From left, Matthew Pedersen of OneBeacon recently delivered a $1,500 check from the OneBeacon Charitable Trust to Karen Reed and Trisha Hill, Allen Insurance and Financial’s Relay for Life Team Captains. The American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life will be June 24-25 at Camden Hills Regional High School. For more information about Relay or to make a donation to the any Relay for Life team, visit relayforlife.org/midcoastme.
We are a strong supporter of the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. We are conducting a 50/50 raffle to our fundraising efforts for 2011. Tickets will be sold until the Relay For Life Event June 24 and the winner will be drawn that evening.
If you need tickets or more information, please contact Karen Reed at 236-4311 or kreed(at)alleninsuranceandfinancial.com
Linda St Clair, an Allen Insurance and Financial business insurance specialist, was recently awarded the designation of Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter, one of the most prestigious designations in the insurance industry and held by less than 5 percent of insurance professionals.
The CPCU designation is conferred by The Institutes, founded in 1942. Insurance professionals who earn the CPCU designation must pass eight rigorous undergraduate- and graduate-level examinations, meet experience requirements, and agree to be bound by a strict code of professional ethics.
St. Clair, of South Thomaston, joined Allen Insurance and Financial in 2003. She serves business clients from the company’s Camden office. When she’s not at work, St Clair enjoys traveling, camping or spending time with her grandchildren.
Linda can be reached at 236-4311 or by email: lstclair(at)allenif.com
Equity markets started strong in the holiday-shortened week, but they fizzled quickly after weak economic reports were released. The S&P 500 declined 2.30 percent
to rest just above 1,300. Last week’s declines marked the fifth consecutive week in which most domestic equity indices have lost ground. Read more in our Weekly Market Summary. (PDF, new window)
The European debt crisis, combined with somewhat disappointing economic numbers that point to a slowdown in the second half of the year, contributed to a Treasury rally. he 10-year was as low as 3.04 percent early Friday morning, its lowest point since Dec. 7, 2010. Read more in our Weekly Market Summary. (PDF, new window)
Last week, two-year Treasuries ended at 0.521 percent, close to this year’s lows. The 10-year began last week with a strong rally, as yields dipped below 3.10 percent for the first time in 2011. Read more in our Weekly Market Summary.
Domestic equity markets were mostly flat last week while international markets were relatively weaker due, in large part, to a stronger dollar.
Also, treasuries’ strong performance slowed last week, as the 2-year, 10-year, and long bond came off their lowest levels in a month. Read more in our Weekly Market Summary.
The anticipated relief rally in equities after the news of Osama Bin Laden’s death never really materialized, and markets slid lower last week on poor economic news.
A much better-than-expected jobs number on Friday gave equity markets a boost, but it was not enough to offset weakness from earlier in the week. Read more in this week’s Market Summary (PDF, new window)
For the first time ever, the chairman of the Federal Reserve spoke last week to a national audience regarding the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) monetary policy.
Equity markets shrugged off the press conference as a nonevent, but they did move sharply higher on strong earnings results. 2011 estimates for the S&P 500 have been slowly creeping toward $100 per share.
Read more in our Weekly Market Summary. (PDF, new window)
The 10-year Treasury ended the week where it started, close to its 3.40-percent support level. The negative outlook for the U.S. government issued by Standard & Poor’s had less impact than expected, as the larger part of the curve was little changed from the previous week. Read more in this week’s Market Summary (PDF, new window).
