PEEK OF THE WEEK
November 6, 2017
Leif Hagen & Donna Roberts
The Markets
“Taxes are what we pay for a civilized
society.”
U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Oliver Wendell Holmes’s statement is engraved on the front of the Internal
Revenue Service building in Washington, D.C. Some people agree with the
sentiment. Others believe it to be a logical fallacy.
It’s likely the tax plan proposed
by House Republicans last week had all of them talking, regardless of position
on the opinion spectrum. Some of the changes suggested in the proposal include:
·
Reducing
current marginal income tax brackets from seven to four (12, 25, 35, and
39.6 percent). The New York Times
reported, “While the lowest income rate would increase, typical families in the
existing 10 percent bracket would most likely be better off because of a larger
child tax credit and an increase in the standard deduction.”
·
Repealing
the Alternative Minimum Tax.
·
Increasing
the standard deduction to $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for married
couples, while eliminating personal exemptions (the $4,050 exemptions you claim
for yourself, your spouse, and your dependents).
·
Repealing
state and local tax deductions.
·
Reducing
(and eventually eliminating) estate taxes.
·
Setting
the corporate tax rate at 20 percent. Financial
Times wrote, “This will not increase wages or growth by much, and
nowhere near the wild claims made by its proponents. But a lower rate
combined with a broader tax base is not a terrible idea…To pay for the
cuts, the tax law writers have gone after corporate deductions…”
·
Eliminating
medical expense deductions. The Hill
explained, “Under current law, the IRS allows individuals to deduct qualified
medical expenses that exceed 10 percent of a person’s adjusted gross income for
the year. The bill would repeal that itemized deduction, effective in 2018.”
In addition to headline news
about tax reform, investors contemplated the appointment of Jerome Powell as
the next Chair of the Federal Reserve and embraced strong earnings. The
Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and NASDAQ
closed at record highs last week.
Data as of 11/3/17
|
1-Week
|
Y-T-D
|
1-Year
|
3-Year
|
5-Year
|
10-Year
|
|
Standard & Poor's 500
(Domestic Stocks)
|
0.3%
|
15.6%
|
23.9%
|
8.7%
|
12.8%
|
5.6%
|
|
Dow Jones Global ex-U.S.
|
0.9
|
21.6
|
22.9
|
4.0
|
5.4
|
-0.9
|
|
10-year Treasury Note (Yield
Only)
|
2.3
|
NA
|
1.8
|
2.4
|
1.7
|
4.3
|
|
Gold (per ounce)
|
0.1
|
9.3
|
-2.6
|
2.8
|
-5.5
|
4.6
|
|
Bloomberg Commodity Index
|
1.2
|
-0.7
|
3.9
|
-9.6
|
-9.1
|
-7.1
|
|
DJ Equity All REIT Total
Return Index
|
1.2
|
7.0
|
14.0
|
7.2
|
10.2
|
6.8
|
S&P 500, Dow Jones Global ex-US, Gold, Bloomberg
Commodity Index returns exclude reinvested dividends (gold does not pay a
dividend) and the three-, five-, and 10-year returns are annualized; the DJ
Equity All REIT Total Return Index does include reinvested dividends and the
three-, five-, and 10-year returns are annualized; and the 10-year Treasury
Note is simply the yield at the close of the day on each of the historical time
periods.
Sources: Yahoo! Finance, Barron’s, djindexes.com,
London Bullion Market Association.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. N/A means not
applicable.
are you bullish about Pet Tech? Early in the last century, authors like Anna Sewell (Black Beauty) and Jack London (White Fang)
wrote stories that encouraged readers to understand and empathize with animals. Today, entrepreneurs are developing devices to help
people better understand pets. Here are a few innovations in the pet-tech space
that may (or may not) become household necessities or in-demand holiday gifts:
·
Remote control pet interaction. You may be sitting in your office, miles
from home, but that doesn’t mean you can’t pull out your smartphone and fling a
treat to Fido or shine a laser for Boots to chase. That’s right, interactive
pet cameras let you see, feed, talk to, and play with your pet when you’re far
away.
·
Pet insight software. A tech writer at Slate wrote, “For the most part, [my cat’s] feelings, daily
activities, and health are a black box to me.” Apparently, it’s a common issue.
