2012 February 28 | timiacono.com

Know Your Asset Classes!

On February 28, 2012, in Bonds, Commodities, Stocks, by Tim

Also in the current issue of the Weekend Update at Iacono Research was the graphic below that goes a long way in explaining why the Iacono Research model portfolio has done so well over the years and how it might continue to do so in the months and years ahead.

As noted in this item yesterday, the new combined blog/investment website will launch in just another week or two, at which time, the cost of the newsletter will be going up quite a bit, so, anyone interested in learning more about the chart above and saving some money on a new subscription might consider going here before that opportunity passes.

As always, there is a 60-day, no questions asked, money back guarantee.

Tagged with: Financial Bubbles • FIRE Economy • Precious Metals

Consumers Shrug Off Surging Gas Prices

On February 28, 2012, in Economy, by Tim

The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index reversed January’s decline with a February surge to near the recovery high as an improving labor market seems to have trumped surging gasoline prices … for the time being. The index jumped from 61.5 last month to 70.8, just down from the recovery high of 72.0 one year ago.

Those saying jobs were “hard to get” fell from 43.3 percent to 38.7 percent, the lowest since late-2008, as Americans were more confident about their earning potential, 15.4 percent expecting their income to rise versus only 12.7 percent who were pessimistic.

In looking at the relationship between consumer confidence and gasoline prices above, it would appear that there has not yet been enough time for recently surging pump prices to have an impact on consumer outlooks as has happened reliably in the past.

The fact that the winter gas price surge has been so sudden and that miles driven at this time of the year are far less than in the spring and summer would suggest Americans still don’t fully appreciate how much $4 and $5 gas prices are going to hurt.

Tagged with: Energy • Financial Bubbles • FIRE Economy

New Lows for Case Shiller Home Prices

On February 28, 2012, in Housing, by Tim

Standard & Poor’s reported that home prices continued to decline in late-2011, the national composite index down 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter, 4.0 percent lower for the year, while both the 10-City and 20-City monthly indexes declined 1.1 percent in December and saw annual returns of -3.9 percent and -4.0 percent, respectively.

Property values fell in 18 of the 20 regions in the index as Phoenix and Miami – two areas hit particularly hard during the bursting of the housing bubble – posted modest advances. Detroit led all declining regions with a drop of 3.8 percent in December, followed by Chicago and Atlanta where prices were down 2.0 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the 10-city and 20-city indexes fell only 0.5 percent to close out 2011, their sixth straight monthly decline, and both indexes indicated that home prices were down four percent for the year.

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