I hope you have had a wonderful Easter. At the end is some information that I found on Easter celebrations around the world. This week the topic is the performance of different types of bonds during the first quarter 2012. First is the weekly recap from Vanguard which was published before the disappointing jobs report last Friday.
Vanguard
Ahead of the long holiday weekend (for many), most signs suggest that tomorrow's employment report will show the U.S. economy added about 200,000 jobs in March—continuing a string of improvement. Amid the progress, the Federal Reserve signaled that no new monetary stimulus is likely anytime soon. The stock market will be closed on Good Friday; the bond market is expected to close at noon. For the week, through April 5, the S&P 500 Index fell 0.7% to 1,398 (for a year-to-date total return—including price change plus dividends—of about 12%). The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 4 basis points to 2.19% (for a year-to-date increase of 30 basis points).
Performance of Bond Mutual Funds
Bonds come in many different categories. My preference to purchasing bonds is to purchase a mutual fund of bonds rather than individiudal bonds. The April 9, 2012 Barron's publication had a section devoted to the performance of mutual funds including bond mutual funds. As you will see not all bonds and bond funds are created equally and you can lose money on bonds and bond funds.
Barron's shows 17 different categories of taxable bond funds and gave performance during the past quarter,1 year, 5 years, and 10 years. My personal view is that the future for bonds is best represented by the past quarter rather than the other categories. My reason is that bonds have had an unprecedented bull market where interest rates have been declining for about 30 years and that it has come to an end.
Below is the quarterly performance of some of the different types of bond mutual fund categories compared to a money market fund and my favorite bond fund:
Money Market Funds = 0.00%
Short US Government = 0.43%
Short Investment Grade = 1.33%
Intermediate US Government = -0.28%
Intermediate Investment Grade = 1.50%
General US Government = -0.61%
General Bond = 1.78%
GNMA = 0.36%
High Yield - Non Investment Grade = 5.42%
Emerging Market Debt - Non Investment Grade = 6.92%
My Favorite Bond Fund = 3.47%
You will note that investing in bonds issued by the US Government gave the worst return due to rising interest rates. This trend will continue which is why I am avoiding them.
My favorite bond fund did very well compared to the other categories of investment grade bonds. The bond funds that did not have investment grade bonds did better but also have a risk level higher than I do not want to accept. I will continue to hold my favorite bond fund.
Easter Celebrations Around the World from Crown Relocations
In New Zealand, people attend Church Services over the weekend to celebrate both the death and resurrection of Christ and to mark the end of the season of Lent. The stores all carry Hot Cross Buns and stock chocolate Easter eggs for the Easter Bunny to fill his basket in anticipation of his delivery rounds on Easter Sunday morning. This usually results in Easter egg hunts for the children.
France has held on to its traditions by giving eggs (chocolate nowadays) on Easter day, which is related to the renewal of nature in spring time. It has also been related to the end of fast period, a period during which no eggs could be eaten, creating abundance thereafter. Louis XIV gave eggs gilded with gold to his sycophants. They were filled with "surprises" and the tradition remains until today. It is also the symbol of resurrection in Christian religions.
On Easter Sunday in Italy, all members of the family exchange Easter eggs, which can also be made especially for the occasion containing special gifts that are placed inside the egg. On Easter Sunday morning, each family usually eats a breakfast of salami, eggs, a special cheese cake and the traditional ''colomba'' – a sweet cake which contains almonds and candied fruits. On Easter Monday, everybody goes out for a picnic or by the sea and many families eat lamb, broad beans and a strong sheep’s milk cheese.
For the Czech Republic, in general, Easter is no longer considered a great Catholic feast. It is more of a welcome to spring, an opportunity for a family to meet at dinner or to visit one of the cultural events held during Easter. Fairs are held in many places, there is usually a wide offer of beautiful hand-painted Easter eggs, and eggs decorated by different techniques – the so called "kraslice" (yolk and white are removed and egg-shell is decorated), which decorate shops as well as households.
There are a variety of Easter traditions in Australia. Pancake Day is associated with Shrove Tuesday, because pancakes were a dish that could use up perishable foodstuffs prior to the beginning of the 40 days of fasting during Lent. Hot Cross Buns have a cross, the symbol of Christ, placed on top of the buns, either with pastry or a simple mixture of flour and water. The buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday; however, in Australia they are available in bakeries and stores many weeks before Easter. Easter eggs, symbolizing new life, have long been associated with the Easter festival.
