The Financial Tech Podcast: Recent Episodes

The Financial Tech Podcast

Over the last year we have strived to bring you the very best in news, interviews and commentary on Tech issues for your home, fitness and financial interests at http://TheAverageGuy.tv as well is the very best in Spartan Radio at http://RadRacing.org. The networks have grown and its time we make a few changes.

The Podomatic RSS Feeds for the Home, Fitness and Financial Tech podcasts as well as Spartan Radio have all changed as of Oct 1st, 2011. We will no longer be using the Podomatic service and will switching over to IX Webhosting for storage and bandwidth. This mean that if you use iTunes or some other podcast listening application, or podcatcher, you will need to change your RSS feeds.

Those new feeds are all available now at http://TheAverageGuy.tv and http://RadRacing.org for Spartan Radio. Look for the subscribe buttons on the right side of the site and change your feeds today. If you have never subscrbled to podcast before or have questions, feel free to email me at podcast@theaverageguy.tv

Was it a stutter step or have markets lost their balance?

Anybody who knows football can tell you a lot goes into every play. Strategy, practice, game review, and preparation all affect outcomes, as do decisions and execution during games. Many, many factors influence gains and losses on the field. Similarly, numerous issues affect the performance of stock and bond markets – a fact that became abundantly clear when pundits tried to explain last week’s market downturn. Here are a few of the things which may have helped put investors on the defensive last week:

· Fears of a China bubble: According to Barron’s, a dip in the nation’s manufacturing index stirred experts’ fears China may be experiencing a credit bubble that is creating property and infrastructure bubbles. If this proves true and the bubble bursts, the repercussions may be felt throughout global markets.

Full show notes, disclosures and video at http://theAverageGuy.tv/ft053

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) appears to have taken the words of American industrialist Henry Ford to heart. Ford said, “There is one rule for the industrialist and that is: Make the best quality of goods possible at the lowest cost possible, paying the highest wages possible.”

Last week, we learned from CNBC China’s annual trade was more than $4 trillion in 2013. That pushed the PRC ahead of the United States and gave it standing as the world’s biggest trader. According to The New York Times, China’s annual trade surplus, in U.S. dollar terms, was the largest since 2008 and 12.8 percent ahead of 2012’s surplus. In other words, China exported more than it imported.

Full show notes, disclosures and video at http://theAverageGuy.tv/ft052

Like the mother of a bride reviewing flower arrangements and fretting that a brilliantly sunny day could be marred by dark clouds hidden just beyond the horizon, pundits have been parsing the exceptional year-to-date performance of U.S. stock markets and fussing over the future.

It’s true. U.S. stock markets look like they may be headed toward a fizzy champagne finish even after retreating a bit last Friday. Through Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Index had closed at record highs 50 times this year and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index wasn’t far behind with 44 record high closes, according to NASDAQ.

Full show notes, disclosures and video at http://theAverageGuy.tv/ft051

You really need to take predictions with a grain of salt. Consider these esteemed opinions:

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." Thomas Watson, Chairman, IBM, 1943 "Who wants to hear actors talk?" H. M. Warner, Founder, Warner Brothers, 1927 "Everything that can be invented has been invented." Charles Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899 It’s an important to remember the fallibility of experts as we head toward a new year and pundits begin pontificating about the events of the past and predicting what may be ahead.

Full show notes, disclosures and video at http://theAverageGuy.tv/ft050

Send your questions or comments to Andrew_Hunt@GuideRockCapital.com

If every piece of positive news was a petal, then you might say the American economy was in bloom last week. Moving into the holiday season, consumer confidence was at a five-month high.

Early in the week, manufacturing showed improvement. On Thursday, the U.S. Commerce Department unfurled the news the American economy grew faster than expected during the third quarter of 2013. The next day, it was reported the unemployment rate was at the lowest level since 2008. Hourly earnings increased, as did the length of the work week. Participation in the work force improved slightly, although it remains at historical lows.

Full show notes, disclosures and video at http://theAverageGuy.tv/ft049

Send your questions or comments to Andrew_Hunt@GuideRockCapital.com

In 2006, Time Magazine’s Person of the Year was ‘You.’ The magazine declared that 2006 was about:

“…Community and collaboration on a scale never seen before… It's about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes.”

Full show notes and video at http://theAverageGuy.tv/ft048

After last week’s surprisingly strong employment report, it’s almost possible to picture Ben Bernanke slapping trail dust from his leg, ducking his head, and saying, “Just doin’ my job.”

