Louis Navellier takes a look at a few key economic indicators including inflation, retail sales, jobless claims and industrial production. "Last week, the S&P rose 0.6% for its 10th weekly gain in the first 11 weeks of 2013. The Dow Industrials ended a 10-day winning streak (the longest since November 1996), including eight straight all-time highs, and the S&P 500 peaked at just two points below its all&time high. Even more encouraging, the VIX (volatility index) remains extremely low, so the stock market’s rise has been relatively smooth. In addition, inflation fears may drive more investors out of bonds, lifting stocks further." Download Full Commmentary Here Get Free Research Reports about Navellier & Associates, Inc. [+] Read More

Nuveen Asset Management’s Chief Equity Strategist, Bob Doll, takes a look at the European and U.S. Political Decisions that lie ahead. "Last week U.S. equities continued to rise and the S&P 500 increased approximately 2% as fundamentals moved in a positive direction. The U.S. household deleveraging seems to have advanced to a stage that will allow the pace of growth to accelerate later this year. The Fed is unlikely to tighten policy prematurely. The European Central Bank (ECB) is willing to be the lender of last resort, which has dramatically diminished the risk of contagion throughout Europe. China appears to have passed the worst of the growth slowdown phase." Download Full Commmentary Here Get Free Research Reports about Nuveen Asset Management [+] Read More

Nuveen Asset Management’s Chief Equity Strategist, Bob Doll, provides his thoughts on the outcome of the sequestration vote in Congress. "U.S. equities advanced marginally last week, as the S&P 500 increased its gain to approximately 6.9% for the year. Markets were in a holding pattern during February, with minimal change in global equities or credit spreads and a slight rally in bonds. Broadly speaking, U.S. markets outperformed world markets and the dollar rallied." Download Full Commmentary Here Get Free Research Reports about Nuveen Asset Management [+] Read More

Louis Navellier reviews the recent M&A and stock buyback activity and what’s fueling this uptick. "The S&P 500 rose for its seventh consecutive week, but by only 0.1%. The Dow came within 1% of its all-time high, and the S&P 500 traded within 3% of its all-time high, but each day’s closing in the S&P was remarkably flat - in a narrow range from 1517 on Monday to 1521 on Thursday. Maybe traders are trying to dope out the market’s long-term direction before mounting an assault on new highs." Download Full Commmentary Here Get Free Research Reports about Navellier & Associates, Inc. [+] Read More

Roosevelt Investment’s January 2013 investment commentary looks towards 2013 and the themes they suggest watching. "A cloud of political uncertainty hovered above the markets in the fourth quarter of 2012. Fortunately, an accommodative Fed and some decent economic indicators cast a bit of sunshine and prevented major sell-offs. Looking ahead, the debt ceiling negotiations could present a serious challenge both to lawmakers and the markets over the coming months. Nevertheless, reasons for cautious optimism exist. Easy monetary policy and economic improvements may trump political instability." Download Full Commmentary Here Get Free Research Reports about Roosevelt Investment Group [+] Read More

Niemann Capital Management’s latest commentary reviews the dangers of something many investors unfortunately do all too often: chasing past performance. "No matter how often we money managers tell investors that short-term performance does not guarantee similar results in the future or complete a full market cycle, investors still can’t help themselves from getting distracted by alluring short-term performance. It’s like seeing a really attractive person walk by and suddenly forgetting that your significant other has been there for you time and time again. The diversion from the big picture is known as Shiny Object Syndrome, or SOS." Click here to read the full article. Get Free Research Reports about Niemann Capital Management [+] Read More

Richard Hirayama, portfolio manager of the Wentworth Hauser International Equity strategy, examines central bank actions and what it could lead to. "The world has benefited substantially from three decades of declining inflation which reduced costs and stimulated economic growth. However, synchronized credit creation and money printing by the major central banks may ignite inflationary forces similar to the 1960’s and 1970’s. Stagnant subpar global economic growth of 3-3.5% in an environment of rising inflation expectations could breed stagflation. The central banks would almost certainly not permit inflation to rise above 4-5% for a sustained period of time but an inflation advance from 2% to 3% is a 50% increase which could motivate investors to seek out inflation-hedging assets such as equities and WHV’s energy and materials investments for potential protection against purchasing power degradation and paper money devaluation." Download Full Commmentary Here Get Free Research Reports about Wentworth, Hauser & Violich [+] Read More

Louis Navellier looks at the upcoming elections, potential impact of tax cuts and the amount of investor demand after the election. "The Dow fell 205 points on the 25th anniversary of the October 19, 1987 crash, but the broader S&P 500 managed to rise 0.32% for the week and is now up 14% year-to-date, without much participation from the general public (yet). Most investors continue to abandon U.S. equity mutual funds in favor of bond funds. Imagine what stocks can do when we see some resolution of the "Fiscal Cliff" after the elections - now just 15 days away. Then, we’ll have a clearer view of what to expect out of Washington, DC." Download Full Commmentary Here Get Free Research Reports about Navellier & Associates, Inc. [+] Read More

Charles Schwab recently announced that it agreed to purchase money manager ThomasPartners for $85 million. The move comes as Schwab is trying to expand its money manager offering to clients. ThomasPartners dividend-growth strategy was particularly attractive, with $2.3 billion in the strategy. Charles Schwab's other high profile acquisitions was Windhaven Investments in late 2011. Get Free Research Reports about Thomas Partners [+] Read More