Lee on the cover of Advisor Magazine, and your Weekly Update

As has been said many times in casual conversation, “Enough about me, let’s talk about you. What do you think about me?”

Tooting one’s own horn is dangerous territory, but tooting someone else’s, even your partner’s, should be ok. So, I thought you’d like to know about some interesting things happening at JL Davis lately. It’s in the attached.

Something else you’ll want to know are events of last week in the U.S. stock markets, which seem intent on setting new highs. So we’ve included that information for you as we do each week.

Thank you as always for your business and support that makes our efforts possible!

All the best,

Jeremy

P.S. We’re off to a great start this year, thanks to a number of referrals from our friends and clients. Thank you as always. Rest assured we will take great care of them!


This Week's Quote:

"We ought to be modest, for neither you nor I amount to much. Both of us will pass on and be completely forgotten a century from now. Life is too short to bore other people with talk of our petty accomplishments."
~Dale Carnegie (1888-1955)


J.L. Davis Thoughts This Week:

Following the advice of Mr. Carnegie, we generally don’t “toot our own horn” and prefer modesty. However, there are times when we think our clients and friends might like to share in a few accomplishments.

So, last week, when Lee was featured on the cover of March’s Advisor Magazine, we were pretty happy here at JL Davis. The article entitled, “The Skyping of the Industry” is a six page detailed study of our operation and the technology we use to take great care of our clients in various parts of the U.S. and the world. Your humble correspondent was also featured within, in regard to our firm’s succession plan, which is somewhat unique in the industry. Lee’s recent technology related interview for this piece can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GHLLUlB9Sc

We are proud that throughout his career, Lee has made a point to give back to the financial industry. In addition to the recent Advisor Magazine accolade, within the last nine months he’s been a featured speaker at the international conference of MDRT* published an article in InsuranceNewsNet Magazine, and was interviewed in depth for Cetera Advisors’ “Tactical Talk” broadcast. He’s been a busy guy!

We are proud of Lee and his contributions, just as we are all of our team here at JL Davis. And we are committed as always to taking great care of our friends and clients!**

*http://www.mdrt.org/about/index.asp


Market Week: March 11, 2013

The Markets

The Dow finally managed to put the last five-and-a-half years behind it on Tuesday when it surpassed its all-time high of October 2007. Once that milestone was reached, the Dow never looked back, setting fresh records every day for the rest of the week. Meanwhile, the broader S&P 500 was only about 14 points from its own previous high. As money poured into equities, demand for Treasuries fell, sending the 10-year yield soaring.

Last Week's Headlines

• The unemployment rate fell to 7.7% from 7.9% in February as the economy added 236,000 new jobs. However, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 40% of those without jobs have been unemployed for at least six months, and counting people who are underemployed or who have at least temporarily stopped looking for work would put the unemployment rate at 14.3%. All job gains were in the private sector; governmental agencies cut 10,000 jobs.
• U.S. services companies grew faster in February than they have in a year, according to the Institute for Supply Management's index, which rose to 56% from 55.2% the month before. Coupled with last week's encouraging ISM manufacturing report, the growth helped temper concerns about the potential economic impact of recent increases in the payroll tax and gas prices.
• After higher oil exports helped cut the U.S. trade deficit in December to $38 billion--its lowest point in three years--an increase in oil imports helped pushed the deficit back up again in January to $44 billion. The Department of Commerce said exports overall were down $2.2 billion, while imports rose $4.1 billion.
• The Federal Reserve's "beige book" report showed either modest or moderate economic improvement in 10 of the Fed's 12 districts, with Boston and Chicago reporting slow growth. Anecdotal reports indicated that most districts saw improved consumer spending, strong auto sales, modest improvements in manufacturing and labor markets, increased housing sales, and minimal price and wage pressures.
• Increased exports gave China a $15.25 billion trade surplus in February, slightly less than in January. Chinese stocks took a tumble early in the week after the nation's governing body announced plans designed to curb speculation in China's soaring real estate market.
• Global status quo: The European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan, and the Bank of England all kept their monetary policies and interest rates unchanged. However, the Bank of Japan's chairman is scheduled to be replaced in April, and a change of leadership could mean fresh stimulus measures there.
• Americans worked 2.5% fewer hours in Q4 2012, according to the Commerce Department. That helped cut business productivity for the quarter at an annualized rate of 1.9%. However, productivity rose 0.5% between Q4 2011 and Q4 2012, and was up 0.7% for all of 2012.
• New orders at U.S. factories fell 2% in January. However, the Commerce Department said that non-transportation orders were up 1.3%, while business inventories rose for the 15th time in the last 16 months.
• All but one of 18 bank holding companies passed the Federal Reserve's most recent stress tests, designed to see how well the banks would cope with extreme economic conditions. Only auto lender Ally Financial fell below the required minimum capital level under the Fed's scenarios. This is the third year such tests have been conducted, but the first under Dodd-Frank guidelines.


Eye on the Week Ahead

Investors will be anxious to see if the Dow's winning streak will continue, and whether the S&P 500 will join it in record territory. Retail sales will be of interest, while quadruple witching options expiration could increase volatility.

Key dates and data releases: retail sales (3/13); wholesale inflation (3/14); consumer inflation, industrial production, quadruple witching options expiration (3/15).

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