Your Weekly Update and Stan the Man

As you’ll see below, the markets continued on their upward path last week. But sadly, the sports world, in fact the entire world, lost one of the finest gentlemen ever to play baseball. “Stan the Man” passed away.

We pay a very brief homage to Stanley Frank Musial in the attached. We also take a look at his 92 year lifespan in market terms, which is fascinating.

Enjoy!

All the best,
Lee and Jeremy

PS— We had the pleasure of spending time last week with our wonderful friends and clients this week in Scottsdale at the Barrett Jackson Automobile Auction, one of the largest events of its kind anywhere. It’s always wonderful to see all the things you dream of automotively speaking in one place! Look for pictures on the website soon. –L&J


This Week's Quote:
"When a pitcher's throwing a spitball, don't worry and don't complain, just hit the dry side like I do."~Stan Musial


J.L. Davis Thoughts This Week:

After 92 years on planet Earth, Stanley Frank Musial, born November 21, 1920, passed away within a year of his beloved wife Lil. For all his incredible accomplishments on the baseball field, Stan was known primarily for his amazing accomplishments as a gentleman and sterling example to his community.

Boy, did he ever hit the “dry side”. The St. Louis Cardinals slugger played 22 seasons in the major league with the St. Louis Cardinals and was an All-Star every year. One of the most remarkable hitters in history, he had over 3600 hits, ranking fourth all time. And he blasted 475 home runs long before steroids or weight training. He was Most Valuable Player three times and won three World Series championships. His career culminated in his first ballot induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969. His records would take several paragraphs to recite.

But, enough about that.

As a gentleman, Stan had almost no peer. He was known to pass out autographs routinely and pleasantly greet strangers posing for photographs with them. Until nearly the end of his life, he frequently played the harmonica at public gatherings and charity events. He silently went about the communities of St. Louis assisting charities and the underprivileged whenever he could. As recently as February of last year, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom directly from President Obama, the highest honor that can be bestowed on civilian in the United States. Busch Stadium in St. Louis honors him with not one but two statues.

In a time where many successful people in sports and business sadly exhibit poor manners and bad behavior, Stan the Man serves as an example to all of a life well lived: in humility, kindness, and will. At JL Davis, we are inspired by people like Stan.

By the way, the Dow Jones stood at 63 or so back in 1920 when Stan was born. At this writing, it’s 13,712.**


Market Week: January 22, 2013

The Markets

The bulls continued to dominate 2013, encouraged by Friday's reports of a proposal that could postpone a debt ceiling confrontation for three months. A report that Apple had cut iPhone parts orders helped nibble at the Nasdaq's performance, but the tech-heavy index managed to remain positive. The other three domestic indices did even better as the Dow hit a level not seen in just over five years.

Last Week's Headlines

• The Fed's "beige book" report for the end of 2012 showed all 12 Federal Reserve districts reporting either modest or moderate recovery and more consumer spending. Real estate activity expanded or held steady in 11 districts, but the report said manufacturing was mixed and weak job growth continues to stand in the way of a robust economic performance.
• Housing starts and building permits both hit their highest annual level since the summer of 2008, according to the Commerce Department's December figures. Housing starts--most of which were for single-family housing--were almost 37% ahead of last December, while building permits (an indicator of future construction) were almost 29% higher than a year ago.
• Falling gas prices helped offset increases in the cost of food and shelter in December, leaving the monthly inflation rate unchanged. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the annual consumer inflation rate for the last 12 months was 1.7%, while December's 0.2% decline in prices at the wholesale level--the third monthly decline in a row--put last year's wholesale inflation rate at 1.3%.
• The fiscal cliff didn't stop Americans from spending in December. According to the Commerce Department, strong car sales helped increase December retail sales by 0.5%, and they were up 4.7% from December 2011. Auto sales rose 1.8%, while furniture and home furnishings stores saw a 1.4% increase.
• Industrial production was up 0.3% in December. The Federal Reserve said the figure would have been higher if not for reduced production by utilities in the wake of unseasonably warm weather during the month.


Eye on the Week Ahead

Given Apple's recent swoon and influence over the Nasdaq, its earnings report on Wednesday will be closely watched. Also on tap for the holiday-shortened week are housing and manufacturing data.
Key dates and data releases: home resales (1/22); U.S. manufacturing (1/24); new home sales (1/25).


Data sources: Includes data provided by Brounes & Associates. All information is based on sources deemed reliable, but no warranty or guarantee is made as to its accuracy or completeness. Neither the information nor any opinion expressed herein constitutes a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any securities, and should not be relied on as financial advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is a price-weighted index composed of 30 widely traded blue-chip U.S. common stocks. The S&P 500 is a market-cap weighted index composed of the common stocks of 500 leading companies in leading industries of the U.S. economy. The NASDAQ Composite Index is a market-value weighted index of all common stocks listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. The Russell 2000 is a market-cap weighted index composed of 2000 U.S. small-cap common stocks. The Global Dow is an equally weighted index of 150 widely traded blue-chip common stocks worldwide. Market indexes listed are unmanaged and are not available for direct investment.

Prepared by Lee Davis** and Broadridge Investor Communication Solutions, Inc. Copyright 2013