As the market edged into correction territory over the last few weeks, investors may have wondered if the bull market was on its last legs. Pullbacks are to be expected, however, and you can often use them to your advantage. The analysts at Charles Schwab take a look forward to the last months of 2014 and offer a forecast. The markets may be volatile, but the true health of the economy can often be seen in the latest Leading Economic Indicators. Ken Goldstein of The Conference Board analyzes the numbers. If you’re doing some preliminary tax planning for 2015, you’ll want to see the cost-of-living adjustments recently announced by the IRS. A helpful summary is now up on the IRS website.

Plot Twist…Or A Different Book?-  The stock market finally reached the tipping point, with major averages flirting with correction territory (10% loss or more), at least on an intraday basis. Concerns of a renewed European recession morphed into worries over the U.S. economic outlook. Fears over Ebola also added to the flight away from risky assets and into the perceived safety of U.S. Treasuries, as the 10-year yield briefly dropped below 2%.  Stocks quickly bounced, however, and we believe the bull market is intact. Liz Ann Sonders and her team at Schwab review the current markets. http://advisorperspectives.com/commentaries/schwab_102614.php

Conference Board Leading Economic Index Increased In September– “The financial markets are reflecting turmoil and unease, but the data on the leading indicators continue to suggest moderate growth in the short-term,” said Ken Goldstein, an economist at The Conference Board. http://www.advisorperspectives.com/dshort/updates/Conference-Board-Leading-Economic-Index.php

Taxpayers May Contribute Up To $18,000 To Their 401(k) Plans In 2015– The Internal Revenue Service announced cost‑of‑living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2015.  http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/IRS-Announces-2015-Pension-Plan-Limitations;-Taxpayers-May-Contribute-up-to-$18,000-to-their-401(k)-plans-in-2015

We hope you enjoy reading these articles along with us and that you find them informative.  Please forward this to your friends and family.

John R. Day, Bill Ennis, Stephanie Davidson and Matt Heller

Disclosure – The articles mentioned in Mid Week with Day & Ennis are for information and educational purposes only. They represent a sample of the numerous articles that the firm reads each week to stay current on financial and economic topics. The articles are linked to websites separate from the Day & Ennis website. The opinions expressed in these articles are the opinions of the author and not Day & Ennis. This is not an offer to buy or sell any security. Day & Ennis is under no obligation to update any of the information in these articles. We cannot attest to the accuracy of the data in the articles.