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So far, so good for market

As I've said many times before, so far so good. What a run we have had.

As I write this on Thursday, unless otherwise indicated, all the numbers will measure from Jan. 1 through May 30.

Year-to-date the Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 stocks is up 9.4 percent. Most times I would take that for a year's performance.

The NASDAQ Composite is lagging a little at 7.3 percent and the Standard and Poor's 500 is also lagging the Dow but is up 7.9 percent.

Another fairly good measurement of market performance is the Wilshire 5000, a measurement of most stocks traded, which is up 8.3 percent YTD.

Smaller stocks continue to outperform the larger blue chips. The S and P Midcap 400 is up over 13 percent and the Smallcap 600 is up 9.5 percent.

One of the indexes I like is the Investor's Business Daily Mutual Fund Index. Year-to-date it is up about 9.5 percent.

All of these numbers have only one meaning. So far, so good.

I am happy the market is up about 9 percent rather than down 9 percent. But it is becoming more difficult, in my view, to find stocks that look cheap. It is a little tougher buying in here.

Long term views are becoming really important after moves like this market has had over the past three years or so. If you are a new investor in this market, you will likely need patience.

———

The bond market continues to fluctuate and move slightly higher on yields. I am not happy about that.

The 30-year U.S. Treasury Bond is yielding above 5 percent. That may not be good for the market. There are investors who measure guaranteed returns against risk returns and at some juncture take money out of the market and go after guaranteed returns because it does not make sense to take risk.

I don't know whether we are there or not, but it does bear watching.

Yields on shorter term bonds are about 4.9 percent on the 10 Year Treasury and 4.8 percent on the five year.

Generally commodity prices are higher than a year ago. There are some exceptions but the majority are more expensive. It does not appear that my t-bone and bacon are cheapening up any time soon.

Crude oil is up about 4 percent so far this year, natural gas is 28 percent higher than a year ago, and gold is up about 3 percent.

———

Across the pond foreign markets remain fairly strong. The Dow Jones World stock index is up 9.4 percent. The DJ CBN China 600 is up 101.8 percent. Yes, over 100 percent.

I have some money in China and it is not up 100 percent, so I'm not sure what that means.

Singapore, Germany, Mexico and Brazil are up over 17 percent. Israel is up 20 percent, but and on the negative side our buddies in Venezuela are down 24 percent.

———

You've heard me harping on rebalancing portfolios. Normally I only rebalance for my clients one time per year, usually in February or March.

Rebalancing means just taking a look at your asset allocations. If you are supposed to have 30 percent of your investment dollars in bonds, where are you?

With the market performance of the past couple of months, I may not do anything, but I am going to take a look. Maybe you should also.

Feel free to use my Web site for no cost investment information or to contact me at www.hjpentony.com.

———

My friend Louie, a somewhat unusual fellow, says he's finding it hard to make a comeback because he hasn't been anywhere. He's the same guy who thinks that tanks should be far easier to rent. Now my wife thinks he's funny!

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