End Of The Year.

We're going to be taking some time off between now and the beginning of 2014.  I don't expect much from the world of finance between now and the start of a new year but rest assured we'll cover it if the need arises.  A few quick thoughts before we trot off into the holiday madness.  

*  My S&P 500 estimates are a work in progress for next year but right now I'm thinking of a range between 1,850 and 2,050.  Nothing final yet but let's start with these figures and try to make some sense of them next year.  

*  I continue to think the story next year will be foreign and emerging markets.  I've been saying that for about six months though and so far I've been wrong.  Stay tuned to see what 2014 brings over seas!

* The other story {and on this one I've been a bit more correct} for next year I think will be that the US economy continues to surprise to the upside.  I've said for quite awhile that I think in the aggregate the economy has been getting better.  I think next year will be the year that our improving conditions here at home becomes more apparent to the man on the street.

*   I want to take this moment to thank several groups of folks.  The first is my family without whom my life would have not been as rich in spirit as it is.  The second are my friends.  By-the-way if you're a client you're a friend.  Not just because you pay me {thanks for that by-the-way} but because I'm fortunate to be able to work with people I like.  If a man measures his wealth by his friends then I'm one of the wealthiest people on this world.  Thanks again for your friendship.  It means the world to me.  Thanks as well to my clients, especially those that were with me in the beginning and stuck around for the hard times when it looked like the world was going to end.  Finally, thanks to all of you who read this blog.  I'm amazed how many of you that's morphed into.

*  Thanks to all the folks {military, police fire et al.} who put themselves in harms way each day and man the walls so the rest of us might be safe.  Semper Fi Uncle Mike.

*  God Bless to those in hard or mean places.  May we do more for them in the coming year.

*  God Bless and Godspeed Mrs. T. 

*  In the same vein on things getting better, I urge you to read this uplifting piece that I found on Business Insider.com.  It's titled "The Future is Going to be Awesome, And Here's Why".  It's too lengthy for me to excerpt but I want to leave you with the following:

If we take a further step back, we can see that over the last 100 years economic downturns — be they recessions that occur every few years or bigger crises such as the Great Depression — as painful as they are while we live them, barely register in a background of unabated economic growth. In fact over the last 100 years human lifespans have doubled from 40 to 80, average per capita income has tripled and childhood mortality has divided by 10. The cost of food, electricity, transportation and communications have dropped 10 to a 1,000 fold. Global literacy has gone from 25% to over 80% in the last 130 years.

We have redefined what poverty means. Today 99% of Americans in poverty have electricity, water, toilet and refrigerator. 95% have a television. 88% have a mobile phone. 70% have a car and air conditioning. The richest people 100 years ago could only dream of such luxuries.

We are also living in the most peaceful time in human history; not just of recent history, but in the history of humanity. We are truly living in extraordinary times.

From a financial perspective 2013 was a good year.  Here's to another prosperous year in 2014!  May the new year find you healthy in both body and spirit.  May the road rise to meet you, the wind be always at your back and the sun shine bright across your fields!  Happy holidays to each and every one of you.  Hanukkah has already passed this year, but if you will be celebrating Christmas or Kwanzaa I wish you the merriest one possible.  And finally in the words of Charles Dicken's character, Tiny Tim, God bless us everyone.

*Long ETFs related to the S&P 500 and foreign markets in both client and personal accounts.