This week calls for celebration as the S&P 500 turned 60 with nearly $2.4 trillion in capitalization to boot! Get all the details in this edition of Steady Investor\u2019s Week\u2026<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong>60th<\/sup> Anniversary for the S&P 500<\/strong> \u2013 Last Saturday, the largest stock index on the planet \u2013 the S&P 500, turned 60-years-old with nearly $2.4 trillion in capitalization linked to it. The S&P 500 is, in my view, the best barometer for the health and performance of the U.S. stock market. Unlike the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 is a capitalization-weighted index, meaning that its performance is tied to a company\u2019s market value versus its price.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong>China Lowers GDP Forecast, Again<\/strong> \u2013 many investors will recall a couple of years ago when China started to lower its GDP forecast below 7%, which frazzled many analysts and sent worry throughout the capital markets. Fears of a \u201chard landing\u201d in China were in part responsible for the scary correction at the beginning of last year through February. As a reminder, the market shrugged off those worries, had a solid year in 2016 on the whole, and China\u2019s sub-7% growth rate did not drag down the global economy like many worried it would. With that as your background, it was announced this week that China has shifted its annual economic growth target to “around” 6.5%, compared to last year’s range of 6.5% to 7%. The Premier of China, Li Keqiang, seems aware of some of the at-risk structural issues with China\u2019s economy, citing his acknowledgment of \u201crisks related to non-performing assets, bond defaults, shadow banking and Internet finance.” GDP officially grew 6.7% in 2016, which marked the slowest pace in a quarter-century. But don\u2019t that statistic impair your outlook, as we know that sub-7% does not spell doom.<\/p>\n Keeping a Close Eye on OPEC \u2013 <\/strong>earlier this week the Secretary General of OPEC, Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, said that it\u2019s still too early to state whether OPEC is going to extend its promise of production cuts beyond May. That would bring cheer to the oil markets, which responded positively to OPECs initial decision late last year for cuts. At the conference the Secretary General spoke at, top energy ministers said they were committed to removing 1.8 million barrels from the market, which would help the supply case for firmer crude oil prices in the near term.<\/p>\n Musk is from Mars, Bezos is from the Moon<\/strong> \u2013 as Tesla founder Elon Musk takes aim at developing space technology for colonizing Mars, the CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, is looking to do the same for the moon. His company, Blue Origin, has published and distributed a white-paper to NASA and President Trump\u2019s transition team detailing his goals for enabling human settlement on the moon in the future. Bezos, as Musk as already done, is also set to reveal details about his plans for developing a space tourism industry and a strategy for creating an arsenal of reusable rockets. Will there be a stock market for space?<\/p>\n Eurozone Growth Figures<\/strong> Positive, but Lacking <\/strong>\u2013 in more fundamental economic news, GDP figures were released for the euro zone this week, and GDP was confirmed to have grown at a 0.4% quarterly pace at the end of last year, driven by a modest rise in investment and consumer spending \u2013 both good factors driving GDP. Its weak growth, but an encouraging sign nevertheless. According to Eurodata firm Eurostat, it pegged overall growth at +1.7% year over year, below the U.K.’s +1.8% rate and the EU’s wider +1.9% in the year.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This week calls for celebration as the S&P 500 turned 60 with nearly $2.4 trillion in capitalization to boot! 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