{"id":65,"date":"2018-02-26T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-02-26T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.retirementrefined.com\/index.php\/2018\/02\/26\/markets-week-ending-february-23-2018\/"},"modified":"2018-02-26T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-02-26T00:00:00","slug":"markets-week-ending-february-23-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.retirementrefined.com\/markets-week-ending-february-23-2018","title":{"rendered":"Markets Week-Ending February 23, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

Another Volatile Week in the Markets<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

The major US markets all finished last week in the black. The S&P 500 was up approximately .60%; all of the gains happened on Friday. From Monday thru Thursday all major US markets were down. So what happened? During the course of the week, the rate of the 10-Year US Treasury rose to 2.95%, sending markets lower. On Friday, yields came back down to finish the week @ 2.87%. Was this the catalyst for last Friday\u2019s rally? Most likely YES!!<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/h1>\n

Growth versus Value Stocks \u2013 What to Own?<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

In 2016, Value Stocks returns outpaced Growth Stocks. As soon as 2017 peaked its head, that completely reversed with Growth Stocks significantly outpacing Value Stocks. So far in 2018, that trend seems to be continuing. Will the current trend continue? This is a reminder that one of the best ways to structure your portfolio is to have both Growth and Value equally represented in your portfolio. This ensures you will have investments in the part of the market that is leading and only a portion of your portfolio in the part that is lagging.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/h1>\n

Earning Seasons is Winding Down<\/span><\/strong><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

Over 80% of the companies that comprise the Standard and Poor\u2019s 500 have reported their quarterly earnings with excellent results. Companies surpassing their own estimates have reached an eight-year high. I\u2019m certainly not surprised. Mall parking lots are crowed! Restaurants are crowded! People are spending money! How long will this cycle last? As always, time will tell.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/h1>\n

IRA Contribution Reminder<\/span><\/strong><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

This is a reminder that if you have not made your 2017 IRA contribution, you still have time. If you qualify to make a contribution to a Roth IRA, a Traditional IRA, or a Traditional IRA with a tax deduction, now is the time. It\u2019s always a wonderful idea to take full advantage of how the tax code offers a tax-preference method to contribute for your retirement.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For a listing of our upcoming Retirement Income Planning\/Tax Workshops that review the rules for making contributions, amongst other income tax strategies, please click HERE<\/a><\/span><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Another Volatile Week in the Markets   The major US markets all finished last week in the black. The S&P 500 was up approximately .60%; all of the gains happened on Friday. From Monday thru Thursday all major US markets were down. So what happened? During the course of the week, the rate of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"post_statement":"","post_description":"","post_cta":"","post_button":"Read More","post_button_url":"","compliance_id":"","post_disclaimer":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.retirementrefined.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.retirementrefined.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.retirementrefined.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.retirementrefined.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.retirementrefined.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.retirementrefined.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.retirementrefined.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.retirementrefined.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.retirementrefined.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}