Smart401k Blog

In the headlines

A look at some of the market movers from the week:

• Nonfarm payrolls increased by 243,000 in January as the unemployment rate fell to 8.3%
• European Union leaders came to an agreement on a permanent bailout fund
• Eurozone unemployment hit a record of 10.4%
• Greek officials continue to laboriously work toward a debt deal

The State of the Union Address has long provided the President with the opportunity to present his legislative agenda and communicate policy objectives.  The most recent Address was no exception.  With election year politics in full swing and limited time with a captive audience, the President laid out a broad range of goals, hopes, and directives.

Regardless of party affiliation or your interest in politics, here are three topics receiving mention in the address that could affect you and your finances in some way:

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In the headlines

A look at some of the market movers from the week:

• The U.S. economy grew more slowly than expected in the fourth quarter
• President Obama delivered his State of the Union address
• The Federal Reserve convened its rate-setting meeting and released its inflation forecasts
• Talks to avoid a Greek default dragged on

In the headlines

A look at some of the market movers from the week:

• Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Sumitomo Corp agreed to buy Royal Bank of Scotland’s aircraft-leasing business for $7.3 billion
• China’s GDP growth slowed in the fourth quarter, but was still 8.9% and ahead of expectations
• Shares of Carnival plummeted after its Costa Concordia cruise ship capsized
• Pembina Pipeline agreed to buy Provident Energy for $3.2 billion

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In the headlines

A look at some of the market movers from the week:

• Bristol-Myers Squibb agreed to buy Inhibitex for $2.5 billion
• U.S.-Iran tensions mounted amid concerns over the country’s nuclear program
• As it kicked off fourth-quarter earnings season Alcoa had an optimistic outlook
• Electronics companies showed off their wares at Las Vegas’ Consumer Electronics Show

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In the headlines

A look at some of the market movers from the week:

• Payroll data was better than expected and the jobless rate fell to 8.5%
• France’s Total is investing $2.3 billion in U.S. shale gas reserves
• Greece faces getting pushed out of the euro if it doesn’t close on its bailout deal
• ExxonMobil received a small fraction of the compensation it sought for seized assets in Venezuela

In the headlines

A look at some of the market movers from the week:

• The Department of Justice cleared the way for legal online gambling
• Yields fell drastically for Italy in a nine billion euro bond auction
• President Obama announced his nominations for two Federal Reserve Board seats

Over the past year investors saw a number of events affect the market, from the first ever U.S. credit rating downgrade to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Without the benefit of a reliable crystal ball, it’s impossible to identify all of the factors that will affect the markets in 2012. If history is any indicator, there is a good chance that three factors could dominate headlines in the coming year.

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PNC Bank releases the Christmas Price Index (CPI) each holiday season – this is the 28^th PNC CPI. The tongue-in-cheek list assesses the value of each gift from The Twelve Days of Christmas. They also have an entertaining interactive video (my favorite stop is Fluctuation Falls) to accompany the release.

Here’s the CPI cost breakdown for 2011, as prepared by PNC Bank:

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In the headlines

A look at some of the market movers from the week:

• European Union leaders came to an agreement on a new “fiscal compact” to help deal with the region’s debt crisis
• Standard & Poor’s revealed that it’s considering a downgrade of 15 Eurozone countries
• Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti revealed an austerity package aimed at getting the country’s budget under control

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