This week, the S&P 500 was up 0.8%, and the NASDAQ was up 1.5% with a notable year-to-date increase of 17.5%. In the NASDAQ, consumer discretionary stocks, surprisingly, have exhibited the most change year-to-date, with a 35.7% increase; technology is next with a 25% increase.  Energy continues to perform well this year, as the price of oil topped $70 per barrel this week.  We think oil should trade between $40 and $60 per barrel, so the price may be a little ahead of itself.

10-year Treasury bonds made a significant jump this week, touching 4% and returning to approximately the 2008 year-end rates; yields have increased dramatically in a short period of time. This is due, in part, to what seems to be a stabilizing economy: weekly unemployment claims dropped to just above 600,000, from almost 700,000, and consumer confidence rose as well.