Issue 1 2012: January
FINAL STOCK MARKET PERFORMANCE 2011
January 1 through December 31
Dow Jones Industrial Average +5.60%
S&P 500 -0.43%
Nasdaq -2.17%
Russell 2000 -6.18%
EAFE -14.44%
Barclay's Aggregate Bond +4.66%
STOCK MARKET VOLATILITY FOR 2011; HOPE FOR 2012
The Dow Jones Industrial Average had 104 days (out of 252 trading days) of triple digit gains or losses. Since 1948 every presidential election year but two have seen the stock market go up. ..... Fox Business
TAXING THE RICH - WHO ARE THE 1 PERCENT?
It takes an annual income of just above $516,000 to qualify as one of the richest 1 percent of Americans. The poster boys of that privileged set, heaped with the rancor of the Occupy Wall Street movement, are bailed-out bankers and securities traders, hedge-fund managers, and other plutocrats from the world of finance. But in fact, only about 14 percent of the richest taxpayers work in the world of finance. Many more of them - almost a third according to Internal Revenue Service data - are executives in nonfinancial firms. One out of six is in medicine, and one out of 12 is a lawyer. The select club of the top 1 percent includes more information-technology specialists and engineers than it does entrepreneurs, and more scientists and professors than celebrities from the arts, sports, and media. Not incidentally: More than half of U.S. senators and members of the House are part of the top 1 percent. ..... The Week
WHAT ABOUT THE RICHEST 1 PERCENT IN THE WORLD
To be counted among the world's richest 1 percent, a single individual has to earn just $34,000 a year. Members of the planet's true middle class, meanwhile, live on just $1,225 a year. ..... CNN.com
GOVERNMENT WORK
The Dodd-Frank financial reform bill was signed into law 17 months ago, but government agencies have missed more than three quarters of the bill's deadlines to implement new regulations, according to a new progress report. ..... Politico.com
INCOME INEQUALITY
In mid December the U.S. government released data on income inequality around the country from the 2010 Census. In the past 10 years, as in the decade before, the gap between rich and poor has grown almost everywhere, but it has grown particularly acute in the South, the East and in cities with the nation's wealthiest populations, like Greewich, Conn.; Beverly Hills, Calif.; and New York City. A recent study from the International Monetary Fund found that countries with small income gaps tended to have more stable growth and fewer financial crises than those with high levels of inequality. That seems to be the case among U.S. states as well. On average. the 10 states that the Census found to have the smallest income gaps had an average unemployment rate of just 6%, nearly a third lower than the 8.9% unemployment rate in the 10 states where the income gap was the most extreme. States with the highest income gaps like Florida and California also had the biggest housing bubbles - and crashes. ..... Stephen Gandel in Time
WILD WEATHER IN 2011, THE PRICE TAG, AND WHAT ABOUT 2012?
Last year's weather numbers, as compiled by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), were jaw-dropping. In one three-day stretch in April, 343 tornadoes struck in a swath from Alabama to Virginia. Precipitation in the Ohio Valley exceeded normal levels by 300%, leading to flooding along the Mississippi River. Drought-fueled wildfires burned more than a million acres in Texas alone. The U.S. saw a dozen or more events that did at least $1 billion each in damage - and $54 billion collectively- the final price tag will not be known for a while, as NOAA continues to compile statistics on other possible billion-dollar monsters such as Tropical Storm Lee and the pre-Halloween snowstorm in the northeast. For comparison the 1980s saw an average of one such billion dollar disaster each year, while the 2000s saw an average of five per year. In 2009 and 2010 the U.S. averaged 7.5 - on top of 2011's historic 12. The good news (perhaps), early season hurricane predictions by WSI - a division of The Weather Channel, suggests a quiet 2012 compared to 2010 and 2011. .....Jim Cantore in Time
ONE DOLLAR COINS
Due to a lack of demand, the U.S. Mint plans to curtail production of $1 coins and create only enough to satisfy collectors. The move will save taxpayers $50 million a year - or about 15 minutes' worth of the federal deficit. ..... The Wall Street Journal
AND, HOW HARD ARE OUR GOVERNMENT LEADERS WORKING
The House of Representatives will be in session for 109 weekdays in 2012, and will be in recess for 161 weekdays so members can campaign back in their districts. There are just six scheduled congressional workdays in January, three in August, and five in October. ..... CBSNews.com
THE COST OF HEALTHCARE
During 2010, Americans spent $2.6 trillion on healthcare, slightly more than the French spent on everything - education, defense, healthcare, food, housing and more - making U.S. health-care spending alone equivalent to the fifth largest economy in the world. ..... The New York Times
LONGEVITY
You know how much you weigh, but do you know how fit you are? The latter may matter more when it comes to your overall risk of dying prematurely and risk of dying from heart disease. A study of 14,345 men found that regardless of how much weight they gained or lost over 11 years, those who stayed fit or got even fitter, as measured by performance on a treadmill test, lowered their risk of dying from heart conditions by at least 30% compared with those who fell out of shape. Yet another reason to hit the gym. ..... Time
TWINS
The number of twins born in the U.S. has doubled since 1982, largely because of fertility treatments. One in every 30 babies born is now a twin. ..... Reuters
MILT'S MORSEL OF THE MONTH
"We always want the best man to win an election. Unfortunately, he never runs." ..... Will Rogers, quoted in TownHall.com
JIM'S STETHASCOOP
"I honestly think it is better to be a failure at something you love than to be a success at something you hate." ..... George Burns, quoted in the Associated Press
