PEEK OF THE WEEK
May 14, 2018
Leif Hagen & Donna Roberts
The Markets
Splash!
How do employers lure staff in a tightening labor market?
The curly tail grubs and spinnies of the business world are higher wages and
better benefits.
During the past decade, the employment picture in the United
States has shifted dramatically. In mid-2009, 15.4 million unemployed Americans
were chasing 2.2 million available jobs. At the end of 2017, just 6.6 million
Americans were unemployed, and employers were casting eagerly to fill 6.6
million open jobs, reports Barron’s.
Bloomberg offered
some colorful examples:
“Want ads for truck drivers to haul
crude oil in Texas are touting salaries as high as $150,000 a year. Some nurses
are getting $25,000 signing bonuses. The U.S. unemployment rate just fell to
3.9 percent, one tick away from its lowest since the 1960s. And, on May 8, the
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported there are 6.5 million unfilled jobs in the
United States, the most on record. Some employers say they’re feeling the
squeeze.”
Clearly, wages are moving higher for some types of jobs, but
they’re not increasing everywhere. Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported real average hourly earnings
for all employees were flat from March to April. ‘Real wages’ mean wages after
inflation is subtracted.
The National
Federation of Independent Business’ Small Business Optimism Index hit a
record high in April, as small companies reported record profits. It was the 17th
consecutive month of record optimism.
Major U.S. stock market indices
moved higher last week as did many global stock market indices.
Data as of 5/11/18
|
1-Week
|
Y-T-D
|
1-Year
|
3-Year
|
5-Year
|
10-Year
|
|
Standard & Poor's 500 (Domestic Stocks)
|
2.4%
|
2.0%
|
13.9%
|
9.0%
|
10.8%
|
6.9%
|
|
Dow Jones Global ex-U.S.
|
1.7
|
0.4
|
12.8
|
3.3
|
3.5
|
0.2
|
|
10-year Treasury Note (Yield Only)
|
3.0
|
NA
|
2.4
|
2.3
|
1.9
|
3.8
|
|
Gold (per ounce)
|
1.1
|
2.2
|
8.3
|
3.7
|
-1.5
|
4.1
|
|
Bloomberg Commodity Index
|
0.1
|
2.1
|
8.3
|
-4.5
|
-7.4
|
-8.3
|
|
DJ Equity All REIT Total Return Index
|
1.2
|
-3.7
|
3.1
|
6.0
|
5.8
|
6.4
|
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.
What
do you wish you had known before you became a parent? Mother’s Day
is behind us and Father’s Day is ahead.
It seems like a good time to consider the challenges and
responsibilities of parenting.
National Public
Radio’s Science Desk introduced a new series called, ‘How To Raise A
Human.’ They kicked off the show by asking bloggers, “What's the one thing you
wish someone had told you before you became a parent?” Here are a few of the
answers:
“I wish someone told me that there
are going to be moments where you're playing chess with speed metal music in
your ears. You're trying to make intricate choices but there's so much chaos.”
--Alan Lawrence, That Dad Blog
“I wish someone had told me to
block out the outside voices that come when you become a parent – and pay more
attention to the children and what their needs are.”
--Saira Siddiqui, Confessions of a Muslim
Mom
“I wish someone had told me that
even though your life changes when you become a parent, you still get to create
the path you want.”
--Drea Duclos, OhDearDrea
“Parents always told me to brace
myself for the teen years, because that's when they'll hate you, be
disrespectful to you, be sassy, talk back to you, be rude, be generally awful
people. But I wish that someone had told me that's completely wrong.”
--Karen Walrond, Chookooloonks
One of the many challenges parents face is helping their
children understand financial issues. If you would like some ideas about how to
talk with your children about money, contact your financial professional.
Weekly Focus – Think About
It
“I’m relieved I
don’t work at SNL [right now]…The level of outrage is so high. It feels like
talking to anyone, anywhere in 2018 is just landmine hopscotch.”
--Tina Fey, American actress,
comedian, writer, and producer
Best
Regards,
Leif M. Hagen
Leif M. Hagen, CLU, ChFC
LP Financial Advisor
Securities offered through LPL Financial Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC.
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* 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.
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Sources:
http://www.barrons.com/mdc/public/page/9_3063-economicCalendar.html?mod=BOL_Nav_MAR_other (Click on U.S. & Intl Recaps, then click on
"The unemployment lines are shrinking”; for market performance, click on
“Iran and Korea overshadow economics”)