The United States shares many of the traditions with other countries. On Easter Sunday children wake up to find that the Easter Bunny has left them baskets of candy. He has also hidden the eggs that they decorated earlier that week. Children hunt for the eggs all around the house and outside. Neighborhoods and organizations hold Easter egg hunts, and the child who finds the most eggs wins a prize. Families also get together for an Easter meal.
For Ireland, Easter-time is rich with traditions, the overlapping and commingling of centuries of ritual celebrating rebirth, resurrection, salvation and everlasting life. Many of the traditions surrounding Easter in Ireland are universal to the Christian world. Others – such as the dawn dance, the herring funeral, and the cake dance – are distinctly Celtic, and many hark back to the traditions of pre-Christian times.
On Sunday morning in Poland, beautifully laid tables are covered with colored eggs, cold meats, coils of sausages, ham, yeast cakes, pound cakes, poppy-seed cakes, and in the middle of it all, a lamb made of sugar, commemorating the resurrected Christ. No smoke is permitted; therefore no warm meals are served. Sharing a boiled egg with one’s relatives is a national tradition. A piece of egg with salt and pepper, consecrated by priest, is an inseparable accessory in the good wishes we extend to each other at Easter.
In Brazil, parents hide chocolate eggs the Saturday before Easter around the house, so the kids can find them on Sunday morning. There are different sizes but all made out of chocolate. Sometimes close friends and relatives also exchange eggs.
Traditions for the people of the U.K. include eating hot cross buns – meant to symbolize the Cross, exchange chocolate eggs or bunnies (symbols of new life) on Easter Sunday and often small eggs are hidden around house and garden for children to find. Children paint decorations on egg shells and simnel cakes are baked – a rich fruit cake with a layer of marzipan in the middle and 11 balls of marzipan on top symbolizing 11 true apostles (excluding Judas). This is less common now except in a very traditional Easter.
Showing posts with label First Quarter 2012. Show all posts
Showing posts with label First Quarter 2012. Show all posts
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
Quarter 1 2012 & Palm Sunday
The first quarter of 2012 is upon us and it has been rather unusual on a couple of fronts. First the weather has been warmer than normal. Secondly, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had the best Quarter 1 return since 1998. At the end is some information from Wikipedia about how Palm Sunday is celebrated around the world, I found it interesting.
Vanguard
In a television interview earlier this week, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the economy has made strides over the past few months, but that housing and unemployment remain a threat to a full recovery. Economic indicators this week were a mixed bag. The U.S. economy expanded in the fourth quarter. Consumer confidence fell slightly. Consumers are spending more, and businesses are investing—but at a slower pace. For the week ended March 30, the S&P 500 Index rose 0.8% to 1,408 (for a year-to-date total return—including price change plus dividends—of about 12.6%). The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 2 basis points to 2.23% (for a year-to-date increase of 34 basis points).
Quarter 1 Review
The biggest concern during the quarter was the price of oil and the Iranian oil issue. So far this has not had a significant impact on our economy and it appears that many world leaders are trying to keep it that way. It is important to listen for the clues from leaders around the world on this issue.
Two concerns existed when the quarter began which seem to have faded. These were the economic recovery and Europe. Our economy remains on a slow recovery and it will for quite awhile. The European crisis seems to have blown over once people realized that it was time to bring it to closure.
So what happens in quarter 2? I sure wish I knew the answer. My plan is to take some profits and get more conservative in some accounts during April since we have gotten a gain during the quarter which normally would occur during the entire year. I like the saying of a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush.
Palm Sunday Celebrations Around the World - Wikipedia
It is customary in many churches for the worshippers to receive fresh palm leaves on Palm Sunday. In parts of the world where this has historically been impractical, substitute traditions have arisen.
In Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Israel, Palm Sunday – known as Shaa’nini in Arabic- is perhaps the best-attended service in the Christian Calendar, among the Orthodox, Catholic (Latin rite and Eastern rite), Maronite and Anglican Churches, perhaps because it is notably a family occasion. On this day, children attend church with branches from olive and palm trees. Also, there will be carefully woven crosses and other symbols made from palm fronds and roses. There will normally be a procession at the beginning of the service and at some point, the priest will take an olive branch and splash holy water on the faithful.
In Latvia, Palm Sunday is called "Pussy Willow Sunday", and pussy willows – symbolizing new life – are blessed and distributed to the faithful.[9] Children are often woken that morning with ritualistic swats of a willow branch. People also catch and spank each other with the branches, a ritual often consummating in sexual intercourse.
