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Yearly Archives: 2014


December 2014 Economic Dashboard

At this time last year we presented data about the performance of the stock market in the year following a substantial surge in stock prices the previous year. 2013 was the 6th best year for stocks since 1952, with the S&P 500 gaining 29.6% that year. Our research showed that in the years following an […]

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November 2014 Economic Dashboard

Previous Dashboards have mentioned the remarkable resurgence in crude oil production in the United States in the past five years. New drilling methods in tight shale formations ranging from Pennsylvania to North Dakota and south to Texas have released huge new reserves of crude for domestic consumption. Oil being a global market, the surge in […]

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October 2014 Economic Dashboard

Right on queue the stock market swooned in early October, as it has done many times in the past, earning its reputation as the most frightful month of the year. All three major indexes (Dow 30, S&P 500 and NASDAQ) set a new high on September 19th and each dropped between 8% and 10% by […]

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September 2014 Economic Dashboard

The third quarter ended with a bout of volatility in the stock market as investors began to digest both the prospect of the Fed raising interest rates in 2015 (the date is still being debated) and the rapid rise of the U.S. dollar compared to our major trading partners. A pick-up in economic growth has […]

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August 2014 Economic Dashboard

The major economic issue of this recovery, which began in the spring of 2009, has been the extraordinarily weak labor markets. The recession was called “The Great Recession” for good reason, and the pace of new job creation has lagged previous recoveries for most of the past five years. But employment data of late is […]

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July 2014 Dashboard

The lingering effects of the severe winter of 2014 were shrugged off as the second quarter’s first read on economic growth showed an annualized gain in GDP of 4% (much better than expected), compared to an annualized decline of 2.9% for the first quarter. Economic gains were widespread for both consumer and business spending, along […]

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June 2014 Dashboard & Fourth of July Index

Welcome to the fourth installment of our Fourth of July Index. The annual survey performed by our firm is intended to give a real-life example of the changes in prices of a variety of grocery items needed for a typical picnic in celebration of Independence Day. We include the cost of a tank of gas […]

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