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FINANCIAL ADVISORS
 
 
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Weekly Market Review
 
for the week of - 04/05/2010
In This Issue
Market Commentary
Notable Numbers
Client Spotlight
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Greetings!
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I'm happy to introduce our Client in the Spotlight for April, Joe Ruggiero Co-Owner of Dom & Vinnie's Restaurant in Yonkers, NY. Be sure to read about Joe and check out the offer he has for any client that visits. 
   
I promised in last week's WMR to tell you about my home theatre project. Let me start by saying, as home theatres go, this is in NO WAY impressive. I have simply added a surround sound system to the flat panel TV in the living room. "Big deal" you might be saying to yourself, "lots of folks have that these days". I agree, it's not really that big of a deal.  Here's the part that I think makes my home theatre a little different. I am building a library of DVDs. After I got to about 25 - 30 movies and was tired of flipping through each to see what I wanted to watch,  I decided to arrange my library of movies and catalog them so they were, yes you guessed it, organized. Here's what I came up with.
In the front of the catalog, an alphabetical listing of all of my movies (I now have just over 250 and growing).
From there I have created sections broken down by genre (Action, Comedy, Drama ...). Each movie is listed alphabetically here too (yes, I have cross referenced all of the movies that have more than one genre).
Last but not least I have created a "title page" for each movie consisting of a brief synopsis, running time, rating, genres and a list of the main actors.
The beauty of this, when we have a guest over, we can hand them the catalog (which is now a three ring binder) and let them pick whatever they want to watch.
I guess the real fun would be to have someone over for dinner (that I shop for and cook) in the yard by the garden and a movie afterward. I would be in planning heaven.
Have a great week.

Market Commentary

 
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The S&P 500 wasn't about to repeat its slow start of the last 2 years.  After dropping 9.4% and 11.0% (total return) in the first quarter of 2008 and 2009, the stock index reversed the trend by gaining +5.4% in the first 3 months of 2010, its best quarter to begin a calendar year since 1998.  The S&P 500 has now gained +50% for the 1-year ending 3/31/10 and has gained +78% from its bear market low of early March 2009 to the end of last week (source: BTN Research). 
 
Employers hired 162,000 workers in March 2010, the 3rd month in the last 5 where job growth has taken place (note that both November 2009 and January 2010 originally showed job losses but have since been revised).  The 162,000 job gains nationwide were split 123,000 in the private sector (76%) and 39,000 of government jobs (24%).  The Federal Reserve's 13-month program of buying $1.25 trillion of mortgage-backed securities ended last Wednesday (3/31/10).  Ben Bernanke's plan to keep bond prices up and yields down was remarkably successful but will now rely upon other buyers (e.g., institutional money managers or fund companies) to pick up the slack.  The only negative was that too few homeowners were able to refinance during the last year of near historic-low mortgage interest rates (source: Labor Department, BTN Research).        
 
The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, the 10-member panel charged by Congress to determine the causes of the 2008 financial disaster, will question Alan Greenspan this Wednesday (4/07/10).  The 84-year old Greenspan has recently been taking on his critics, fiercely defending his legacy in the wake of many detractors (source: Congress).

Notable Numbers

1.     MORE TO CLIMB - At last Thursday's (4/01/10) closing value of 1178 (the US stock market was closed on Friday), the S&P 500 is still 25% below its all-time closing high of 1565 set on 10/09/07.  The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index of 500 widely held stocks that is generally considered representative of the US stock market (source: BTN Research).            
 
2.     UP AND DOWN - The percentage split between "up" and "down" months (using S&P 500 total return results) over the last 250 months (i.e., June 1989 to March 2010) is 64% "up" and 36% "down" (source: BTN Research).   
 
3.     LESS THAN HALF - The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was 3.83% on 3/31/10 (last Wednesday).  The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was 8.65% on 3/31/90 (20 years ago) (source: Treasury Department).  
 
4.     RE-DEFAULT - 50.5% of home mortgages modified by lenders in the 4th quarter 2008 were 90 days or more delinquent just 1-year later (source: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency).

Client  Spotlight - April 2010

Joe Ruggiero, Dom & Vinnie's Restaurant
 
Butch GilbertOur client in the "Spotlight" for April is Joe Ruggiero. Joe is the Co-Owner of Dom & Vinnie's Restaurant in Yonkers, NY Joe & his wife, Ann, live in Westchester and have three beautiful children.
Q. What type of restaurant is Dom & Vinnie's?
A. An authentic family style Italian pizzeria/restaurant.
 
