Stock Index, S&P Sector & Bond Index performance numbers, week ending 02/29/2008

[A HERETIC I AM]

                         STOCK INDEX PERFORMANCE

Index                               Week     YTD      12-mo.    2007    5-yr.  
DOW JONES 30 (12266)               -0.90%   -7.11%    2.32%    8.88%   11.72%
S&P 500 (1331)                     -1.62%   -9.05%   -3.60%    5.49%   11.62%
NASDAQ 100 (1745)                  -1.57%   -16.20%  -0.44%   19.24%   11.98%
S&P 500/Citigroup Growth           -0.70%   -9.56%   -0.19%    9.25%    9.37%
S&P 500/Citigroup Value            -2.57%   -8.52%   -6.70%    2.03%   13.97%
S&P MidCap 400/Citigroup Growth    -0.96%   -7.64%    0.61%   13.55%   14.65%
S&P MidCap 400/Citigroup Value     -2.11%   -8.15%   -9.71%    2.84%   16.41%
S&P SmallCap600/Citigroup Growth   -0.89%   -8.11%   -4.74%    5.66%   15.74%
S&P SmallCap600/Citigroup Value    -1.83%   -7.42%  -13.20%   -5.19%   15.86%
MSCI EAFE                           2.37%   -7.85%    1.43%   11.76%   21.77%
MSCI World (ex US)                  2.45%   -7.28%    3.29%   13.04%   22.28%
MSCI World                          0.52%   -8.09%    0.09%    9.69%   16.72%
MSCI Emerging Markets               1.54%   -6.15%   33.02%   39.23%   35.67%   

Source: Bloomberg. Returns are total returns. The 5-yr. return is an average annual.
One-week,YTD, 12-mo. and 5-yr. performance returns calculated through 02/29/08.

                         S&P SECTOR PERFORMANCE

Index                       Week     YTD     12-mo.     2007     5-yr.  
Consumer Discretionary     -2.68%   -5.13%  -17.46%   -13.21%   8.20%
Consumer Staples           -1.01%   -5.38%    7.90%    14.36%  10.56%
Energy                      1.45%   -4.68%   33.11%    34.41%  28.24%
Financials                 -4.80%  -11.55%  -26.37%   -18.52%   6.89%
Health Care                -1.14%   -6.96%   -0.91%     7.32%   6.44%
Industrials                -1.14%   -6.95%    4.04%    12.04%  14.97%
Information Technology     -0.72%  -15.99%   -0.80%    16.30%   9.88%
Materials                  -0.92%   -1.93%   12.38%    22.53%  20.37%
Telecom Services           -1.65%  -17.83%  -10.92%    11.88%  12.21%
Utilities                  -4.14%  -11.41%    0.74%    19.38%  20.47%   

Source: Bloomberg. Returns are total returns. The 5-yr. return is an average annual.
One-week,YTD, 12-mo. and 5-yr. performance returns calculated through 02/29/08.

                             BOND INDEX PERFORMANCE

Index                              Week     YTD     12-mo.   2007   5-yr.  
U S Treasury: Intermediate         1.14%    3.87%   11.58%   8.83%  4.20%
GNMA 30 Year                       1.38%    2.16%    7.98%   6.97%  4.70%
U S Aggregate                      1.18%    1.82%    7.30%   6.97%  4.50%
US Corporate High Yield            0.13%   -2.68%   -3.30%   1.88%  9.31%
US Corporate Investment Grade      0.98%    1.13%    3.60%   4.56%  4.53%
Municipal Bond: Long Bond (22+)   -5.19%   -7.75%   -8.63%   0.46%  3.43%
Global Aggregate                   2.35%    4.50%   13.21%   9.48%  6.94%      

Source: Lehman Bros. Returns include reinvested interest.The 5-yr.return is an average annual.
One-week,YTD, 12-mo. and 5-yr. performance returns calculated through 02/29/08.

                         KEY RATES

                            As of 02/29                       
Fed Funds               3.00%              5-YR CD        3.40%
LIBOR (1-month)         3.13%              2-YR Note      1.63%
CPI - Headline          4.30%              5-YR Note      2.47%
CPI - Core              2.50%             10-YR Note      3.51%
Money Market Accts.     2.69%             30-YR T-Bond    4.41%
Money Market Funds      3.07%             30-YR Mortgage  6.19%
6-mo. CD                3.06%             Prime Rate      6.00%
1-YR CD                 3.10%             Bond Buyer 40   5.42%   

Sources: Bankrate.com, iMoneyNet.com and Bloomberg

                                WEEKLY FUND FLOWS

                         Week of 02/27     Previous             
Equity Funds                  $2 B         -$4.2 B
Including ETF activity,Domestic funds reporting net inflows of $1.839 B
and Non-domestic funds reporting net inflows of $210 M.
Bond Funds                    $1.8 B        $2.1 B
Municipal Bond Funds          $170 M        $182 M
Money Markets                 $9.313 B      $18.282 B
Taxable MM funds report net inflows of $13.2 Bil and Tax-exempt MM
funds report net cash outflows for the third consecutive week (-3.9 Bil).  

