"The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled

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1 David J. Klein Senior Vice President Financial Advisor The Auctus Group RBC Wealth Management Phone: Fax: Toll Free: website: March 19, 2018 "The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled (Plutarch) My Website: In the middle of the front page is a report on the Global Market Outlook from RBC. The latest edition of RBC s Investors Edge is on the bulletin board on the right side of the main page. Many interesting articles and commentaries. Please take a look. Key Statistics Year-to-date a/o 3/16/2018 Dow: +0.92% S&P 500: +2.93% Nasdaq: +8.38% Treasury Bond Yields: Year- to-date a/o 3/16/ year Treasury: 2.08% 2-year Treasury: 2.31% 5-year Treasury: 2.65% 10-year Treasury: 2.85% - yield fell slightly from last week 30-year Treasury: 3.08% Markets: (Barron s, IBD, WSJ, RBC, MFS, Advisor Perspectives) For the week: Dow fell (-1.54%), S&P 500 fell (-1.24%), Nasdaq fell (-1.04%) Volatility as measured by the CBOE was only slightly changed Global equities dipped trade friction increasing Oil was little changed at $61.25/barrel Markets: Do Not Be Fooled: On Thursday this past week you probably heard on radio and TV that the market was up 115 points. Most people rejoice thinking they have done well that day. Most news programs only cite the Dow which is an index of 30 stocks. Of those 30 stocks, 10 were down while 20 were up in price. A closer look at the New York stock exchange shows that 1800 stocks were down that day while just a little over 1000 were up. Another closer look shows that there were 134 new lows as opposed to only 30 new highs.

2 Moral: The Dow is an index of 30 stocks and is not always indicative of what the broader market is doing. Forward View of the Market: RBCs earnings forecast for the equity market is solid and conservative relative to consensus forecasts. Growth prospects are favorable and valuations seem reasonable. Consumer inflation has come in softer than feared although inflation is still expected to gradually rise. P/E is the Price to Earnings ratio in the following chart. Economic News: (Barron s, IBD, WSJ, RBC, MFS, Advisor Perspectives) Larry Kudlow, famed economist and television personality, named to head the National Economic Council Odds are at more than 90% for a Fed rate hike this Wednesday (Bloomberg) Confidence in the US economy continues to rise Optimism among Business Independent CEOs hit a 15-year high Univ. of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index at its highest level since 2001 Optimism of NFIB (Nat l. Fed of Independent Businesses) hit a 14-year high (see chart)

3 March Madness and Tuition Madness: The college basketball season of March Madness is upon us. What is also maddening is the high cost of college tuition, room and board. The following chart lists the playoff brackets of all 64 teams with their total cost of a 4-year college education.

4 Some College Thoughts: and Student Loans) (Sallie May, How America Saves for College 2017, Federal Reserve, Education Debt 86% of families expect their child to go to college Unfortunately, only 39% of families have a plan to pay for college 63% of college graduates under age 30 have education debt 94% of this debt is in the form of student loans averaging $32, Student debt could be a risk to the economy Question of the Week: The current bull market is now in its 9 th year. Since 2009, which 2 years have been the worst as measured by the Dow? What were the returns of the 2 worst years? Question and Answer From Last Week: According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, we are currently in the 3 rd longest economic expansion in history that started in July, When did the first 2 longest expansions occur? Answer: The first 2 longest expansions in history occurred in and The NBER has kept records of economic expansions and contractions since Did You Know: 48% of women and 42% of men begin taking their monthly Social Security retirement benefits at age 62, the earliest age possible and before FRA (full retirement age). Just 4% of women and just 2% of men delay taking their Social Security benefits until age 70 when they get their highest benefits possible. (BTN Research, Social Security Administration) Steel imports were $29 billion and aluminum imports were $19 billion last year. Combined, they made up less than 2% of our nation s $2.9 trillion of imports in (BTN Research, Commerce Dep t.)

5 Sports Trivia: The 2008 Detroit Lions football team went 4-0 in the preseason and then lost every game in the regular season to go This was repeated this past year in 2017 when the Cleveland Browns went 4-0 in the preseason and then lost every game to go 0-16 in the regular season. (BTN Research, NFL) Referrals: Many sincere thanks for your referrals of family, friends, and associates. I am deeply appreciative. Sincerely, David J. Klein Senior Vice-President Financial Advisor The views presented here are solely the views and opinions of David Klein and do not reflect the views of RBC Wealth Management, or its officers and directors. Data is believed to be from reliable sources, but we make no representation as to its accuracy or completeness.. The Dow Jones Industrial Average covers 30 blue chip U.S. companies selected by the editors of the Wall Street Journal The Dow represents about 25% of the NYSE market capitalization and less than 2% of NYSE issues. The Nasdaq Composite is a market-value weighted index that measures all NASDAQ domestic and foreign common stocks. The Standard and Poor s 500 is an unmanaged, capitalization weighted benchmark that tracks broad-based changes in the U.S. stock market. This index of 500 common stocks is comprised of 400 industrial, 20 transportation, 40 utility, and 40 financial companies representing major U.S. industry sectors. The index is calculated on a total return basis with dividends reinvested and is not available for direct investment. This material is based on data obtained from sources considered to be reliable. However, it is not guaranteed to accuracy and does not purport to be complete. The illustrations are for informational use only. RBC Wealth Management does not provide tax or legal advice. All decisions regarding the tax or legal implications of your investments should be made in conjunction with your independent tax or legal advisor. RBC Wealth Management, a division of RBC Capital Markets Corporation, Member NYSE/FINRA/SIPC.