WEEKLY TIP

If you want to retire to another area, think about whether it makes sense for you financially as well as socially. Will you be able to find part-time work there, if needed? Could local economic factors make the area less affordable for you someday?

HOUSEHOLD SENTIMENT GAUGE RISES AGAIN

The University of Michigan’s Index of Consumer Sentiment gained 0.4 points from its preliminary reading this month to reach a final January mark of 98.5. That represents a 12-year peak for the index, which stood at 92.0 in January 2016.^1,2

HOME SALES FELL IN DECEMBER

Given costlier mortgages, rising prices, and tight inventory, the December retreat for resales was not surprising. The National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales slipped by 2.8% last month. New home sales dropped 10.4%, but the Census Bureau stated that they increased 12.2% for 2016, marking the best year for new home buying since 2007. ³

FIRST ESTIMATE OF q4 GDP: 1.9%

If that Department of Commerce appraisal holds, it will mean that the economy grew just 1.9% for all of 2016, contrasting with 2.6% expansion in 2015. Hard goods orders fell 0.4% in December, but rose 1.7% minus defense orders.²

DOW TOPS 20,000, STOCKS REGAIN MOMENTUM

Leaving some mid-January doldrums behind, the major indices rallied nicely last week. The Dow advanced 1.34% to 20,093.78; the Nasdaq Composite, 1.90% to 5,660.78; and the S&P 500, 1.03% to 2,294.69. The CBOE VIX “fear index” finished the week down at 10.53.⁴

THIS WEEK:

Monday offers reports on December personal spending and pending home sales. The Conference Board’s monthly consumer confidence index and a new Case-Shiller home price index appear Tuesday, along with earnings from Aetna, Aflac, Ally Financial, Anadarko Petroleum, Apple, Chubb, Coach, Eli Lilly, ExxonMobil, Harley-Davidson, MasterCard, Nucor, Pfizer, Sprint, Under Armour, UPS, U.S. Steel, Valero Energy, and Xerox. Wednesday, the Federal Reserve wraps up a policy meeting, ADP’s January payrolls report and ISM’s January manufacturing PMI arrive, and Allstate, Altria, AmeriGas, Ameriprise Financial, Anthem, Avery Dennison, Celanese, Energizer Holdings, Exelon, Facebook, Ingersoll-Rand, MetLife, Pitney Bowes, and Symantec all announce earnings. Thursday’s earnings parade includes results from Amazon, Amgen, Callaway Golf, Chipotle, Cigna, ConocoPhillips, Coty, Estee Lauder, GoPro, Hanesbrands, International Paper, Motorola Solutions, Parker, Philip Morris, Merck, Ralph Lauren, Ryder, Sirius XM, SkyWest, Snap-On, and Visa; also, Challenger issues January job-cut data, and new initial claims figures are released. Investors consider the January ISM services PMI and January hiring figures Friday, plus earnings from AutoNation, Clorox, Hershey, Phillips 66, Regis, and Weyerhaeuser.

Sources: wsj.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov - 1/27/17^4,5,6,7

Indices are unmanaged, do not incur fees or expenses, and cannot be invested into directly. These returns do not include dividends. 10-year TIPS real yield = projected return at maturity given expected inflation.

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Securities offered through JW Cole Financial, Inc. (JWC), Member FINRA/SIPC Advisory Services offered through J.W. Cole Advisors, Inc. (JWCA). Brower Financial Group and JWC/JWCA are unaffiliated entities. Registered Representatives of J.W. Cole Financial, Inc. whose identities and associations with Brower Financial Group are disclosed on this site, may only conduct business with residents of the states and/or jurisdictions for which they are properly registered.

This material was prepared by MarketingPro, Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. This information has been derived from sources believed to be accurate. Please note - investing involves risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional. This information should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any Federal tax penalty. This is neither a solicitation nor recommendation to purchase or sell any investment or insurance product or service, and should not be relied upon as such. All indices are unmanaged and are not illustrative of any particular investment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted index of 30 actively traded blue-chip stocks. The NASDAQ Composite Index is an unmanaged, market-weighted index of all over-the-counter common stocks traded on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System. The Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. NYSE Group, Inc. (NYSE:NYX) operates two securities exchanges: the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) and NYSE Arca (formerly known as the Archipelago Exchange, or ArcaEx®, and the Pacific Exchange). NYSE Group is a leading provider of securities listing, trading and market data products and services. The New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. (NYMEX) is the world's largest physical commodity futures exchange and the preeminent trading forum for energy and precious metals, with trading conducted through two divisions – the NYMEX Division, home to the energy, platinum, and palladium markets, and the COMEX Division, on which all other metals trade. Additional risks are associated with international investing, such as currency fluctuations, political and economic instability and differences in accounting standards. This material represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific point in time and is not intended to be a forecast of future events, or a guarantee of future results. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investments will fluctuate and when redeemed may be worth more or less than when originally invested. All economic and performance data is historical and not indicative of future results. Market indices discussed are unmanaged. Investors cannot invest in unmanaged indices. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional.

Citations.

1 - sca.isr.umich.edu/ [1/27/17]

2 - thestreet.com/story/13969585/1/stocks-mixed-after-u-s-gdp-shows-mediocre-end-to-2016.html [1/27/17]

3 - usatoday.com/story/money/2017/01/26/new-home-sales-prices-mortgage-rates/97081430/ [1/26/17]

4 - markets.wsj.com/us [1/27/17]

5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=1%2F27%2F16&x=0&y=0 [1/27/17]

5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=1%2F27%2F16&x=0&y=0 [1/27/17]

5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=1%2F27%2F16&x=0&y=0 [1/27/17]

5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=1%2F27%2F12&x=0&y=0 [1/27/17]

5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=1%2F27%2F12&x=0&y=0 [1/27/17]

5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=1%2F27%2F12&x=0&y=0 [1/27/17]

5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=1%2F26%2F07&x=0&y=0 [1/27/17]

5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=1%2F26%2F07&x=0&y=0 [1/27/17]

5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=1%2F26%2F07&x=0&y=0 [1/27/17]

6 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyield [1/27/17]

7 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyieldAll [1/27/17]