3% to 0.5%, Prior = -0.3%)
Auto Sales @ 2:00 PM for January (Est. = n/a, Prior = 5.5M)
Truck Sales @ 2:00 PM for January (Est. = n/a, Prior = 5.5M)
