A monthly newsletter of financial commentary for our friends

The political landscape is sure to be heating up in what may be one of the longest (and most wide open) election campaigns in recent history. Who’s going to be our next president? Will it be Hillary? Obama? Rudy? Romney? Will a dark horse like Fred Thompson emerge? Along those lines, there will be much talk over the next year and a half about whether the GOP or the Dems are better for the economy. The GOP will be claiming that the overall economic success that we celebrate today is leftover from the great policies put in place during the Reagan years – supply side economics. The democrats will say that things really aren’t that good today, and that they can make it a whole lot better. Watch for lots of finger pointing. But the economy is likely to take a back seat to issues in Iraq. Unless significant changes occur, expect this to be the central issue of the campaign. And yes, you might be sick of seeing political adds on TV come summer next year.

Retails sales in April were yuck. Some economists blame the unusually cold month. Housing starts in April fell to their lowest level in 17 years. Doesn’t sound like a very good month huh? But the bulletproof DOW had a great month. As I write, the DOW remains well over 13,000, and setting new records daily. Will 13,000 be a lucky number for the DOW? Is 14,000 it’s next stop, or 12,000? In asking myself this question, I also asked myself why the number 13 has historically been an unlucky number. What is the root behind that? One of the more interesting theories we found is that 13 was the number of people at the last supper when Judas was present. Still we could find no definitive reason why that has been considered an unlucky number. But, did you know that on the dollar bill there are 13 levels in the pyramid, 13 stars, 13 arrows, 13 stripes, 13 leaves, and 13 olives? Did you know that some hotels don’t even have a 13^th floor? Research even shows that some houses can be harder to sell if they have a 13 in the address. Will 13,000 be an unlucky number for the Dow Jones Industrial Average? Only time will tell.

Should stockholders have a say in how much a CEO earns? This has the potential to be a major issue facing public companies in the future. “Say on pay” votes are already cropping up at companies like Verizon, AFLAC, Citigroup and Wells Fargo. The former CEO of Home Depot leaving the company with a $210 million severance package has exacerbated the issue. Is this a good trend? Is it a good thing in a free market society to limit that amount of money the individual in charge of the company is making? This is just the beginning of this discussion.

There’s an old adage in the stock market when summer rolls around – “Sell in May and go away!” The idea is that if you look back at the history of the market, the summer is usually quite lackluster in it’s performance. From 1945 through 1994, S&P says the average return from May to October has been 1.5%. One must take seasonal history with a grain of salt. Nevertheless, the DOW ‘s relentless pursuit upward causes one to pause and wonder if the old maxim might be a good word of advice for this year. But don’t mistake us asking you to base your investment strategy on an Stock Almanac’s advice. You really need a good financial advisor. We happen to know of one if anyone is looking.

Chad P. Wilson, CFP

Foundation Bank – a division of McKenzie Banking Company - 731-554-2423

The above is strictly informational commentary and does not constitute any sort of recommendation. Consult the services of a confident professional for specific loan, investment, tax, or other financial advice