“I will be watching you Focker…” -Robert DeNiro, playing Jack Byrnes in Meet the Parents, 2000

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Even with Friday’s jobs report, showing that only 39,000 new workers were added to the job force in November, the market was up last week.

The equity markets we track in this report all had an exceptionally good week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 2.62% last week to finish at 11,382, the S&P 500 Index gained 2.97% to end at 1,225, and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 2.24% to finish at 2,591. The Russell 2000, which measures smaller capitalization stocks, and has posted positive returns 4 out of the last 5 weeks, rose 3.2% to finish the week at 756.

We are entering the season where we see an assortment of 2011 market forecast reports coming out of various research shops, however, only a few provide great insight. We look forward to reading the LPL Financial 2011 market outlook this week as we think it has become one of the most readable, accurate and insightful pieces put out by any research shop, due in part to their independent perspective.  In looking over a few of the outlook reports so far, the most remarkable thing we’ve is that no one has a catastrophic or overly negative outlook on the markets or the economy.

Sure there are some pictures being painted that outline the risks and the possibilities of bad news, but it’s refreshing to see how far we’ve come from some of the negativity that encompassed so many reports coming out a year ago. It’s hard to believe that we have seen corporations printing better than expected earnings for seven straight months after some of the reports we have read over the past year.

We still have a positive outlook on the equity markets and are over-weight the small and mid cap space and the technology sector. We are still looking at investments in areas OTHER THAN bonds for fixed income allocations.

Call us for help or if you have any questions.

Securities and Financial Planning offered through LPL Financial, a Registered Investment Advisor.  Member FINRA/SIPC.

**Standard Compliance Disclosures

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which investment(s) may be appropriate for you, consult your financial advisor prior to investing. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Stock investing involves risk including loss of principal. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is comprised of 30 stocks that are major factors in their industries, and widely held by individuals and institutional investors. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index (S&P 500) is an unmanaged capitalization weighted index of 500 stocks designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks representing all major industries. The NASDAQ Composite Index measures all domestic and non-U.S. based common stocks listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market. The market value, the last sale price multiplied by total shares outstanding, is calculated throughout the trading day, and is related to the total value of the Index. The Russell 2000 Small Stock Index is an unmanaged index generally representative of the 2000 smallest companies in the Russell 3000 Index. The Russell 2000 companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values.