2010 Charts of the Week
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- Consumer Confidence vs. Stocks
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted March 05, 2010
- Economists consider the stock market to be a leading economic indicator; thus by definition, the stock market turns ahead of the economy and has a big influence on consumer confidence. This statement can be observed in the chart above with consumer confidence tending to reflect the movements of the stock market and often turning after the stock market has changed directions. While historically this pattern may be apparent, history may not repeat itself and is no guarantee of future results.
- Patchwork Quilt of Investment Returns
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted February 26, 2010
- The Patchwork Quilt of Investment Returns ranks key market indexes, representing different asset classes, in order of calendar year performance. Each asset class's performance is measured by the performance of its corresponding index in the color-coded legend below the chart. The asset class with the best calendar year performance is on top, and the asset class with the lowest calendar year performance is at the bottom of the chart. A top ranking does not mean the asset class produced positive returns.
- Value Versus Growth Monthly Returns
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted February 19, 2010
- It is often debated whether higher stock market returns can be achieved by investing in stocks labeled as "growth" or "value". Historically, those seeking to invest in value stocks search for undervalued companies with relatively low price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios and high dividend yields. On the other hand, those investing in growth stocks search for companies with high earnings growth that tend to sell at higher P/E ratios and have lower dividend yields.
- Deleveraging the U.S. Consumer
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted February 12, 2010
- The seasonally adjusted, annualized U.S. personal savings rate rose to 4.6% in the fourth quarter of 2009, while the U.S. household debt service ratio fell to 12.85% as of third quarter of 2009. Both of these changes illustrate the “deleveraging” process that the U.S. consumer is currently going through. After a period of increasing leverage at the beginning of the millennium, the recent financial crisis highlighted the dangers of taking on too much debt and not saving enough. Now, the U.S. consumer is working to cleanse its personal balance sheet by saving more and taking on less debt.
- S&P 500 Index Historic Calendar Year Returns 1926-2009
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted February 5, 2010
- The end of 2009 prompted the annual update of our Standard & Poors 500 Index ("S&P 500 Index") calendar year return graph. The S&P 500 Index consists of 500 stocks representing larger capitalization companies traded in the U.S. The green bars represent positive calendar year returns, while the red bars represent negative calendar year returns. For the 84 years ended December 31, 2009, the S&P 500 Index posted 60 positive calendar year returns and 24 negative calendar year returns.
- Fixed Income Sector Performance (as of 12/31/09)
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted January 29, 2010
- Similar to the fixed income market as a whole, returns for individual sectors may go up or down. A sector may outperform over an extended period and then underperform in subsequent periods. The chart above compares the performance of eleven fixed income sectors for the calendar year 2008 and the calendar year 2009.
- Top Ten Countries in the MSCI EAFE Index
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted January 22, 2010
- The Morgan Stanley Capital International ("MSCI") Europe, Australasia, and Far East Index ("EAFE") is a benchmark commonly used to measure non-U.S. developed country stock market performance. The bar chart above shows the net performance in U.S. dollars of the top 10 countries by weighting in the index as of December 31, 2009, with the country with the highest weight (United Kingdom) listed first, and the country with the lowest weight (Hong Kong) listed last. The net return of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index is also included. This index measures the equity stock market performance of 22 emerging market countries, which are not included in the MSCI EAFE Index.
- S&P 500 Sector Performance (as of 12/31/09)
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted January 15, 2010
- Similar to the stock market as a whole, returns for individual sectors of the stock market may go up and down. A sector may outperform over an extended period and then underperform in subsequent periods. The chart above compares the performance of the S&P 500 Index ("S&P 500") to its ten underlying sectors for the years ended December 31, 2008 and December 31, 2009. The S&P 500 is an index consisting of 500 companies representing larger capitalization stocks traded in the U.S.
- Capital Markets Review, Period Ended 12/31/2009
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted January 8, 2009
- Capital markets were strongly positive for the year ended December 31, 2009. U.S. Equity markets, as measured by the S&P 500 (large-cap), Russell 3000 (total market), and Russell 2000 (small-cap), were up for the quarter, 1 year and 5 year periods. The Russell 2000 (small-cap) posted a gain over the 10 year period of 3.51%, but the Russell 3000 (total market) and S&P 500 (large-cap) were down 0.20% and 0.95%, respectively.
- Investment Resolutions for 2010
- MarketView Chart of the Week, posted January 01, 2010
- It's a popular time of the year to start thinking about New Year's resolutions. Along with the other goals you set for yourself in 2010, it's important to think about your financial well-being and retirement. Here at ICMA-RC, we offer you our top ideas for 2010 resolutions:
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