Financial News and Portfolio Management Discussion through January 22nd

US Stocks hit new record highs as fourth quarter corporate earnings have topped expectations and companies have issued optimistic outlooks. The Dow rose above 26,000 on the week and gained 1.0%. The S&P 500 climbed 0.9%. Internationally, Japan gained 0.7% and Europe rose 0.6% for the week. The yield on the 10 year Treasury finished the week at 2.64% its highest level since July 2014, while the dollar hit its lowest level in more than three years. Oil was down 1.4% for the week closing at $63.37 a barrel. Article

Industrial production jumped 0.9% in the US in December driven by utilities output.

China’s growth accelerated for the first time in seven year posting a 6.9% GDP for 2017 driven by rising demand at home and abroad. However, multiple indicators show that momentum is weakening heading into 2018. Article

The US government shutdown on Friday at midnight as a new spending agreement was unable to be reached.

The US is expected to outpace Saudi Arabia in 2018 in oil production making the US the world’s second largest oil producer.

Citigroup, B of A, IBM and Morgan Stanley posted positive earnings reports or issued strong guidance while Goldman Sachs and American Express disappointed.

Apple announced it would ramp up its US spending, investing $30 billion in the US over the next five years. Article

There is no guarantee that any investment strategy, including those described here, will be successful. Any investment or investment strategy can lose money. Past performance does not guarantee or predict future results. You should not assume that any discussion or information contained herein serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from Raffa Wealth Management, LLC. This information was gathered from reliable sources, but we cannot guarantee accuracy. Indexes do not reflect the fees associated with actual investments and such fees would reduce the performance illustrated. Source: FMG Suite, LLC.
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