Source: AMG Data Services

FACTOIDS FOR THE WEEK OF
FEBRUARY 25TH - FEBRUARY 29TH

Monday, February 25, 2008 — Investment Banking
Investment banking revenue could decline by 35% in the first quarter due to
weakness in such high margin businesses as equity underwriting and M&A
activity, according to Brad Hintz, analyst at Morgan Stanley. These
businesses are expected to post their weakest quarter since 2005. Banks
and securities firms have already disclosed credit losses and writedowns
totaling more than $146 billion, according to Bloomberg.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008 — REITs
Since 1971, the number of REITs has increased from 34 to over 150, while
market value has grown from $1.5 billion to $312 billion, according to data
from the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT)
and the Indianapolis Business Journal. There have been three major
downturns (not including current one) in REITs since their inception with
each lasting 14 to 27 months. The results were as follows: -37% (9/72-
12/74); -24% (8/88-10/90); and -24% (12/97-11/99). REITs are off 24%
from January 2007 to January 2008 – in line with the last two sell-offs.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008 — Health Care
Health care spending in the U.S. totaled $2 trillion in 2005 and accounted
for 16% of GDP, according to The National Coalition on Health Care.
Spending is projected to increase to $2.9 trillion in 2009 and reach $4
trillion by 2015. If so, health care spending would constitute 20% of GDP,
or $1 out of every $5 spent.

Thursday, February 28, 2008 — Brazil
In 2002, Brazil accounted for 5.3% of the MSCI Global Emerging Market
index, which is a market capitalization-weighted index of more than 850
stocks traded in 22 world markets, according to MarketWatch.com. Due to
its strong showing of late, Brazil just surpassed China as the largest
emerging market in the index at a weighting of 14.95%. Brazil’s total
market capitalization is $509.1 billion, which makes it the 10th largest in
the world. The largest is the U.S. at $12.57 trillion. According to Rob Lutts,
chief investment officer at Cabot Money Management, Brazil’s success is
sustainable over the long-term, but is presently expensive and overdue for
a pause.

Friday, February 29, 2008 — Agriculture
Despite the rising cost of seed, fertilizer and other supplies, net cash farm
income is expected to reach $96.6 billion in the U.S. in 2008, up 10% from
2007 and 40% higher than in 2006, according to the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. Soybeans are expected to fetch up to $500 per acre this year
after expenses, roughly five times the return posted in 2005, according to
Goldman Sachs. Bill Doyle, chief executive of PotashCorp, believes
agriculture is experiencing a boom that could be derailed only by a
depression, according to USA TODAY. 

The above was gathered by and posted from a subscription service provided by
FIRST TRUST ADVISORS L.P. • APPROVED FOR PUBLIC USE • 03/03/08

[Narkos]

1. What do you all look at when you see these numbers?

Okay, I'm a neophyte when it comes to this stuff, and yes I see lots of negative numbers. Are there specific things that you guys look at to get a sense for how things are going? Are there some numbers that really jump out at you that the average person doesn't see? Or do you just look at everything as an aggregate? Any help with interpreting the data would be great!

[A HERETIC I AM]

2. For me, one thing I notice that has become more pronounced lately...

is the fund flows into Money Market and away from Equity funds. That means there is an enormous amount of cash sitting on the sidelines, waiting for an entry point.

I am no analyst, however so the way I use this information is merely to reassure myself I have made the right choices 12 or 18 months ago. Trying to use this information to gauge a bottom for instance, could be costly, as timing the market is difficult, even for a professional. If you look at big positive numbers and think "I'll invest there cause it's done so well for the last (fill in the time frame here)" your chances of making a big profit are notoriously limited. Big up swings are often followed by big down swings. For the sake of a better perspective, its better to look at the 5 year numbers when you see a big one year drop or increase. It would be even better if this report had ten year figures also but First Trust doesn't include them. They're readily available with a Google search however and the longer term your perspective, the more one can see that time IN the market is more important than timING the market.

Materials and Energy will slow down. Consumer Discretionary, Telecom and Financials will pick up. The question is when. (Energy most likely when a Dem is elected President.)

[bain_sidhe]

3. "Materials and Energy will slow down..."

So, you don't agree with those who suggest that those two sectors will be the next "bubble"?

(Well, the articles I've seen say "commodities" but I think you mean the same thing as they do.)

[A HERETIC I AM]

4. Well, yes. I think they already are a bubble.

Much of the reason for the increase in the price of oil is political. If tensions in the Middle East started easing and the saber rattling stopped, I think a barrel of oil could drop by $30 at least, but then, what the fuck do I know? I don't think we'll ever see it at $40/bbl again but it could certainly shave off 30% or more over a period of time. But really, who knows? I do not deny the concept of Peak Oil by any stretch but whether or not we are really there yet I think is still debatable. The cost of extracting a barrel is going up (with the notable exception of Iraq, apparently) but new finds and new technology can change that too.

Gold is high because of uncertainty. It has always traded higher when worldwide tensions, either economic or political, increased. I think that once a Dem is in office - give him/her a couple months to get things worldwide calmed down a little bit, we will see gold and oil begin to fall. That is PURELY conjecture on my part, so take that for EXACTLY what its worth!

There are some sector weighting allocations I have seen that have had Materials underweighted for the last year, meaning the analyst(s) have been thinking the sector was over valued for quite some time and is ready for a downturn. Since a number of the companies in that sector are involved in the construction industry, that may have been their reasoning. The numbers in the OP suggest that Materials have not really lost too much steam, in spite of the construction slowdown.

Here is a list of the stocks that make up the S & P 500. You can sort them by sector by clicking the little square icon next to the words "GICS Sector"

The Materials sector does involve some producers of commodities (Mining companies, for instance), but not necessarily the commodities themselves.