After all, running the economy is as laden with complications and unexpected events as a cattle drive. Richard Graboyes, an economist who was once the Director of Education for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, wrote that driving cattle seems “arduous, but simple – walk some cattle from point A to point B. But, the endeavor is fraught with natural and human risks for both rancher and driver.”

Full show notes and disclosures at http://theAverageGuy.tv/ft047

Contrarians probably are waiting for the other shoe – or, in this case, U.S. stock markets – to drop.

If you’re not familiar with contrarian investing, the theory goes something like this: Consensus opinion is often wrong. When the majority of investors have a bullish outlook and believe stocks are going to move higher, the chances are stock values will drop. Likewise, when the majority has a bearish outlook and believes stocks are going to move lower, the chances are stock values will rise.

Why would Contrarians expect markets to head south? One reason is bullish sentiment is high. On October 23, the American Association of Individual Investors’ Investor Sentiment Survey, which measures the percentage of individual investors who are bullish, bearish, and neutral on the stock market for the next six months, shows 49.2 percent are bullish and just 17.6 percent are bearish (the rest are neutral). The long-term averages for bullish and bearish sentiment are 39 percent and 30.5 percent, respectively.

Full show notes and disclosures at http://theAverageGuy.tv/ft046

Curse of Chucky, Scream 2, Final Destination 5, Freddy vs. Jason… You know Halloween is nearly upon us when you can’t surf channels without exposing yourself to or relishing in a multitude of horror flick sequels.

Propagating alarming situations seems to be all the rage in Washington, too. Last week, a last-minute deal raised America’s debt ceiling, saving us from a debt default and ending the government shutdown – until next January. In the meantime, hoping to avoid a sequel just three months down the road, the members of Congress agreed to put their heads together and produce a 10-year budget plan by mid-December.

Full show notes and disclosures at http://theAverageGuy.tv/ft045

Do world stock markets believe Congress is just offering up some Halloween excitement?

Last week, they responded to the government shutdown in the United States and the possibility the U.S. might default on its debt for the first time ever with the bravado of teenagers standing in line for a haunted house. Markets around the globe finished the week higher with some notable exceptions that included Chinese and Mexican markets and America’s NASDAQ.

Full show notes and disclosures at http://theAverageGuy.tv/ft044

“It’s déjà vu all over again,” Yogi Berra reportedly said as he watched Yankee teammates Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris smack back-to-back home runs for the umpteenth time.

Americans are experiencing déjà vu all over again, too. Sure, the prospect of another fiscal showdown doesn’t electrify a crowd like a couple of major league home runs. All the same, investors’ response to the possibility the U.S. government might partially shut down on October 1 was muted. Some U.S. stock markets gave back a little for the week; others moved higher. All remained up year-to-date.

Full show notes and disclosures available at http://theAverageGuy.tv/ft043

We’re going to do it…We’re going to do it…We’re not going to do it…Yet.

Last week, the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee gave stock markets a gift that, on a scale of thrills, might have been on par with Marilyn Monroe singing happy birthday to JFK. On Wednesday, the FOMC announced (without a trace of breathiness):

“Taking into account the extent of federal fiscal retrenchment, the Committee sees the improvement in economic activity and labor market conditions since it began its asset purchase program a year ago as consistent with growing underlying strength in the broader economy. However, the Committee decided to await more evidence that progress will be sustained before adjusting the pace of its purchases. Accordingly, the Committee decided to continue purchasing additional agency mortgage-backed securities at a pace of $40 billion per month and longer-term Treasury securities at a pace of $45 billion per month.”

Full show notes and disclosure at http://theAverageGuy.tv/ft042

Confluences are the building blocks of the world’s waterways. When two or more rivers meet, changes in velocity and turbulence tend to result in geologic scouring; erosive activity that may alter the shape of the river and its bed. The action may produce a ‘scour hole’ downstream from the confluence. For a river runner, a hole creates “potential for trouble and the need for deft maneuvers.” America may be heading toward a scour hole that is being shaped by a confluence of factors and events, domestic and global, economic and demographic.

Full show notes and disclosures at http://theAverageGuy.tv/ft041

Last week was crunch time in the National Football League (NFL). With the 2013 regular season approaching rapidly, NFL teams cut about 700 players from their rosters over the Labor Day weekend. That was a big cut—about a 40 percent drop in player employment—as rosters were pared from 90 to 53 players. However, it’s not likely to have a significant effect on U.S. unemployment data—and that’s really what the week ahead is all about.