Q. Where is the restaurant located?
A. 351 Saw Mill River Rd, Yonkers, NY 10701
 
Q. What hours are you open?
A. We're open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.
 
Q. What is the Phone #?
A. (914) 476-6666
 
Q. Do you have a Website/ Email?
A. Yes, www.DomNVinnie.com / DomNVinnie@yahoo.com 
Q. Has the restaurant won any awards?
A. Yes, several including Westchester Magazines "Voters Choice Award" for best Pizza.
 
Q. Are reservations needed/ suggested?
A. Not usually, if there is a group of 6 or more it would be a good idea. We always do our best to get our customers seated right away.
 
Q. Can you accommodate Catering/ Parties/ Events?
A. Absolutely, we have a second dining room that accommodates up to 40 people or we can supply catering at offsite events.
 
Q. What are a few of your most popular dishes?
A. There are several.
·         Rigatoni Napolitano (W/ moms small meatballs and sauce)
·         Penne Montemara (Shrimp & Arugula in a pink sauce)
·         Chicken Scarparello
·         Veal Chop W/ Cherry peppers  & Potatoes
·         Mom's Homemade Cheesecake
·         Daily Specials are listed on our website along with our regular menus.
 
Q. Sounds like you have a wide variety to choose from?
A. Oh yes, and if there's something a customer wants and it's not on our menu, we'll happily prepare it for them.
 
Q. How did the restaurant get started?
A. My father Dom & my uncle Vinnie opened a pizzeria/restaurant in Ardsley in 1971. Ardsley Pizzeria served pizza in the front and had a small restaurant in the back. My Mom, Maria and Aunt, Ida, ran the kitchen in the back while Dom & Vinnie made pizza in the front. They sold in 1985 and set up shop in the current location in Yonkers.  I took over my father's share of the restaurant around 1996 after finishing Law School at Fordham University. I was only supposed to be here on a temporary basis but I absolutely fell in love with the customers and the business. Although my partner (and cousin) Mike and I run the business now, we keep our parents involved. They're great to turn to for "old fashioned guidance and advice". They also come in every morning and help. My father comes in and bakes all of the breads while my mother makes the pastries every morning.
 
Q. What changes are you most proud of?
A. Keeping the quality and flavor of our foods while modernizing the behind the scenes operations, such as adding a website and delivery on the weekends.
Joe has made this gracious offer to you or any one you refer to his restaurant.
Please go see him. Enjoy!
 
 Enjoy a complementary dessert with the purchase of any dinner entree. (dine-in only)
 
Save 20% off of Dine-in Catering with 15 or more guests.
 
Save 15% off of Take-out Catering purchases of $200.00 or more.  
 
 print this coupon and present to your server         JP Bio Pic  J. Pink Associates.
Offer Expires: 5/31/2010                     Can not combined with any other offers                  
 
As always, if there's anything we can help you with, please feel free to call the office anytime.
 
I hope you have a great week.
 
 
Sincerely,
 
John

John W. Pink, Sr.
J. Pink Associates, Inc.,
Financial Advisors
 
 
At J. Pink Associates, we do comprehansive financial planning and wealth management for families and small businesses by getting to know the unique details of your financial
world and thoughtfully crafting a strategy to identify and support your goals.
 
 
This material represents as assessment of the market and economic environment as a specific point in time and is not intended to be a forecast of future events, or a guarantee of future events, or a guaranteew of future results.  Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties.  Actual results, performance, or achievements may differ materially from those expressed or implied.  Information is based on data gathered from what we believe are reliable sources.  It is not guaranteed by NFP Securities, Inc. as to accuracy, does notpurport to be complete and is not intended to be used as a primary basis for investment decisions.  It should also not be construed as advice meeting the particular investment needs of any investor.  The indices mentioned are unmanaged and cannot be directly invested into.  Part performance does not guarantee future results.  The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index of 600 widely held stocks that is generally considered representative of the US stock market.
 
Securities and Investment Advisory Services offered through NFP Securities, INc. a Broker/Dealer, Member FINRA/SIPC and a Federally Registerd INvestment Advisor.
 
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