Eighteen To Thirty Four…. Your Weekly Update

No, it’s not an NFL score.

18 to 34 year olds comprise over 73 million people in the United States. It’s you, your child, grandchild or 23% of everyone you know.

Millennials. Generation Y. One in the same.

This week’s Update takes a look at the status of what one day may become “The Greatest Generation”….. we all certainly hope. And the statistics are daunting.

We think you’ll find the attached quite enlightening. Not to mention powerful.

Feel free to pass it along (after you’ve caught up on the financial news of course).

All the best,
Lee


This Week’s Quote:
“Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.”
― Salvador Dali


JL Davis Thoughts This Week:

If you’re age 18 to 34, all of us are counting on you. And you’re a unique bunch, in many respects.

According to a recently released U.S. Census Bureau report, the “Millennial” generation, also known as “Generation Y” marks a true departure from its predecessors.

If you need a little proof, take a look at the generational differences, just since 1980.

Their generation is more likely to speak a language in addition to English. About 25% converse in a different tongue at home. They’re more likely to be foreign born, double the percentage in 1980.

Employment is modestly down in their group compared to before. Some 65% are employed, versus 69% of the previous generation. Currently, a ghastly number live in poverty; one in five.

And the traditional family dynamic may be changing. As a group, they’re delaying marriage. Three in ten are married, down from six in ten before.

They’re better educated: more than one in four has a college degree, compared to one in five previously. A nice trajectory, since education is power.

Millennials are truly the future. They are just now coming into their own in terms of their impact on American culture. Their imprint on the American economic scene is likely to be massive. They stand to inherit significant wealth from their baby-boom parents (that is if their inheritance isn’t spent). They will have technological tools that are unfathomable today.

Ever the optimists, we at JL Davis are seeing anecdotal evidence that the future is in very good hands with our friends in Generation Y. n our experience, they are much more likely to follow their passion in terms of their occupation. They seem to draw a stark line of demarcation that protects their personal time and their personal lives from a 24 hour workday. Personal happiness is their definition of success.

But that doesn’t mean they don’t work; far from it. The Millennials we see are quite focused individuals, getting more done in less time than ever before. They’re studying at every turn and improving themselves. Seizing opportunities and valuing charity. Perhaps most importantly, valuing relationships.

If you’re impressed with the accomplishments of Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, or Taylor Swift who may become the best-selling recording artist of all time, get ready. They are just the beginning.

So rock on, Millennials. We believe in you.**
Lee and Jeremy

http://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2013/09/04/why-you-cant-ignore-millennials/
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2014/cb14-219.html


Market Week: December 8, 2014

The Markets

An unexpectedly strong jobs report on top of generally positive U.S. housing and manufacturing numbers helped nudge the Dow and S&P to new records yet again at the end of the week. However, the report also may have helped bring on a dip in the price of the benchmark 10-year Treasury by raising questions about whether the employment gains would bolster the case for a Federal Reserve rate hike in the first half of
2015.


Last Week's Headlines

• The U.S. economy created 321,000 new jobs in November, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the prior two months' gains were higher than previously thought. November's gains also surpassed the 241,000 monthly average so far this year. Job increases were widespread, led by professional/business services, retail, health care, and manufacturing. However, the unemployment rate remained at 5.8%. Hourly wages were up 0.4% during the month and have grown 2.1% over the last year.
• Accelerated promotions may have lured shoppers out early and cut into Black Friday retail sales. The National Retail Federation said sales over the Thanksgiving weekend were down 11% from 2013, but the trade group said it still anticipates total holiday sales to be up more than 4% by the end of the year.
• The latest data from the International Monetary Fund showed that China is expected to be the world's largest economy as of this year. The country's anticipated $17.6 trillion in real GDP edged out the United States' $17.4 trillion.
• A 1.8% increase in construction of single-family homes in October helped send total construction spending up 1.1% for the month, according to the Commerce Department. However, total spending was up just 1.9% over the last 12 months.
• The Institute for Supply Management's gauge of activity in the U.S. services sector showed growth accelerating in November. The 59.3% reading was 2.2% higher than in October. However, the Commerce Department said orders at U.S. manufacturers slid 0.7% in October and would have been
• The U.S. trade deficit saw little change in October, edging downward to $43.4 billion from $43.6 billion in September as exports increased more than imports.
• European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the ECB expects Europe's slow growth to slump even further next year and that opposition from some of the eurozone's stronger members (i.e., Germany) would not keep the ECB from adopting supportive measures worse if not for a 21.2% jump in orders for military equipment, especially aircraft.


Key Dates/Data Releases

12/9: JOLTS job turnover report
12/11: Retail sales
12/12: Wholesale inflation


Eye on the Week Ahead

In a data-light week, the Commerce Department's retail sales report could help clarify interpretations of last week's Black Friday sales data. The results of an upcoming auction of loans to European banks could influence whether the ECB eventually adds corporate and sovereign bond purchases to its current bond-buying activities.

Data sources: Economic: Based on data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (unemployment, inflation); U.S. Department of Commerce (GDP, corporate profits, retail sales, housing); S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Index (home prices); Institute for Supply Management (manufacturing/services). Performance: Based on data reported in WSJ Market Data Center (indexes); U.S. Treasury (Treasury yields); U.S. Energy Information Administration/Bloomberg.com Market Data (oil spot price, WTI Cushing, OK); www.goldprice.org (spot gold/silver); Oanda/FX Street (currency exchange rates). 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 2,000 U.S. small-cap common stocks. The Global Dow is an equally weighted index of 150 widely traded blue-chip common stocks worldwide. Market indices listed are unmanaged and are not available for direct investment.

Prepared by Lee Davis** and Broadridge Investor Communication Solutions, Inc. Copyright 2014