Last week, markets jittered and slumped on news that Syria was thought to have used chemical weapons against civilians. According to The New York Times, 70 percent of stocks that trade on the New York Stock Exchange finished Friday lower, and 73 percent of those listed on the NASDAQ lost value.

Full show notes and disclosures at http://theAverageGuy.tv/ft040

Well, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s monetary policy is a lot more complex than the simple tools mentioned in the oft-memorized William Carlos Williams’ poem, The Red Wheelbarrow, but an awful lot is depending on it. In some of those countries that have been affected negatively by changing expectations about quantitative easing, the importance of chickens, wheelbarrows, and other basic tools to a family’s economic well-being has not been forgotten.

Full show notes and disclosures at http://theAverageGuy.tv/ft039

How has uncertainty affected things? Well, it has left U.S. Treasuries a whole lot less popular than they once were. China and Japan reduced their holdings of U.S. Treasuries by about $40 billion recently. According to Reuters, a Chinese economist said the sale of Treasuries could be attributed to expectations that bond yields will rise and prices will fall as QE ends. In the same article, a Japanese policymaker said expectations about changing Fed policies created market volatility that forced some Asian central banks to defend their currencies and that led to the sale of Treasuries. In total, about $67 billion of foreign investment money was pulled out of Treasuries in June.

Full show notes and disclosures at http://theAverageGuy.tv/ft038

You say to-may-to. I say to-mah-to.

You have to be a careful reader to keep up with the Federal Reserve these days. Last week, the Fed re-characterized the pace of economic growth in the United States from ‘moderate’ to ‘modest.’ According to Wall Street Journal blog, Real Time Economics, “economic data show that ‘modest’ is a touch weaker than ‘moderate.’” No matter how you parse the difference, it was enough to prevent the Fed from beginning to normalize monetary policy by cutting back on bond buying.

Get the full set of show notes and disclosures at http://theAverageGuy.tv/ft037

Singing the earnings song…

Each year, in January, April, July, and October, most publicly-traded companies announce their corporate earnings results. These announcements can have a dramatic effect on companies’ share prices – and markets – especially when companies don’t meet analysts’ expectations.

Full show notes and disclosures at http://theAverageGuy.tv/ft036

One of these things is not like the other… If you find yourself humming that old Sesame Street standard when you think about financial markets and world economies, you’re probably not alone.

To the consternation of many, the Dow Jones Industrials Average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rocketed to new highs last week just as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cut its global economic growth forecast for 2013 and 2014.

Full show notes at http://theAverageGuy.tv/ft035

The second quarter offered a level of drama often found in homes with teenagers.

When investors realized their good friend, quantitative easing, might have an earlier-than-expected curfew, they threw a hissy fit that resounded through global markets. The outburst interrupted the trajectory of Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, which finished June lower after hitting record highs in May. As stocks fell, yields on the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond hit a 22-month high.

Higher treasury yields and a strengthening greenback proved attractive to investors and capital flowed out of emerging markets during the quarter. As interest rates moved higher, the cost of borrowing rose sharply in many emerging countries. That may impede economic growth, which has slowed already, in many developing countries. Economies in emerging Asia, Latin America, and Europe grew by about 4 percent on average year-on-year during the first quarter as compared to 6.4 percent on average during the past decade.

Full show notes and disclosures at http://theAverageGuy.tv/ft034

It was like watching a game of telephone where one child speaks into another child’s ear and that child speaks into another child’s ear and, by the time the last child repeats the original statement, it has transformed into something completely different.

Chairman Ben Bernanke stepped up to the microphone at the press conference after the Federal Open Market Committee’s policy meeting and said:

“As I mentioned, the current level of the federal funds rate target is likely to remain appropriate for a considerable period after asset purchases are concluded. To return to the driving analogy, if the incoming data support the view that the economy is able to sustain a reasonable cruising speed, we will ease the pressure on the accelerator by gradually reducing the pace of (bond) purchases. However, any need to consider applying the brakes by raising short-term rates is still far in the future. In any case, no matter how conditions may evolve, the Federal Reserve remains committed to fostering substantial improvement in the outlook for the labor market in a context of price stability.”

