Insight on Business

April 2014

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42 | I nsIgh t • A p r i l 2 0 14 w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m D urIng March, russIan and chInese asset prices were affected by geopolitical conflict and declining economic growth. russia's actions in crimea elevated economic uncertainty, prompting a consideration of sanctions by the international community and an increase in interest rates by the russian central bank. as a result, Market Vectors russia etF (rsX) has been down by as much as 20 percent and the ruble has seen significant weakness against the u.s. dollar. chinese markets made the news in March as Bank of america cut gdP estimates because of weaker-than- expected economic reports. real estate and construction, which have been china's significant economic drivers, experienced negative growth rates this year. setting a new precedent, Premier Li Keqiang says that his focus will be stabilizing growth and preventing inflation instead of meeting growth targets. as a result, ishares MscI china etF (MchI) is down over 9 percent since the start of the year. however, Keqiang's goal of creating a sustainable economy should prove beneficial in the long run. cleartrend offers monthly market analysis and research on any individual stock, mutual fund, or economic sector, including markets in northeast Wisconsin. is april, we are showcasing the health insurance and banking sectors of the economy. also featured are the largest employment sectors for Fond du Lac county and current trend analysis on select companies headquartered in Wisconsin. is month's cleartrend u.s. economic health Index tM shows that 71 percent of u.s. sectors are expanding, a favorable read on the overall u.s. economy. "Weakness in emerging markets hasn't had a large impact on u.s. markets quite yet," says Mark scheffler of e appleton group. "however, due to our dependence on trade with countries all over the globe, any disruption internationally will eventually reach u.s. markets as well." Key: = uptrend = downtrend Ticker = trading symbol (individual securities only) Trend Began = date on which current trend was identified Confidence = clearTREND's historic success rate in generating capital gains based on accurate trend identification clearTREND U.S. Economic Health Index: trending i n fo c u s Though U.S. sectors are expanding, world events will have an impact Emerging markets decline This index measures more than 130 unique U.S. market sectors to determine how many are expanding, stable, or contracting. More than 50% of expanding sectors are healthy, while less than 50% are not. 71% Expanding: 71% Stable: 17% Contracting: 12% Poor Fair Good Excellent Sector Focus Health Insurance Description Ticker Trend Began Confidence Aetna Inc AET 11/12/13 77.27% Centene Corp CNC 1/3/14 73.77% Cigna Corp CI 3/11/14 79.03% Health Net Inc HNT 1/2/14 74.34% Humana Inc HUM 2/7/14 76.96% Unitedhealth Group Inc UNH 1/11/13 80.00% Wellcare Health Plans Inc WCG 3/6/14 76.92% Wellpoint Inc WLP 3/12/14 77.72% Banking Description Ticker Trend Began Confidence Associated Banc-Corp ASBC 3/3/14 78.21% Bank of America Corp BAC 11/14/13 73.91% Bank of Montreal BMO 2/26/14 80.00% Citigroup Inc C 3/13/14 77.27% Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS 3/13/14 80.50% JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM 11/27/13 75.66% UBS Inc UBS 1/23/14 77.49% Wells Fargo & Co WFC 11/14/13 84.21% Data as of 3/13/2014

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