I love the S&P 550 index fund!!!
 

Up $29.++ today!!! nice to see!!

.
 

What are the 50 extra stocks????


:posting:

VTI (Vangard Totol Stock Market) has been good to me. Almost tripled in 3 years. Buy and hold if you think the economy will improve in the long run. Individual stock too risky for me.

Watch the Fed.

Did you first buy it in 2010? What was/is the return for the last six years?

The problem is knowing when to sell.

I sold 2 mos. ago.

You missed a 24.4% annualized return for those last two months, hope the alternative investment worked out for you.

Have my reasons and can't time it. See a bubble coming.

You all should get on the waiting list for a talk with Ben Stein!

Understand, but in my opinion, it's not a bubble if every/anyone says it is. Bubbles are always identified after the fact. So the more people saying bubble the less likely it will come to fruition.

Really? Things rising parabolically isn't a bubble?

The Fed printing is what's keeping it all going. Low interest rates from their bond buying. Free money at the discount window. Buying bad mortgages from the banks. They're trying to borrow their way out of a long ongoing depression. Without welfare, Section 8, SNAP food cards, the homeless would be everywhere and there would be soup lines a mile long. Almost 50 million people are on food assistance, millions more in government housing.

It's a bubble...still growing...it's tulip mania. Until the first "whale" runs for the door...

Show me what is rising parabolically, over the past 1, 3 or 5 years??? S&P, Bonds, Commodities, Real Estate? I don't think so. And don't show me a chart of some single stock with a linear Y-axis scaling.

Like I said, I understand if ermite06 wanted to sell, and if you want to believe there is a bubble, so be it, but there really isn't, just sayin.

Dotti,
I assume you mean the S&P 500 (not 550). That said, do you mean SPY (an ETF) or another S&P 500 vehicle? Please identify the symbol you're referring to (SPY or ?).

Gene

Gene,

What does it matter, she meant S&P 500 up $29 that day. Any S&P or broad based large cap stock vehicle, ETF or mutual fund, regardless of what specific symbol also went up by that same percentage change.

I happen to agree with you and have used the tulip mania anaology. The Fed is way out on a limb here. Frankly I come to the conclusion that money markets, CD's etc are something I will never again be able to utilize as a savings vehicle/ladder because the Fed will hold a tight rein there unless and until it believes inflation can remains stable. There is also a concern for deflation. what's a Fed to do?

I was merely seeking clarity. I do hope that Dotti responds to my initial question.

For me, I invest in anything Warren Buffett is buying. My railroad stock is up 48% in 2013, which does not include the extra 50% match from the company. Car loadings continue to rise and 2014 will be another good year. Thank you again, Mr. Buffett!!

There are several railroad stocks, may i ask which one you prefer, i been thinking of buying some, but dont know which one is the best. Thanks

Thank goodness, I have my tickets for Ben. Can't wait to hear what "eye openers" he has to share.

The markets give and the markets take away!

We will continue our approach.... rebalance to our strategic allocation.

Is the stock market overvalued?
Will the tapering of QE by the Fed send the bond market spiraling downward?
Will inflation remain in check?
Will employment continue to grow in 2014?
Will the economy grow higher than 3% in 2014?

If I knew the answers to the aforementioned Warren Buffet would look like a piker next to me.

[Un]Affordable Care Act
 

With the [Un]Affordable Care Act now in place -- including higher monthly health insurance premiums for millions of individuals/families, along with higher deductibles -- it would seem to me that consumer discretionary spending will be negatively impacted.

That won't be kind to that segment of Mr. Market. We'll see (maybe I'm wrong).

Gene

I think you're right, Gene. I was in a local, large department store the day after Christmas about 10:00 AM and was amazed by the very few people in the store. You could go to any counter for checkout and returns area was empty. I mentioned the lack of people in the store to the clerk when I checked out my small purchase and she said the staff have all been warned about cuts in hours in anticipation of sales plummeting this year due to ACA. They're seeing it already and it isn't from internet shopping. Interesting, eh?

Yet many families and individuals seem to have the money to buy the latest smartphones with data plans.


Go figure!

The government is giving out free cell phones

ACA is destroying the insurance market not only for individuals but employer sponsored plans, Medicare Advantage plans with the exception of AARP's United Health and also the medical industry. The plans will have high premiums, higher out of pocket expenses and lower benefits so that a number of medical providers will refuse patients.

So ACA will have a negative affect on the economy and on the stock market coe 2014 unless it is repealed.

One thing is for sure. We will see how it turns out.

But I do not subscribe to the ACA doom and gloom, total destruction forecasts.

Back on the stock market topic....

I was much more worried 4 or 5 years ago than I am today. The US seems to be recovering.

Some believe the domestic stock market indexes are fully valued, some would say a bit overvalued.

But I am not too concerned about it. I have a plan and an approach. I am confident about how I manage it.

I was worried about QE and the wind down. But it appears that the Fed might actually pull it off.

Put it like this... most of us have a vested interest in the fed being successful.

I have a plan and approach for bonds also. Nothing too fancy. But it should help us (hopefully) to make the best of the situation.

For the longer term future ( 5 - 20 years)... I believe that our (new) situation with energy, along with continued technology innovation and development as well as innovation in multiple other areas... will help propel the US forward.

I am very optimistic about the US. No doubt, we will experience some bumps along the way.

Happy New Year!
Today will be the first day of trading in 2014. It should be an interesting day, week, month.
Sorry, I have not been on this thread Gene to answer you re: my S&P 500 ( not 550, typo queen here).
My S&P is in my 401K in the only indexed S&P option I have.Not a lot to choose from....
We are in the process of rolling over our 401Ks into a single self directed 401K. Our options are slim in the "company store".
Since my post we are up steadily.....We shall see what the next few days bring, and use the 20/20 vision in the rear view mirror to determine if the gurus were right or wrong.
Wishing us all a prosperous 2014!