Full show notes and disclosures at http://theAverageGuy.tv/ft033

Like a host at a dinner party, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) put the performance of the U.S. economy on the table last week to be gnawed over by world markets. When the IMF presented its annual review of the world’s largest economy, it stated that:

“Despite some improvements in economic indicators, particularly in the housing market, the very rapid pace of deficit reduction… is slowing growth significantly… U.S. growth is expected to slow to 1.9 percent in 2013, from 2.2 percent in 2012. This projection reflects the impact of the sequester ($85 billion of automatic U.S. government spending cuts), and the expiration of the payroll tax cut and the increase in tax rates for high-income taxpayers…Growth could pick up to 2.7 percent next year with a more moderate fiscal adjustment and a further strengthening of the housing market.”

Full show notes and disclosures at http://theAverageGuy.tv/ft032

Like a funhouse mirror, investors’ concerns about whether and when the Federal Reserve will begin to end its quantitative easing program contorted market responses to economic news last week. Unexceptional economic reports were treated as good news and pushed stock markets higher; strong economic reports were treated as bad news and pushed stock markets lower.

Full show notes and disclosures at http://theAverageGuy.tv/ft031

The Fed will taper… the Fed will not… the Fed will taper… the Fed will not…

Last week, investors and traders obsessed about the Federal Reserve and the possibility it might begin to end its quantitative easing program. The Fed began its first round of quantitative easing during the financial crisis in an effort to prop up the American economy. In general, quantitative easing helps increase money supply and promote lending and liquidity. Investors’ fears about what may happen when the program ends were apparent when, despite abundant positive economic news, major U.S. stock markets lost value last week.

Full show notes and disclosures at http://theAverageGuy.tv/ft030

University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Survey and Phenomenon Called Heuristics - Guide Rock Weekly Market Commentary May-20 FT029

Much like elementary school children trying to capture the attention of someone they have a crush on, the American economy sent lots of mixed signals last week.

Conflicting reports emerged about consumer sentiment during the week. The Conference Board, a non-profit research organization, reported consumers remained somewhat pessimistic about the direction of the economy. In contrast, the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey rose to a six-year high, according to ABC News. The Index moved from 76.4 in April to 83.7 in May indicating consumers are feeling more confident about the economy.

Full show notes and disclosure at http://theAverageGuy.tv/ft029

‘Sell in May and Go Away’ is a trading maxim which, according to Investopedia, encourages an investor to “sells his or her stock holdings in May and get back into the equity market in November...” Traders who adhere to that adage may be pondering averages and exceptions right now. During the first two weeks of the month, the Dow Jones Industrials Average, the Standard & Poor’s 500, and the Russell 2000 Indices all reached new highs. The Dow passed 15,000, the S&P reached 1,600, and the Russell 2000 hit 968.

Full show notes and disclosures available at http://theAverageGuy.tv/ft028

More media just like this at http://theAverageGuy.tv

If anyone doubted the power of Twitter, their skepticism was laid to rest this week. Early Tuesday afternoon, a tweet from the Associated Press reported President Obama had been injured by explosions in the White House. Stock, bond, and commodity markets fell sharply on the news and then rebounded when the Associated Press communicated that its Twitter account had been hacked. This wasn’t the first time such a thing had happened on Twitter or the first time false and market moving information had been posted. In February, the stocks of Burger King and Jeep moved after a post on each company’s Twitter account indicated the company had been sold to a rival firm. The lesson to take from these events? Everyone may want to be wary about buying or selling investments based on news reported through Twitter or any other social media feeds.

Full show notes at http://theAverageGuy.tv/ft026

It was a wild, wild week.

Last Monday, bombs exploded near the finish of the Boston Marathon. Not long after, media outlets let the public know letters to President Obama and a senator from Mississippi contained the poison ricin. On Wednesday, the town of West, Texas was flattened by an explosion at a fertilizer plant. By the end of the week, a man had been arrested for sending the ricin letters, the city of Boston had been locked down, the bombing suspects had been captured, and folks were returning to their homes in West, Texas.

Full show notes at http://theAverageGuy.tv

Last week, the term ‘Easy Money’ conjured both comedian Rodney Dangerfield and the U.S. Federal Reserve, and no one was certain how much respect either one should get.

The Fed accidentally e-mailed its market-moving Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes to congressional staffers and trade lobbyists on Tuesday at 2 p.m. The minutes weren’t supposed to be released to anyone until Wednesday at two. Once the mistake was realized, the Fed released the minutes early on Wednesday

Full show notes at http://theAverageGuy.tv

Like winded runners, stock markets slowed at the end of last week.

