The S&P 500 stock index finished the 3rd quarter on a high note last Wednesday, gaining +15.6% (total return) for the period.  That result was the best 3rd quarter performance (i.e., July-August-September) since 1970 and stands as the 2nd best gain achieved over any consecutive 3-month period during the last 10 ½ years.  Investors were reminded just how fragile equity valuations can be however, as the stock index stumbled on Thursday and Friday (the first 2 days of October), losing 3.0% (source: BTN Research). 
 
The late week drop in stock prices wasn't helped by the news that our nation's unemployment rate hit a 26-year high in September.  The increase in job losses nationwide has led thousands of laid off Americans in their 60s to apply for early retirement benefits from Social Security.  The likelihood of a high unemployment rate in the near future has prompted the government to project a Social Security deficit for both 2010 ($10 billion) and 2011 ($9 billion).  The last year in which Social Security paid out more than they took in was 1983 (source: Social Security Administration).  
 
The US Supreme Court begins its 2009-10 term today.  Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor takes her place on the 9-member court as its 111th justice in history and only the 3rd female but the first Latino.  John Roberts begins his 5th year as Chief Justice.  John Paul Stevens, appointed by President Ford in 1975, is the court's oldest member at age 89 (source: Supreme Court).