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Golden appeal
Turns out, central banks bought more gold in 2018 than any years since 1967, according to the World Gold Council. That’s good news for anyone loving this precious metal—just not always profitable news.
Surprisingly, that increase in what gold was being used for wasn’t in jewelry. Nope, counties such as China, Poland, Russia, Turkey and Kazakhstan have been adding it to their reserves. Jewelry demand, on the other hand, was pretty much unchanged.
We’ve been told that gold is generally thought of as a good bet during times of political or economic unrest and turbulence. And, it’s always been thought of as a kind of balancer, or hedge, to one’s existing equity portfolios during volatile markets even though making money from it hasn’t been a slam dunk.
That said, if you’ve an interest in the glittery stuff, here’s a brief look at how its per ounce price has performed over the years according to data from KITCO.com;
-10 year high 1900.30; low 868.70
-5 year high 1382.; low 1050.6
-1 year high 1353.30; low 1173,70
-Today, Monday, Feb.4, 2019 at 2:52 pm—1313.70
“Economic uncertainty, slowdown, (and the) U.S.-China trade conflict supported investment flows,” said the World Gold Council’s head of market intelligence, Alistair Hewitt who added. “This dynamic is likely to run through 2019.”
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Market Quick Glance
Nice jump ups last week on the year-to-date returns for the three indices followed here. But can that trend, if it is a trend, continue? Time will tell.
Below are the weekly and 1-year index performance results for the three major indices—DJIA, S&P 500 and NASDAQ — including the dates each reached new highs. Data is according to CNBC.com and based on prices at the close of business on Friday, Feb.1, 2019.
–DJIA 7.44% YTD up from the previous week’s 6.04%.
- 1 yr. Rtn -4.29% improved from the previous week -6.2%
Most recent DJIA a new ALL-TIME CLOSING HIGH was reached on Oct.3, 2018 of 26,951.81. The previous high was reached on Sept. 21, 2018 of 26,796.16.
-S&P 500 7.97 % YTD down from last week’s 6.30%
- 1 yr. Rtn -4.09% improved from last week’s -6.15%
The S&P 500 reached a BRAND NEW CLOSING ALL-TIME HIGH on Sept. 21, 2018 of 2,940.91. The previous closing high was reached on August 29, 2018 of 2,916.50.
-NASDAQ 9.47% YTD up from last week’s 7.98%
- 1yr Rtn -1.65% improved from last week’s -3.32%
NASDAQ reached a BRAND NEW 52-week CLOSING HIGH on August 30, 2018 of 8,1333.30. The previous high was reached on August 24, 2018 of 7,949.71.
-Mutual funds
Repeat from early January:
Looking up.
At the close of business on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019, the total return for the average stock fund under the broad U.S. Diversified Equity Fund heading was 4.70%, according to Lipper.
Looking at the fund types with the highest year-to-date gains under the various headings shows the following:
-U.S. Diversified Equity Funds average, 4.70%; highest Equity Leveraged Funds, 11.08%; lowest, Dedicated Short Bias Funds, -8.88%
-Sector Equity Funds average 4.88%; highest Energy MLP Funds, 11.74%; lowest Alternative Managed Funds, -2.20%
-World Equity Funds average 4.07%; highest Latin American Funds, 9.01%; lowest India Region Funds, -1.23%.
Visit www.allaboutfunds.com for more information about how various equity and fixed-income funds have rewarded investors over the short-and long-term, based upon Lipper data. Short-term meaning weekly and monthly performance returns; longer-term includes quarterly, year-to-date, 1-yr, 2-yr, 3-yr and 5-yr returns.
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Christian Investing
I remember learning that it was easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than it was for a rich man to get into heaven. I’m going to guess that the folks who run the various portfolios of the Timothy Plan might see that differently.
The Timothy Plan group of funds was created 25 years ago to meet the needs of Christian investors who didn’t want their money invested in companies that support things such as pornography, abortion, wars, any anti-family causes or simply companies whose products run contrary to the teachings of Scripture.
To date that’s paid off for them as the family now has over $1 billion under management.
From their recent press release: “The impact of our investments affects more than the return column on our account statements, it enables companies of high moral character to establish a greater presence in our community at large—Kingdom Impact Investing.”
Believers in that style of investing can learn more about their funds, fund performances, etc. at TimothyPlan.com.
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