Market Watch
The election is over, the bumpy economic ride continues, but the good news is that the holiday season is upon us.
It is a festive time and a time to celebrate the many good things that happened this year. This is the time of year that we can begin to focus on family, warm memories and the blessings of the season. This year that will be especially true given the chaos of the first ten months of 2008.
While you will likely begin to wind down and start to focus on the fun of the holiday season, it is also a good time to begin to take a look at your portfolio and make some choices now that may save you tax dollars in 2009. This is an important step, as you will want to make sure that the losses you may have incurred this year are properly accounted for when tax time comes.
In this month’s newsletter, we have included an article on harvesting tax losses for the year; a review of the tax loss rules for selling stock; and reading the post-election landscape as it relates to the economy and stock market.
As a reminder, we are continuously uploading new and informative articles to our website http://www.CCAWealth.com.
We hope that this monthly e-Newsletter will provide you with a consistent reminder to stay vigilant in your retirement planning, and to continue to look for the information you need to avoid mistakes that may affect your future.
As always, we will do our part to make sure we are passing along pertinent news and information.
Please don’t hesitate to call us for any questions or concerns you may have. We’re here for you!
Have a safe, fun and enjoyable Thanksgiving.
See you next month,
Carpenter Claydon Advisors, Inc.
Latest News
Is It Harvest Time for Tax Losses?
Fall is harvest time—what’s in your garden? If you find some tax losses among the melons and squash ripening there, this might be a good time to harvest them. But as always when you’re thinking about selling investments, there are several things you need to think about first. Many of them have to do with taxes.
more info =>
Here is a short piece on current market events that was written on Monday, November 17, 2008 by Roger Young, head of the Retail and Correspondent sales desks of Fidelity Capital Markets:
The dour news on the economy continues and overseas traders are signaling more concern over the economy, the consumer and the markets. While we have expected some better performance in equities based on technical's, "bullish divergences" set on last week's new lows in the Dow Jones Industrials index, we caution that fundamentals keep pointing to weakness in consumer spending and a higher unemployment rate, so a trend is still negative.
more info =>
Stocks: Reading the Post-Election Landscape
By Ben Steverman
Many investors are breathing a sigh of relief that the U.S. Presidential contest is finally over. Now what?
more info =>
Wine of the Month
Merry Edwards: 2005 Sonoma Coast; Pinot Noir
This elegant and lively Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir presents beguiling charms and a strong, supple structure. To capture the forward fruit and length on the palate, the winemaker composed this blend from five diverse vineyard sources and multiple clones. The wine aged for ten months in fifty-two percent new oak barrels. Floral aromas of rose petals and violets give way to delicate fraises de bois, boysenberry and cherry flavors.
The wine has a silky texture with mature, sleek tannins, and the ripe, juicy fruit carries through a long, glorious finish. It is thought that this Pinot Noir will flourish in the bottle for many delicious years.
Fresh figs wrapped in prosciutto, grilled apricots stuffed with Affinois cheese, wild mushroom ragout, freshly caught mountain trout — this Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is a wine for all seasons. It can be enjoyed with a variety of first course dishes, complementing pure flavors with plush texture.
Did You Know…The first credit card was issued in 1951
Credit was first used in Assyria, Babylon and Egypt 3000 years ago. The bill of exchange - the forerunner of banknotes - was established in the 14th century. Debts were settled by one-third cash and two-thirds bill of exchange. Paper money followed only in the 17th century.
The first advertisement for credit was placed in 1730 by Christopher Thornton, who offered furniture that could be paid off weekly.
From the 18th century until the early part of the 20th, tallymen sold clothes in return for small weekly payments. They were called "tallymen" because they kept a record or tally of what people had bought on a wooden stick. One side of the stick was marked with notches to represent the amount of debt and the other side was a record of payments. In the 1920s, a shopper's plate - a "buy now, pay later" system - was introduced in the USA. It could only be used in the shops which issued it.
In 1950, Diners Club and American Express launched their charge cards in the USA, the first "plastic money". In 1951, Diners Club issued the first credit card to 200 customers who could use it at 27 restaurants in New York. But it was only until the establishment of standards for the magnetic strip in 1970 that the credit card became part of the information age.
The first use of magnetic stripes on cards was in the early 1960's, when the London Transit Authority installed a magnetic stripe system. San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit installed a paper based ticket the same size as the credit cards in the late 1960's. The word credit comes from Latin, meaning "trust".
Cheques (checks) came into use in 1875.
Thoughts for the Month
"After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box."
-- Italian Proverb
"Don't waste your life in doubts and fears: spend yourself on the work before you, well assured that the right performance of this hour's duties will be the best preparation for the hours or ages that follow it."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Strange, Interesting & Important Facts of the Month
• Franklin Pierce was the first U.S. President to have a Christmas tree in the White House
• The Sears Tower consists of nine framed tubes, which connects nine skyscrapers as one building • The first subway system in America was built in Boston, Massachusetts in 1897
• More than half the time spent in United States courts is cases that involve automobiles • One barrel of petroleum holds 42 gallons
• In Belgium, 172,000 tons of chocolate are produced in a year
• The word Nike comes from Greek Mythology. Nike is the goddess of victory and was often depicted as a small winged figure whom the goddess Athene carried
• The biggest bug in the world is the Goliath Beetle which can weigh up to 3.5 ounces and be 4.5 inches long
• Leaving the water running while brushing your teeth can waste four gallons of water in a minute