Weekly Tip

Remember that there are two kinds of 529 plans: the prepaid tuition plan and the college savings plan. A prepaid tuition plan lets you pay some of the future cost of a university education today. A college savings plan offers you a choice of equity investments for your savings and has variable returns.

JOBLESS RATE HITS 18-YEAR LOW

Unemployment fell to 3.9% in April, the Department of Labor said Friday – the smallest percentage seen since late 2000. Additionally, the U-6 underemployment rate declined to 7.8%, a 17-year low. Payrolls expanded with 164,000 net new jobs last month; the economy has created an average of 200,000 jobs a month so far in 2018, compared to 177,000 a month in 2017.¹

PERSONAL SPENDING IMPROVES 0.4%

The March gain reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis was the best since the 0.5% advance in December. Personal wages increased 0.3% for March, replicating the gain from February.²

ISM INDICES RETREAT

Purchasing manager indices at the Arizona-based Institute for Supply Management showed the factory and service sectors of the economy cooling down in April from a red-hot degree of expansion. ISM’s manufacturing PMI fell 2.0 points to 57.3, and its non-manufacturing PMI dropped by the same amount to 56.8.³

NASDAQ RISES; DOW, S&P FALL SLIGHTLY

All three major Wall Street indices rallied on Friday, but only the Nasdaq Composite ended up higher on the week. Across five trading sessions, the tech-heavy benchmark gained 1.26% to 7,209.62. The S&P 500 declined 0.24% for the week to 2,663.42, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.20% to settle at 24,262.51.⁴

THIS WEEK:

AMC Entertainment, Andeavor, Hertz Global Holdings, Invacare, Sempra Energy, Sysco, and Tyson Foods announce earnings Monday. Before Tuesday’s open, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell comments on monetary policy in Switzerland; after the open, Wall Street considers earnings calls from Aramark, Dean Foods, Discovery, DISH Network, Electronic Arts, Etsy, La Quinta Holdings, Marriott, Monster, Papa John’s, Planet Fitness, TripAdvisor, U.S. Auto Parts, Valeant, Walt Disney Co., Wendy’s, and William Lyon Homes. April’s Producer Price Index arrives Wednesday, plus earnings from Anheuser-Busch, Coty, Green Dot, Groupon, Horizon Pharma, Hostess, Office Depot, Roku, Siemens AG, Spectra Energy Partners, Sunoco, 21st Century Fox, and Weibo. Thursday, the April Consumer Price Index and new initial claims figure complement earnings from AMC Networks, Duke Energy, News Corp., Nvidia, Symantec, TiVo, and Yelp. On Friday, the University of Michigan unveils its preliminary May consumer sentiment index, and ArcelorMittal and Thomson Reuters make earnings news.  

% CHANGE Y-T-D 1-YR CHG 5-YR AVG 10-YR AVG

DJIA -1.85 +15.80 +12.41 +8.71

NASDAQ +4.44 +18.67 +22.68 +19.26

S&P 500 -0.38 +11.46 +13.00 +8.92

REAL YIELD 5/4 RATE 1 YR AGO 5 YRS AGO 10 YRS AGO

10 YR TIPS 0.79% 0.50% -0.53% 1.53%

Sources: wsj.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov – 5/4/18^4,5,6,7

Indices are unmanaged, do not incur fees or expenses, and cannot be invested into directly. These returns do not include dividends. 10-year TIPS real yield = projected return at maturity given expected inflation.

---

About Brower Financial Group

Sound financial planning you can count on.

An organization is only as strong as its roots. For six generations, our families’ Florida roots have guided our approach to life and community service. As a financial partner to hundreds of families and organizations for more than 25 years, we understand what is most important to you.

Brower Financial Group is a premier financial planning firm located in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.

---

Securities offered through JW Cole Financial, Inc. (JWC), Member FINRA/SIPC Advisory Services offered through J.W. Cole Advisors, Inc. (JWCA). Brower Financial Group and JWC/JWCA are unaffiliated entities. Registered Representatives of J.W. Cole Financial, Inc. whose identities and associations with Brower Financial Group are disclosed on this site, may only conduct business with residents of the states and/or jurisdictions for which they are properly registered.

This material was prepared by MarketingPro, Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. This information has been derived from sources believed to be accurate. Please note – investing involves risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional. This information should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any Federal tax penalty. This is neither a solicitation nor recommendation to purchase or sell any investment or insurance product or service, and should not be relied upon as such. All indices are unmanaged and are not illustrative of any particular investment.

Citations.

1 – jamiedupree.blog.ajc.com/2018/05/04/nations-jobless-rate-drops-under-4-percent-for-first-time-since-2000/ [5/4/18]

2 – tradingeconomics.com/united-states/personal-spending [5/4/18]

3 – instituteforsupplymanagement.org/ISMReport/NonMfgROB.cfm?SSO=1 [5/4/18]

4 – markets.wsj.com/us [5/4/18]

5 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=5%2F4%2F17&x=0&y=0 [5/4/18]

5 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=5%2F4%2F17&x=0&y=0 [5/4/18]

5 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=5%2F4%2F17&x=0&y=0 [5/4/18]

5 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=5%2F3%2F13&x=0&y=0 [5/4/18]

5 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=5%2F3%2F13&x=0&y=0 [5/4/18]

5 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=5%2F3%2F13&x=0&y=0 [5/4/18]

5 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=5%2F5%2F08&x=0&y=0 [5/4/18]

5 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=5%2F5%2F08&x=0&y=0 [5/4/18]

5 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=5%2F5%2F08&x=0&y=0 [5/4/18]

6 – treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyield [5/4/18]

7 – treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyieldAll [5/4/18]