India
Flowers (in this instance marigolds) strewn about the sanctuary in an Oriental Orthodox church in Mumbai, India on Palm SundayIn the South Indian state of Kerala, (and in Indian Orthodox,Church of South India(CSI), Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, and Syrian Orthodox Church (Jacobite) congregations elsewhere in India and throughout the West), flowers are strewn about into the sanctuary on Palm Sunday during the reading of the Gospel at the words uttered by the crowd welcoming Jesus, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who is come and is to come in the name of the Lord God." These words are read to the congregation thrice. The congregation then repeats, "Hosanna!" and the flowers are scattered. This echoes pre-Christian Hindu celebrations in which flowers are strewn on festive occasions; however, this also echoes the honour shown to Jesus upon his entry into Jerusalem. Indian Orthodoxy traces its roots to the arrival in India of St. Thomas the Apostle in AD 52 (according to tradition) and his evangelism among both the Brahmans of the Malabar Coast and the ancient Jewish community there. Its rites and ceremonies are both Hindu and Jewish, as well as Levantine Christian, in origin.
In Elche, Spain, the location of the biggest palm grove in Europe, there is a tradition of tying and covering palm leaves to whiten them away from sunlight and then drying and braiding them in elaborate shapes.
A Spanish rhyming proverb states: Domingo de Ramos, quien no estrena algo, se le caen las manos ("On Palm Sunday, the hands drop off of those who fail to wear something new").
All the parishes of Malta and Gozo on Palm Sunday (in Maltese Ħadd il-Palm) bless the palm leaves and the olive leaves. Those parishes that have the statues of Good Friday bless the olive tree they put on the statues of "Jesus prays in the Olive Garden" (Ġesù fl-Ort) and the "Betrayal of Judas" (il-Bewsa ta' Ġuda). Also, many people take a small branch of olive to their homes because they say the blessed olive branch keeps away disease and the evil eye (l-għajn ħażina or is-seħta).
In the Saxon regions of the Netherlands, crosses are decorated with candy and bread, made in the form of a rooster. In the diocese of Groningen-Leeuwarden, a great procession with oil lamps is held the night before Palm Sunday in honour of the Sorrowful Mother of Warfhuizen.
Many Polish towns and villages (the best known are Lipnica Murowana in Małopolska and Łyse in Podlasie) organize artificial palm competitions. The biggest of those reach above 30 meters in length; for example, the highest palm in 2008 was 33.39 meters high.
In Romania, Palm Sunday is known as Duminica Floriilor.
In Bulgaria, Palm Sunday is known as Tsvetnitsa or Vrabnitsa. People with flower-related names, (for example Tzviatko, Margarita,Ralitza, Lilia, Violeta, Yavor, Zdravko, Zjumbjul, Nevena, Temenuzhka,Rosa etc.) celebrate this day as their "name day".
In the Philippines, some places re-enact of Jesus' triumphal entry. The Catholic priest rides a horse and is surrounded by the congregation, bearing palms. Sometimes women spread large cloths or aprons along the procession route.
Palm branches, called palaspas, are taken home after being blessed in the Mass and are hung beside, on or above doorways and windows in front of their houses. Although the real objective of placing the leaves in front of houses is to welcome Jesus Christ, some Filipinos say the palm leaves turn away evil spirits.
In Finland, it is popular for children to dress up as Easter witches and go door to door in neighborhoods for coins and candy. It is an old Karelian custom called Virpominen.
Vanguard
In a television interview earlier this week, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the economy has made strides over the past few months, but that housing and unemployment remain a threat to a full recovery. Economic indicators this week were a mixed bag. The U.S. economy expanded in the fourth quarter. Consumer confidence fell slightly. Consumers are spending more, and businesses are investing—but at a slower pace. For the week ended March 30, the S&P 500 Index rose 0.8% to 1,408 (for a year-to-date total return—including price change plus dividends—of about 12.6%). The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 2 basis points to 2.23% (for a year-to-date increase of 34 basis points).
Quarter 1 Review
The biggest concern during the quarter was the price of oil and the Iranian oil issue. So far this has not had a significant impact on our economy and it appears that many world leaders are trying to keep it that way. It is important to listen for the clues from leaders around the world on this issue.
Two concerns existed when the quarter began which seem to have faded. These were the economic recovery and Europe. Our economy remains on a slow recovery and it will for quite awhile. The European crisis seems to have blown over once people realized that it was time to bring it to closure.
So what happens in quarter 2? I sure wish I knew the answer. My plan is to take some profits and get more conservative in some accounts during April since we have gotten a gain during the quarter which normally would occur during the entire year. I like the saying of a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush.