Entrepreneurs have invested $10 million to develop “deep learning software that
can analyze the huge quantities of pet video…to learn more about animal
behavior and how it's linked to animal health issues and moods.”
·
Fitness trackers for pets. Pet owners who suspect their animals are
too sedentary may want to invest in smart collars for their pets. Some collars
track temperature, heart rate, heart rate variability, activity, calories
burned, and more. Once a normal baseline has been established, pet owners may
be able to spot anomalies that signal health issues.
·
Robotic pets with artificial intelligence. Perhaps, you just don’t have the time to
feed, walk, and play with a pet. Maybe, you travel too much or dislike the
household wear and tear associated with pets. If you want a pet that behaves perfectly
and requires less care, you may want to consider a robotic alternative that’s
“packed with an array of sensors, cameras, microphones, and internet
connectivity, as well as far more advanced AI backed by cloud computing to
develop the dog’s personality,” according to The Guardian.
It’s a high-tech world, after all.
Weekly
Focus – Think About It
“Lots of people talk to
animals.... Not very many listen, though.... That's the problem.”
--Benjamin
Hoff, Author of The Tao of Pooh
Best Regards,
Leif M. Hagen
Leif M. Hagen, CLU, ChFC
LP Financial Advisor
Securities offered through LPL Financial Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC.
P.S. Please feel free to forward this commentary
to family, friends, or colleagues.
P.S.S. Also,
please remind your friends and family members becoming Medicare eligible that
we offer Medicare insurance and Part D options with NO COST to work with Leif as
their agent
For more information and resources visit our website at www.HagenFN.com
For more information and resources visit our website at www.HagenFN.com
For Medicare supplement and part D information and
resources, please visit MEDICAREforSENIORS.info
Please FOLLOW and “LIKE US” on FACEBOOK.com/HagenFN
Please Read our Blog @ http://HagenFinancialNetwork.blogspot.com
Please Follow our Tweets on Twitter.com/SafeLeif
Check out this: http://www.MedicareForSeniors.info
* This newsletter was
prepared by Peak Advisor Alliance. Peak Advisor Alliance is not affiliated with
the named broker/dealer.
* The Standard & Poor's
500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be
representative of the stock
market in general. You cannot invest directly in this index.
* The Standard & Poor’s
500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged index. Unmanaged index returns do not reflect
fees,
expenses, or sales charges.
Index performance is not indicative of the performance of any investment.
* The 10-year Treasury Note
represents debt owed by the United States Treasury to the public. Since the
U.S.
Government is seen as a
risk-free borrower, investors use the 10-year Treasury Note as a benchmark for
the long-term bond market.
* Gold represents the
afternoon gold price as reported by the London Bullion Market Association.
The gold price is set twice
daily by the London Gold Fixing Company at 10:30 and 15:00 and is expressed in
U.S. dollars per fine troy ounce.
* The Bloomberg Commodity
Index is designed to be a highly liquid and diversified benchmark for the
commodity futures market. The Index is composed of futures contracts on 19
physical commodities and was launched on July 14, 1998.
* The DJ Equity All REIT
Total Return Index measures the total return performance of the equity
subcategory of the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) industry as calculated
by Dow Jones.
* Yahoo! Finance is the
source for any reference to the performance of an index between two specific
periods.
* Opinions expressed are
subject to change without notice and are not intended as investment advice or
to predict future performance.
* Economic forecasts set
forth may not develop as predicted and there can be no guarantee that
strategies promoted will be successful.
* Past performance does not
guarantee future results. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal.
* You cannot invest directly
in an index.
* Consult your financial
professional before making any investment decision.
* Stock investing involves
risk including loss of principal.
* To unsubscribe from the
“Peek of the Week”, please reply to this email with “Unsubscribe” in the
subject line, or write us at: Hagen Financial Network, Inc. 4640 Nicols Road,
Suite 203; Eagan, MN 55122.
Sources:
https://www.ft.com/content/ee5a97ce-c07e-11e7-b8a3-38a6e068f464 (or go to https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/peakcontent/+Peak+Commentary/11-06-17_FinancialTimes-The_Good_the_Bad_and_the_Ugly_of_US_Tax_Reform-Footnote_4.pdf)
