Longevity and Your Weekly Update

As you read this, Jeremy and I will be attending the 2013 International MDRT meeting in Philadelphia the next 2 days.

A number of inspiring speakers and presentations are slated to help us “sharpen the saw” so that we can better serve our clients and their other professional advisors. Jeremy and I will be presenting as well, which is always rewarding.

As well, we hope to carve out time to see the historic locations nearby where the ideas of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness were inspired and committed to writing by our country’s Founders. We can’t wait.

The opportunity to learn in the bosom of such remarkable American history is both compelling and exciting to us. Look for some interesting insights in next week’s Update as well.

All the best,
Lee and Jeremy


This Week’s Quote:

“The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.”
~ Patrick Henry


JL Davis Thoughts This Week:

The City of Brotherly Love is a bit foggy as we write this. But the concepts enunciated here over 200 years ago are quite clear: Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We all know the price paid by those fabled Revolutionaries all those years ago to establish these United States.

Philadelphia is a vibrant city downtown with a number of construction projects underway. It appears to be experiencing yet another renewal in its long and storied history.

The International Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) looks to be experiencing a renewal in its growth as well this year. Over seven thousand advisors from more than 60 countries are attending the conference to hear a plethora of high quality speakers on a range of financial topics. Some of the speakers will have some very inspirational and uplifting stories to tell, as they do every year at the conference. In the three days Jeremy and I will spend “sharpening the saw” here, we will attend about 18 total learning sessions. As always, we’ll share that knowledge, and a little inspiration, with you.

In the meantime, we want to express our thanks as always for your business and those whom you continually refer to JL Davis.**

Lee, Jeremy and the JL Davis Team


Market Week: June 10, 2013

The Markets

All's well that ends well: After losing 217 points on Wednesday, the Dow came roaring back with a 207-point gain two days later. Despite all the volatility, domestic equities managed minimal gains for the week across all four indices. Investors seemed reassured that the unemployment rate showed continued stabilization of the economy but not enough progress to bring on a quick end to the Fed's economic support.


Last Week's Headlines

•Steady as she goes: The unemployment rate nudged upward slightly to 7.6% in May as 175,000 jobs were added to the nation's payrolls and more people sought work, expanding the potential labor force. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the private sector added 178,000 jobs, while 3,000 government jobs were eliminated.

•For the first time since November, the Institute for Supply Management's survey of manufacturing activity indicated contraction with a 49% reading in May (any number below 50% represents not just slower growth but contraction). The Commerce Department said factory orders for U.S. goods rebounded from a sharp decline in March, but April's 1% increase was primarily the result of transportation-related orders. Aside from those, orders were down 0.1%.

•Growth in the U.S. services sector accelerated in May, according to the Institute for Supply Management's survey. May's 53.7% reading was 0.6% higher than April's 53.1%, and was the 41st straight month of growth.

•The Federal Reserve's "beige book" report continued to see "modest to moderate" economic activity. Manufacturing, tourism, residential real estate/construction, and bank lending saw fairly uniform gains in much of the country. Wage pressures remained contained, though some Fed districts reported difficulty finding qualified workers.

•Construction spending rose 0.4% in April; the Commerce Department said private construction was up 1%, though residential spending fell 0.1%. Public construction was down 1.2% for the month.

•To try to prevent the sort of massive redemptions that posed problems during the 2008 financial crisis, the Securities and Exchange Commission unveiled two proposals for changing how some money market funds operate. One proposal would require institutional money market funds to more accurately reflect changes in the fund's net asset value (NAV) by trading at a floating NAV rather than a stable $1-per-share price.* (Retail money market fund--those that don't permit a shareholder to redeem more than $1 million in a single day--and funds that hold mostly government securities would be exempt.) The second proposal would establish a liquidity fee if a fund's weekly liquid assets fell below 15% of its total assets; in that case, the fund also could restrict redemptions for up to 30 days. The SEC also might combine the two proposals; the public will have 90 days to comment.

•After a sharp decline in March, the U.S. trade deficit widened 8.6% in April, according to the Commerce Department. Exports rose more than 1%, but a 21% increase in imports from China pushed imports up 2.4% overall.

•The European Central Bank kept its key interest rate unchanged at a record low of 0.5% despite the ECB's forecast of a 0.6% contraction in the European economy in 2013. The estimate was more pessimistic than the previous estimate of a 0.5% contraction, but the 2014 forecast was revised upward to 1.1% growth rather than 1%.


Eye on the Week Ahead

U.S. economic data will be skimpy, though retail sales numbers could suggest the state of the consumer's pocketbook. The Bank of Japan's announcement on monetary policy might be of interest, since it could mean additional economic stimulus there. Investors will watch to see if domestic equities head back toward May's record highs or continue to see volatility.

Key dates and data releases: retail sales, business inventories, 30-year Treasury bond auction (6/13); wholesale prices, industrial production (6/14).

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.

*Though money market funds attempt to maintain a stable $1-per-share price, there is no guarantee they will always do so, and it is possible to lose money investing in a money market fund. A money market fund is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any other government agency.

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