Weekly Newsletter January 27th - February 2nd

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

Monday
Durable 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)