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Jim: Hi everyone, today is Wednesday, August 30, 2017 and this is our midweek, market update call. 

Each week we note special items in the news, have some team or financial planning news from Bernie and review where our market indicators are. 

Today's call will not have the flood insurance information, we hadn't compiled all the information we wanted, and so we will present that next week. 

Before I go over our indicators, here is some team news from Bernie, Bernie? 

Bernie: Thank you Jim.

No topic today, just an announcement - please join us in welcoming our 10th intern, Aidan Judge! Aidan is currently attending the University of Richmond, Robins School of Business and will earn his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with Concentrations in Finance and Economics and a Minor in mathematics in May of 2018. Aidan is originally from the Bronx, New York and attended Regis High School in Manhattan before starting at Richmond in 2014. While at Richmond, Aidan played two years of Ruby, is a member of a community service fraternity, APO, and will serve as the President of the Business School Student Government for his senior year.

If you have the chance to speak to Aidan when he answers the phone, take a moment to welcome him to the team. We think that you will enjoy his enthusiastic attitude!

I’ll now turn the call over to Jim for his observations. 

Jim: Thank you Bernie.  As I mentioned the flood insurance story has been pushed back to next week, but here are our indicators: 

The NYSE, representing 2200 stocks, is continuing its pullback that started about 10 days ago.  That means that the number of stocks with technical buy signals is declining and the stocks with sell signals is increasing in the same amount. 

The Over the counter market, another 3000 stocks is in similar fashion, more stocks with sell signals than buy signals.  That is confirming more supply in the market place and could lead to more lower prices. 

The Optionable universe a combination of those two groups of stocks that have options that trade with them in the Chicago option market is also showing shows of weakness.  It’s not a collapse by any means –– it’s just a pullback, but it should be respected for that.  We will hold on new positions and pay attention to current holdings.

ASSET CLASSES:  Domestic equities still ranked number 1, but decline gradually as International Equities has picked up a bit and fixed income seems to be still responding to lower interest rates.  Cash, Commodities and currencies wrap it up. 

Interest rates look like the want to support a bond price bull market, they continue to decline across the board and the 10-year bellwether looks like the yield could go even further.

Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Raymond James & Associates. The author's opinions are subject to change without notice. Information contained was received from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy is not guaranteed. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investing always involves risk and you may incur a profit or loss. No investment strategy can guarantee success. There is no assurance these trends will continue or that forecasts mentioned will occur.

Information provided is general in nature, and is not a complete statement of all information necessary for making an investment decision, and is not a recommendation or a solicitation to buy or sell any security.

There is an inverse relationship between interest rate moments and bond prices. Generally, when interest rates rise, bond prices fall and when interest rates fall, bond prices rise. One basis point is equal to 1/100^th of 1%, or 0.01% (0.0001).

Commodities are generally considered speculative because of the significant potential for investment loss. U.S. Treasury securities are guaranteed by the U.S. government and, if held to maturity, offer a fixed rate of return and guaranteed principal value.

International investing involves additional risks such as currency fluctuations, differing financial accounting standards, and possible political and economic instability. These risks are greater in emerging markets.

James Schmidt, Raymond James, its affiliates, officers, directors, or branch offices may in the normal course of business have a position in any of the securities mentioned in this report.

Companies engaged in business related to a specific sector are subject to fierce competition and their products and services may be subject to rapid obsolescence. There are additional risks associated with investing in an individual sector, including limited diversification.

The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index of 500 widely held stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is an unmanaged index of 30 widely held securities. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. U.S. Treasury securities are guaranteed by the U.S. government and, if held to maturity, offer a fixed rate of return and guaranteed principal value. U.S. government bonds and treasury bills are guaranteed by the U.S. government and, if held to maturity, offer a fixed rate of return and guaranteed principal value. U.S. government bonds are issued and guaranteed as to the timely payment of principal and interest by the federal government. Treasury bills are certificates reflecting short-term (less than one year) obligations of the U.S. government.

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