Tax Reporting Information
The deadline for certain companies to issue K-1 forms for tax reporting was last Friday, March 15th. We realize many of you received these this year due to certain investments that were held in your account(s) in 2012. As my earlier emails stated, certain companies that are structured as “master limited partnerships”, LLC’s or other types of business entities other than common stock can be subject to reporting specific tax information to “partners” at the end of the year by issuing K-1’s. We apologize for any confusion on this issue. If you or your accountant/tax preparer have any questions regarding your tax information, please don’t hesitate to call.
Vacation Schedule
As I mentioned in last week’s update, I will be out of the office this week on vacation and will return Friday night. Chris and Sam will be available to serve you in my absence and I will be in contact with the office on a regular basis. I also will be checking email and have computer access which allows me to prepare this update and correspond as needed. I am enjoying some needed time off and expect to be rejuvenated and energized when I get back to work on next Monday!
March Madness – new high
The annual 64-game NCAA basketball tournament kicks off this week, and the excitement generated is encouraging many fans to focus on college basketball after watching the financial markets move higher over the past few weeks.
A 10-day winning streak for the Dow Jones Industrial Average that began on February 28 at 14,054.49 finally came to an end last Friday when the oldest and best known market average lost 25 points to close at 14,514.11. That was the longest winning streak since 1996 (CNBC).
The latest leg of the rally may not have had all the excitement of an action-packed sporting event, with average daily gains amounting to 48 points per trading session. But the end result was impressive – four record closing highs for the DJIA last week (Dow data – St. Louis Fed data).
Meanwhile, the broader-based S&P 500 Index closed on Thursday within 2 points of its all-time closing high of 1,565.15 set in October 2007 (St. Louis Fed).
Once again, last week’s action was driven mostly by favorable U.S. economic data, a lack of trouble in European bond markets (until problems in Cyprus popped up over the weekend), and a very accommodative Fed policy.
The questions that are yet to be answered – can the U.S. economy avoid a mid-year slowdown in growth, much like what we saw over the last three years? Will the European Central Bank’s efforts that have calmed credit markets in Europe continue to work, even as the euro-zone has yet to emerge from its recession? Banking and sovereign debt woes have subsided but have not been solved and the crisis in Cyprus has renewed fears in the Eurozone once again.
Put simply Europe has not been able to stop the U.S. market, but previous tremors have created some volatility, forcing investors to be patient and stick with longer-term investment plans. Even today, the U.S. markets have been able to shrug off the majority losses overall relative to many foreign markets.
The FED
The two-day Fed meeting this week concludes on Wednesday with its press release, economic projections, and Fed Chief Ben Bernanke’s quarterly press conference. The press release will probably reflect an upgraded outlook on the economy given the recent economic data. The Fed may also acknowledge the recent improvement in the labor market, but Bernanke’s spirited defense in late February (Monetary Report to Congress) of the $85 billion in monthly Fed bond buys suggests there will be no change in the Fed’s language regarding current monetary policy.
God Bless,
Your TEAM at F.I.G. Financial Advisory Services, Inc.
1 The Dow Jones Industrials Average is an unmanaged index of 30 major companies which cannot be invested into directly. Past
3 The S&P 500 Index is an unmanaged index of 500 larger companies which cannot be invested into directly. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
All items discussed in this report are for informational purposes only, are not advice of any kind, and are not intended as a solicitation to buy, hold, or sell any securities. Nothing contained herein constitutes tax, legal, insurance, or investment advice.
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