Palm Sunday Celebrations Around the World - Wikipedia
It is customary in many churches for the worshippers to receive fresh palm leaves on Palm Sunday. In parts of the world where this has historically been impractical, substitute traditions have arisen.
In Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Israel, Palm Sunday – known as Shaa’nini in Arabic- is perhaps the best-attended service in the Christian Calendar, among the Orthodox, Catholic (Latin rite and Eastern rite), Maronite and Anglican Churches, perhaps because it is notably a family occasion. On this day, children attend church with branches from olive and palm trees. Also, there will be carefully woven crosses and other symbols made from palm fronds and roses. There will normally be a procession at the beginning of the service and at some point, the priest will take an olive branch and splash holy water on the faithful.
In Latvia, Palm Sunday is called "Pussy Willow Sunday", and pussy willows – symbolizing new life – are blessed and distributed to the faithful.[9] Children are often woken that morning with ritualistic swats of a willow branch. People also catch and spank each other with the branches, a ritual often consummating in sexual intercourse.
India
Flowers (in this instance marigolds) strewn about the sanctuary in an Oriental Orthodox church in Mumbai, India on Palm SundayIn the South Indian state of Kerala, (and in Indian Orthodox,Church of South India(CSI), Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, and Syrian Orthodox Church (Jacobite) congregations elsewhere in India and throughout the West), flowers are strewn about into the sanctuary on Palm Sunday during the reading of the Gospel at the words uttered by the crowd welcoming Jesus, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who is come and is to come in the name of the Lord God." These words are read to the congregation thrice. The congregation then repeats, "Hosanna!" and the flowers are scattered. This echoes pre-Christian Hindu celebrations in which flowers are strewn on festive occasions; however, this also echoes the honour shown to Jesus upon his entry into Jerusalem. Indian Orthodoxy traces its roots to the arrival in India of St. Thomas the Apostle in AD 52 (according to tradition) and his evangelism among both the Brahmans of the Malabar Coast and the ancient Jewish community there. Its rites and ceremonies are both Hindu and Jewish, as well as Levantine Christian, in origin.
In Elche, Spain, the location of the biggest palm grove in Europe, there is a tradition of tying and covering palm leaves to whiten them away from sunlight and then drying and braiding them in elaborate shapes.
A Spanish rhyming proverb states: Domingo de Ramos, quien no estrena algo, se le caen las manos ("On Palm Sunday, the hands drop off of those who fail to wear something new").
All the parishes of Malta and Gozo on Palm Sunday (in Maltese Ħadd il-Palm) bless the palm leaves and the olive leaves. Those parishes that have the statues of Good Friday bless the olive tree they put on the statues of "Jesus prays in the Olive Garden" (Ġesù fl-Ort) and the "Betrayal of Judas" (il-Bewsa ta' Ġuda). Also, many people take a small branch of olive to their homes because they say the blessed olive branch keeps away disease and the evil eye (l-għajn ħażina or is-seħta).
In the Saxon regions of the Netherlands, crosses are decorated with candy and bread, made in the form of a rooster. In the diocese of Groningen-Leeuwarden, a great procession with oil lamps is held the night before Palm Sunday in honour of the Sorrowful Mother of Warfhuizen.
Many Polish towns and villages (the best known are Lipnica Murowana in Małopolska and Łyse in Podlasie) organize artificial palm competitions. The biggest of those reach above 30 meters in length; for example, the highest palm in 2008 was 33.39 meters high.
In Romania, Palm Sunday is known as Duminica Floriilor.
In Bulgaria, Palm Sunday is known as Tsvetnitsa or Vrabnitsa. People with flower-related names, (for example Tzviatko, Margarita,Ralitza, Lilia, Violeta, Yavor, Zdravko, Zjumbjul, Nevena, Temenuzhka,Rosa etc.) celebrate this day as their "name day".
In the Philippines, some places re-enact of Jesus' triumphal entry. The Catholic priest rides a horse and is surrounded by the congregation, bearing palms. Sometimes women spread large cloths or aprons along the procession route.
Palm branches, called palaspas, are taken home after being blessed in the Mass and are hung beside, on or above doorways and windows in front of their houses. Although the real objective of placing the leaves in front of houses is to welcome Jesus Christ, some Filipinos say the palm leaves turn away evil spirits.
In Finland, it is popular for children to dress up as Easter witches and go door to door in neighborhoods for coins and candy. It is an old Karelian custom called Virpominen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)