Greetings!
Assistance for Fire Victims
If you or anyone you know has been affected by the recent Colorado fires, contact A&I Financial Services LLC. We are helping coordinate free financial help for fire victims with the Colorado Financial Planning Association. You can call us directly at 303.690.5070.
Simplicity on the Other Side of Complexity
Karl Frank was recently featured in the June edition of Financial Planning magazine:
"If personal financial planning is complex, then advising entrepreneurial clients is orders of magnitude more so. Planner Karl Frank in Englewood, Colo., who specializes in clients who are small business owners, relies on a guiding princople for himself and for this class of clients.
"Those who are really successful are those who can see the simplicity on the other side of complexity," says Frank, president of A&I Financial Services.
As an illustration, Frank described the case of two value-added technology resellers in Colorado who were fierce competitors. One was Frank's client. In 2008, as the markets turned down and the economic terrain began shifting, Frank's client made a simple offer of terms to buy out his competitor. Click here to read entire article |
| Weekly Economic Update | |
IF GREECE EXITS THE EURO, WHAT COMES NEXT?
Best-case scenarios for Greece seemed to fade as the weekend neared. Concerns mounted that Sunday's special elections would either bring another parliamentary deadlock or a victory for parties opposing scheduled austerity cuts. Some economists maintained that a Greek exit from the euro would not be abrupt and not produce a shock like the 2008 Lehman Brothers collapse. Anxiety was tempered by anticipation: expectations of a central bank response grew. In fact, last week the Bank of England announced plans for 6-month loans and liquidity injections to shield the U.K. financial system from any fallout. Yields on Spanish 10-year notes hit 7% last week, a sign of skepticism about that nation's bank bailout. (1,2 )
CONSUMER PRICES DECLINED IN MAY
The federal government's Consumer Price Index fell 0.3% for May, thanks largely to a 4.3% drop in energy prices. Core CPI rose 0.2% for the third straight month with 12-month consumer inflation at 1.7% (a long way from the 3.9% annualized inflation measured in September). May's Producer Price Index dropped 1.0%. (3)
SALES & SENTIMENT SLIP, HOME EQUITY INCREASES
The Census Bureau said retail sales fell 0.2% in May; they slipped for a second straight month, which hasn't happened since 2010. June's preliminary University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey dropped to 74.1 from May's final mark of 79.3. On a positive note, retail gas prices are down 2.65% so far in June; on Friday, AAA had regular unleaded averaging just $3.52 a gallon. Another positive: Q1 2012 saw a 7.3% rise in U.S. home equity, the best quarter in in more than 60 years. (4,5,6,7)
HOPES RISE ... AND SO DO STOCKS
New hope of central bank intervention (and expiring options and futures) pushed stocks higher last week, with the major indices performing as follows: S&P 500, +1.30% to 1,342.84; DJIA, +1.70% to 12,767.17; NASDAQ, +0.50% to 2,872.80. Gold was up 2.31% for the week to $1,628.10, oil down 0.08% on the week to $84.03. (6,8)
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| Market Summary |
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% Change |
Y-T-D |
1Yr Chg |
5-Year Avg | |
DJIA |
+4.50 |
+7.31 |
-1.28 | |
NASDAQ |
+10.27 |
+9.17 |
+1.87 | |
S&P 500 |
+6.78 |
+6.12 |
-2.48 |
(Source: msn.money.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov, treasurydirect.gov - 6/15/12). Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indices are unmanaged, and investors cannot invest in them directly. |
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Create a beautiful week!
Karl Frank, MBA, MSF
Certified Financial Planner (R)
A & I Financial Services LLC
303.690.5070
Citations:
1 - www.nytimes.com/2012/06/15/business/global/europe-braces-for-greek-vote-and-maybe-more.html [6/15/12]
2 - www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2bb1de8c-b6cd-11e1-8c96
-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1xtvQqrp4 [6/15/12]
3 - www.usatoday.com/money/economy/story/2012-06-13/econ-reports-0614-cpi-jobless-claims/55592570/1 [6/15/12]
4 - www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/retail-sales-drop-again-in-may-report-says/2012/06/13/gJQANa80aV_story.html [6/5/12]
5 - www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/06/15/bloomberg_articlesM5NW0W07SXKX01-M5NWG.DTL [6/6/12]
6 - money.msn.com/market-news/post.aspx?post=85df9010-4f02-4208-bbdf-5f7a52a60a67 [6/15/12]
7 - www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-14/americans-see-biggest-home-equity-jump-in-60-years-mortgages.html [6/14/12]
8 - montoyaregistry.com/Financial-Market.aspx?financial-market=common-financial-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them&category=29 [6/15/12]
Securities offered through Geneos Wealth Management, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through A & I Financial Services LLC, registered investment advisor. |
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| Words for Thought |
"Big thoughts are fun to romanticize, but it is many small insights coming together that bring big ideas into the world."
Scott Berkun |
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Riddle of the Week
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I can't walk, but at times I run and I am very difficult to hide. I am always with you. What am I?
Last week's riddle:
Two couples played paintball. Each person had blue, green, yellow, or red paint, and wore a uniform in one of those same colors. Barbara used blue paint. The person wearing green used yellow paint. Steven did not wear the red uniform. Vicki used green paint and wore blue. Ian used the same color paint as his t-shirt. Can you match each person to the color of paint and uniform they used?
Last week's answer:
Ian: wore red, red paint; Barbara: yellow, blue; Steven: green, yellow; Vicki: blue, green |
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Karl Frank was interviewed by 9News on March 28th, 2012 regarding "3 Things You Should Do if You Win the Mega Millions Lottery". | |
Click Here to View Video
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Karl Frank In Investment Advisor Magazine |
 | | Investment Advisor - November 2011 |
Investment Advisor Magazine's November 2011 edition features Karl Frank. In the article "Never Satisfied," John Sullivan writes: Passion born of tragedy drives Karl Frank to do all he can to help business owners ensure a legacy for loved ones and heirs. Industrial age publisher and philanthropist Frederick Bonfils said there is no hope for the satisfied man. If that's the case, Karl Frank is full of hope.
"I'm never satisfied," Frank says matter-of-factly when asked about his advisory firm
.....Read More. |
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