Since the start of the year, the Dow Jones Industrials Index has risen by almost 11 percent, hurdling past new highs several times. The S&P 500 Index gained 9.4 percent over the same period. The index moved higher in 10 of the past 11 weeks and finished last week just shy of its all-time high. However, the Dow and the S& P’s momentum – and that of some other U.S. stock markets – slowed on Friday as stronger economic data was offset by an unexpected slump in consumer sentiment.

[do action=podcast_panel youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/tzYEI8ru_Fs audio=http://theaverageguy.tv/audio/FinancialTechPodcast021F.mp3 itunes=itpc://feeds.feedburner.com/FinancialTechPodcast]

Economists expected the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index – which gauges Americans’ feelings about their current financial health, the health of the economy over the shorter-term, and growth prospects for the economy over the longer-term – to move higher in March. Instead, the index fell from 77.6 to 71.8, reaching its lowest level since December 2011. Markets fell on the news even though the negative results contradicted those of other consumer confidence measures, such as Bloomberg’s Consumer Comfort Index which has moved higher for six consecutive weeks.

The consumer sentiment surprise also pushed Treasury yields down. Yields on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes fell to 2 percent. The Treasury market remains concerned that stronger economic data could lead the Federal Reserve to change its policy on quantitative easing. The Federal Reserve’s next Open Market Committee meeting is next week, and may provide further insight to the matter.

THE MIDDLE CLASS IS GROWING. In the United States, households that earn between $35,600 a year and $94,600 a year are considered to be middle class. That’s about 40 percent of U.S. households (another 40 percent earn less than the middle class and 20 percent earn more). Scholars and pundits have noted that job insecurity and stagnant income levels have weakened the middle class in the United States during the past few years, but that’s not what’s happening in the rest of the world.

The global middle class has been growing and is expected to continue to grow over the next few decades. The Organization for Economic Development defines the global middle class as including people earning between $10 and $100 a day with purchasing power parity. (Purchasing power parity is the theory that currency exchange rates should adjust so the same goods cost the same in different countries. It’s what the Big Mac Index measures.) By 2030, according to Ernst & Young, the global middle class is expected to more than double, adding three billion new members. These up-and-comers primarily will live and work in rapidly-growing countries.

As the global middle class grows so should its spending power. Between 2011 and 2030, middle class demand for goods and services is expected to increase from $21 trillion to $56 trillion. Forty percent of that spending will be done by the burgeoning middle class in Asia, including China and India. According to Forbes, these consumers are creating demand for all kinds of goods and services including cosmetics, automobiles, cell phone minutes, personal banking, and retirement planning.

For many decades, consumer spending has been an important driver behind economic growth in the United States. It’s likely to play a significant role in the economic growth of emerging countries, too. As developing countries become developed countries, interesting opportunities for investment are likely to emerge.

Weekly Focus – Think About It

“A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.”

--Mark Twain, American author and humorist

Best regards,

ANDREW HUNT CFP® President of Guide Rock Capital Management, Inc.

402.938.6016 1001 Gallup Drive Omaha, NE 68102 Communication | Woo | Achiever | Ideation | Relator

P.S. Please feel free to forward this commentary to family, friends, or colleagues. If you would like us to add them to the list, please reply to this e-mail with their e-mail address and we will ask for their permission to be added.

Securities offered through Shareholders Service Group, Member FINRA/SIPC.

This newsletter was prepared by Peak Advisor Alliance. Peak Advisor Alliance is not affiliated with the named broker/dealer.
The Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general.
The 10-year Treasury Note represents debt owed by the United States Treasury to the public. Since the U.S. Government is seen as a risk-free borrower, investors use the 10-year Treasury Note as a benchmark for the long-term bond market.
Gold represents the London afternoon gold price fix as reported by the London Bullion Market Association.
The DJ Commodity Index is designed to be a highly liquid and diversified benchmark for the commodity futures market. The Index is composed of futures contracts on 19 physical commodities and was launched on July 14, 1998.
The DJ Equity All REIT TR Index measures the total return performance of the equity subcategory of the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) industry as calculated by Dow Jones.
Yahoo! Finance is the source for any reference to the performance of an index between two specific periods.
Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice and are not intended as investment advice or to predict future performance.
Past performance does not guarantee future results.
You cannot invest directly in an index.
Consult your financial professional before making any investment decision.
To unsubscribe from the Guide Post please reply to this e-mail with “Unsubscribe” in the subject line, or write us at Andrew_Hunt@GuideRockCapital.com

During periods of strong market performance, like the one we’ve experienced since the end of last year, it’s important to remember that markets ebb and flow over time. Since December 31, 2012, the Dow Jones Industrial Index has gained 9.9 percent and the Standard & Poor’s 500 added 8.8 percent. Last week, the Dow reached highs last seen during 2007, and the S&P 500 ended the week less than one percent from its record high, which was also realized during 2007.

