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7am Saturday

November 16, 2019

Good morning! It was another memorable week for me with a state volleyball championship and all-time highs for the stock market. Cheers! 🍻

State Champions!

🏐 The Liberty-Benton Eagles are Ohio Division III State Champs! – So, normally I would save my volleyball updates for last, but this is so cool I couldn’t wait to share it. Last Saturday my daughter’s volleyball team won the state title by beating Independence in 5 sets:

  • 18-25 – Independence
  • 30-28 – LB
  • 25-23 – LB
  • 21-25 – Independence
  • 15-11 – LB! 🏆​

It was a great ending to a spectacular season! This was the first 5-set match for the Eagles all season. Their final record was 28-2 with the only losses coming from state-ranked Division I teams. This was the first state title for LB volleyball. My daughter, Avery, is a sophomore, so we are looking forward to the next two years as they look to repeat.

I loved watching all these girls play this year, but #2 was definitely my favorite

Markets

📈 The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 28,000 for the first time.

It’s been an amazing run for the Dow over the past decade!

​

This was the 11th closing high of the year for the Dow. The S&P 500 and the NASDAQ also hit new records. This week’s optimism was driven in large part by White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow who indicated that there was progress being made toward a potential trade deal with China and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell who noted strength in the economy. Mr. Powell’s testimony this week indicated that while the Fed has paused rates for now, there is a bias toward lowering rates rather than lifting them.

⚡ A look at major market milestones – We always get excited when the Dow crosses a new 1,000 point milestone. But, the fact is each 1,000 point milestone is a smaller % gain than the last. It wasn’t that long ago that we were celebrating Dow 20,000. Now, Dow 30,000 is just a 7% gain away.

The S&P 500 also crossed a new milestone this week. 100 points for the S&P 500 is very similar to 1,000 points for the Dow. This past Tuesday we saw 3,100 for the first time:

Weekend Reading

📹 Okay, I know it’s not reading, but don’t miss Josh’s quick market update video. (It’s less than 3 minutes and it will make you laugh. My kids loved his intro! 😂)

🧭 If you are changing jobs anytime soon: Jess had a great post on navigating a job change. She has 4 great tips based on her own experience from joining our firm earlier this year.

💸 The IRS has proposed new life expectancy tables used to calculate the annual Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from all sorts of tax-preferenced accounts, including IRAs and 401(k)s, for both lifetime account owners and their (stretch) beneficiaries. This is the first time the tables have been updated since 2002. The proposal has not yet been formally approved and wouldn’t take affect until 2021.

You can read all about it on Kitces.com: “The bottom line is that the proposed changes aren’t going to result in any dramatic differences, but for those only taking distributions from their retirement accounts because the IRS says they have to (and not because they need to rely on the distributions for living expenses), there will be a slight reduction in the required minimum distribution amount, ultimately preserving more of the owner’s tax-deferred dollars. Even though the relative level of resulting tax-savings may be small, though, arguably any relief is still good news.”

The Good Stuff

🐭 Something new I’m enjoying – Disney+ launched this week with 10 million subscribers on the very first day. For $6.99 per month you can stream endless Disney movies and TV shows. If you are a Verizon Wireless customer with an unlimited plan you can get Disney+ free for one year. I signed up this week and my kids love it. The best part for families? …you can stream simultaneously on up to 4 devices, so everyone can watch what they want. Remember when the whole family had to watch the same TV show?!

Investors like Disney+: The stock is up nearly 32% this year

🚗 Shopping for a new car? – Consumer Reports is out with its annual reliability rankings. Here are the 10 most reliable models for 2020:

  • Mazda MX-5 Miata
  • Toyota Prius Prime
  • Toyota Prius
  • Lexus GX
  • Hyundai Kona
  • Mazda CX-3
  • Lexus NX
  • Toyota 4-Runner
  • Mazda CX-9
  • Lexus GS

Enjoy your weekend,

Adam

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