2year 5.75% plan
 

Did you see the advertisement in the paper for a 24 mo. Plan @ 5.75% APR with Total Retirement Security Planning & Mentoring Group? Is anyone familiar with this or this company? Thanks!

If it sounds to good to be true it usually is. I would not personally feel safe using a firm that is not well know. Especially if it is advertising in a local paper.

This article contains a historical recap of the performance of the S&P 500 which I found quite informative. I just received it today so it is current through 2013. Turn the Page: Outlook for Economy/Stocks in 2014

NOW THAT WAS WORTH SHARING!!!!

Thanks

It only briefly mentioned the Fed and QE. The Fed and QE are the ONLY reason the numbers are showing "improvement" to the economy.

The Fed has taken on almost $4 TRILLION in debt and given the banks almost $4 TRILLION to offload all the nonperforming crap they're holding. Plus the Fed has brought the discount rate to almost 0% (0.25%). The banks get almost free money. The banks use their "free" money to buy treasuries and other assets including stocks...the interest is more "free" money for them. The "improvements" to the economy are all due to an infusion of $4 TRILLION over the last several years. There's been no REAL growth in the economy, it's all newly "printed" money.

It's like a broke family writing checks with no funds available. Borrowing for everything they spend. It LOOKS like they're doing fine, but they're just going deeper and deeper into debt. The stores SEEM to be doing fine too because the family keeps spending.

How much does the government pump into the economy through other means? SS checks, welfare checks, food stamps, section 8 housing, medicare, medicaid, the military, it's full of money going out into the economy as "printed" money. Over $17 trillion is the federal debt...all that money made it into the "economy", it's why it's been rising. Our economy is based on debt, not REAL assets. The more debt, the better it's doing.

Oh sure, the Fed is "tapering"...but it's still $70 BILLION each and every month getting pumped into the economy to hold it up...give it the illusion it's growing. Sure it looks like it's growing...with "free money" to the tune of $70 billion a month.

You need to know WHY something is happening not just that it is... The stock market is tulip mania because of free money from the Fed. Yellen will print too... Enjoy the ride...until it stops.

Not Directed at anyone
 

(Hopefully this one will not be deleted.)

I get the Fed..............but the Fed is not the ONLY reason for improvement......Corporate P/E's are in line and earnings are improving, besides cheap money.

I enjoyed the historical data and comparisons and the presentation of the original link.

Please don't reply and let me know that history does not always repeat.

People (and I have said it myself) who say history repeats itself are always right. Why because if you go back far enough you will find almost any event or one like it in the past someplace.

IMO, it is a HUGE and maybe the only reason.

The Fed created cheap money, corporations and individuals take/took advantage of the low interest rates and borrow/borrowed heavily.

We're still in the midst of a depression if you look at the number on welfare, unemployed, UNDERemployed, etc.

50 million citizens are on food stamps, that's 50 million that would be waiting in soup lines if they didn't have electronic debit cards to get their food at Walmart. The stores and food manufacturers all make money from people using their EBT card. Money "created" by the government, given to the poor, and spent on Kraft or Kellogs products. Food corporations push (bribe) politicians to increase SNAP card benefits, it's more money injected into the food business.

We'd have "hobos" again, camps of the homeless, if we didn't have section 8 housing. As it is now, the only homeless are those who for some reason refuse help.

Almost $800 billion a year is spent by the GOVERNMENT on healthcare...Where would the healthcare industry be without that almost $1 trillion every year? That's a lot of money for that one section of the economy.

That money is there because of the Fed manipulation. We're going parabolic in a lot of areas...population, debt, some markets...parabolas don't last.

The "real" economy is hidden because it's not talked about.

The "Fed" is a rich uncle who swoops in with his checkbook to save the day. The only thing is...this rich uncle doesn't have an money...it's nothing but an entry in a ledger. A new debt. They don't have $4 trillion worth of "stuff" backing up their loans. They buy worthless treasuries with worthless "money".

It's always been the same with all past fiat currencies. They've all crashed and burned. Debt based financial systems can't last. They always spiral out of control. Zimbabwe, Weimar Republic, printing lots of money, creating lots of debt...ALWAYS ends badly.

Zimbabwe hid inflation, we're doing the same by "changing the basket of goods" used as the measure of inflation. They've replaced "expensive" things with cheaper to keep "inflation" down. They don't count energy. Have energy prices gone up? It's not counted in the inflation numbers we hear.

Weimar had reparations that were killing the economy. We have the poor and corrupt corporations who buy politicians for favorable regulation/benefits that are killing the econmy. This country will one day end it's world dominance as have all others in the past...The French, Spanish, the English...all had their glory days. All ended. Ours will too.

My money is on a solar CME. We just missed a big one the other day. If the timing had been different, we'd be without power right now...and that's not good for business.

History DOES repeat. The ones who are usually wrong are the ones who say...it's different this time...

The S&P 500 index has reached new highs on a nominal basis, but not on a "real" basis (i.e., inflation adjusted)

On an inflation adjusted basis, the S&P 500 index has not reached the level it reached back in 2000 (during the tech bubble peak 13 years ago).


It is still about 7% below it's Inflation adjusted peak.

Just an update. We rolled over our 401ks which were in the S&P 500 on Jan 10. Not timing the market. Just our target date taking new home purchase and retirement into consideration.

We rolled them over into a "solo 401K" with which we plan to invest for income. Watching the S&P after we rolled out, we feel very fortunate re the timing. It has become much more volatile.

We were on a good run. Not smart, just lucky!

This should be an interesting year in the markets!