While the strong performance of U.S. stock markets has given investors reason to smile, significant economic challenges remain. The effect of sequester spending cuts on the American public and economic growth remains relatively unknown. Also, U.S. earnings growth appears to be slowing and that could affect stock prices. (Earnings are a measure of a company’s profitability and influence its share price.)

Global markets were largely up last week, too, as investors seemed to celebrate stronger U.S. and Chinese economic data, as well as the fact that Central banks in Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, and Canada met and left their monetary policies unchanged.

In the Eurozone, economic growth remained relatively weak and inconsistent. While the European Central Bank has stepped up to help countries affected by poor demand for bonds, insufficient bank-to-business lending has negatively affected economic growth, especially in southern Europe, leaving some countries mired in recession.

In the United States, yields on 10-year Treasuries rose higher last week despite Federal Reserve assurances that it will continue to pursue its current monetary policy for some time.

IS A WEDDING IN YOUR FUTURE? IF SO, PREPARE YOURSELF. Between the planner, venue, food, flowers, cake, dress, drinks, photographer, videographer, invitations, programs, and all the rest, you’re likely to be hearing a lot of this: Ka-ching! Ka-ching!

More than $50 billion is spent on weddings in the United States each year. According to the 2012 Wedding Report, the average wedding has about 133 to 143 guests and costs more than $25,000, not including the honeymoon. The good news is the average cost of a wedding in 2011 was less than the average cost in 2007. The bad news is that, according to CostofWedding.com, the cost of any wedding could increase by 50 to 100 percent if the planners choose designer labels, popular event locations, custom products and services, or if they invite significantly more guests.

Here are a few tips that may help ensure wedding costs don’t spiral out of control:

· Establish a budget. Set a budget for the wedding, but make sure you build in a cushion of 10 to 15 percent for cost overruns, just as you would if you were putting an addition on your house or remodeling.

· Understand venue and reception costs. When negotiating the cost of your reception, it’s important to ask for the per person cost, all-inclusive. If you’re given an all-inclusive price and you find the words ‘additional costs may be incurred’ or ‘plus the cost of setup and delivery’ in your final contract, ask what those costs are, specifically, and be prepared to negotiate.

· Make smart liquor choices. The drinks served at the reception often are a significant expense. Many venues charge for every bottle opened. To save on the cost, you could opt to serve beer, wine, and champagne for toasts. Alternatively, you could offer signature cocktails that require a single type of liquor, which can help limit the number of bottles opened.

After evaluating costs, you may decide that the best option is for the happy couple to elope, marry in an exotic locale, and celebrate with a big party when they return. If that’s not an option, make sure to take advantage of the plentiful online resources available.

Weekly Focus – Think About It

“The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.”

--Victor Hugo, French poet and novelist

Best regards,

ANDREW HUNT CFP® President of Guide Rock Capital Management, Inc.

402.938.6016 1001 Gallup Drive Omaha, NE 68102 Communication | Woo | Achiever | Ideation | Relator

P.S. Please feel free to forward this commentary to family, friends, or colleagues. If you would like us to add them to the list, please reply to this e-mail with their e-mail address and we will ask for their permission to be added.

Securities offered through Shareholders Service Group, Member FINRA/SIPC.

This newsletter was prepared by Peak Advisor Alliance. Peak Advisor Alliance is not affiliated with the named broker/dealer.
The Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general.
The 10-year Treasury Note represents debt owed by the United States Treasury to the public. Since the U.S. Government is seen as a risk-free borrower, investors use the 10-year Treasury Note as a benchmark for the long-term bond market.
Gold represents the London afternoon gold price fix as reported by the London Bullion Market Association.
The DJ Commodity Index is designed to be a highly liquid and diversified benchmark for the commodity futures market. The Index is composed of futures contracts on 19 physical commodities and was launched on July 14, 1998.
The DJ Equity All REIT TR Index measures the total return performance of the equity subcategory of the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) industry as calculated by Dow Jones.
Yahoo! Finance is the source for any reference to the performance of an index between two specific periods.
Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice and are not intended as investment advice or to predict future performance.
Past performance does not guarantee future results.
You cannot invest directly in an index.
Consult your financial professional before making any investment decision.

The Markets

Like a climber determined to reach a peak, stock markets continued to move higher last week.

Signs of strength in U.S. and international trade data improved the outlook for economic growth at home and abroad. The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in December, a sign that the economy did better than expected during the fourth quarter of last year. In China, robust domestic demand pushed imports significantly higher while exports grew more than anticipated. In Europe, Germany’s 2012 surplus was its second highest in more than 60 years which is a sign of underlying strength in one of the Eurozone’s biggest economies.

[do action=podcast_panel youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/npZUHZjjTBI audio=http://theaverageguy.tv/audio/FinancialTechPodcast016F.mp3 itunes=itpc://feeds.feedburner.com/FinancialTechPodcast]

Positive economic news hurt gold futures which ended the week modestly lower. However, it made riskier assets, like stocks, attractive to investors, which helped push equity markets higher during the week (although trading volumes were low on Friday because of bad weather in the northeast). The NASDAQ closed at a 12-year high, the S&P 500 Index reached a five-year high, and the S&P 500 posted gains for a sixth consecutive week.

The Treasury bond market gained ground during the week. However, at a symposium at the St. Louis Federal Reserve, Federal Reserve Board Governor Jeremy Stein’s comments seemed to reinforce the idea that Fed officials are concerned that ongoing accommodative monetary policies could cause some sectors of the bond market to overheat. His comments reinforced the idea that the Fed is considering tightening its credit policies down the road.

THERE IS A NEW TREND IN FUNERALS: PLAN YOUR OWN. Susan Boyle, the Scottish chanteuse who was discovered on Britain’s Got Talent back in 2009 wants to leave mourners at her funeral laughing. What is her plan? She wants to have ‘Nellie the Elephant’ played during the service. Whether you applaud her approach or find it appalling, there is a new trend in the funeral industry: preplanning, prepaying, and personalization. Here are a few of the reasons people are choosing to plan and pay for their funerals ahead of time:

Control. When you plan the funeral, you have a pretty good idea about what will happen. You can decide whether there will be a viewing and how your life will be celebrated after the service. You can also create a file with personal information for your obituary, as well as any instructions you have for burial, cremation, or organ donation. Just make sure you leave it with a loved one so they know how to proceed.

Negotiate. Grieving family members are rarely good negotiators. Planning ahead gives you a chance to negotiate and secure a guaranteed price on a prepaid plan offered by a funeral home. Make sure you find out answers to questions such as: What happens if prices increase? What happens if you move? What happens if you change your mind?

Goodwill. If prepaid plans leave too many questions unanswered, you may choose to fund your funeral through a trust or an insurance policy. Regardless of the payment method, providing instructions with your wishes and funds to cover the expenses can relieve some of the anxiety and stress of a funeral.

Personalize. There are many new and unusual options available for funerals and memorial services. Whether you opt for traditional burial, cremation, green burial, mummification, cryonics, a memorial space flight, a memorial reef, or having your ashes compressed into a gemstone, there is a business willing to help.

Funeral preferences are changing. Alternatives to traditional funeral home services are becoming popular, especially among Baby Boomers. If you would like to learn more about the options available, visit the Funeral Consumers Alliance web site (www.funerals.org) and the National Funeral Directors Associations web site (www.nfda.org).

Weekly Focus – Think About It

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

Mahatma Gandhi, philosopher

Best regards,

Andrew Hunt CFP® President of Guide Rock Capital Management, Inc. 402.938.6016 1001 Gallup Drive Omaha, NE 68102

Communication | WOO | Achiever | Ideation | Relator

P.S. Please feel free to forward this commentary to family, friends, or colleagues. If you would like us to add them to the list, please reply to this e-mail with their e-mail address and we will ask for their permission to be added.

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Full show notes available at http://theAverageGuy.tv

Full show notes over at http://theAverageGuy.tv

http://theaverageguy.tv/2013/01/15/financial-tech-the-guide-rock-capital-management-weekly-commentary-for-january-15-2013/