Stocks Get Crushed: Time for ‘Seahawks Portfolio?’ - East Idaho News
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Stocks Get Crushed: Time for ‘Seahawks Portfolio?’

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Getty 012414 WallStreet?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1390601518099iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — It’s been a rough week for your money. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell every day this week with stocks sliding close to 600 points, the worst week for the industrial average since November of 2011.

The Dow ended Friday’s session down 318 points, falling below the 16,000 mark to close at 15,879.11. The index fell 3.5 percent this week.

The other major averages also struggled and this week. The S&P 500 fell 2 percent Friday after having its worst week since last June, and the tech-heavy NASDAQ was off more than 2 percent.

So why are stocks falling out of bed in January after going up 30 percent last year?

Investors are worried about slowing economic growth in China and a host of other emerging markets. On top of that, there are concerns about the profit picture ahead for U.S. companies and fears about what will happen to stocks now that the Federal Reserve is winding down its economic stimulus program.

Still, despite this week’s sell-off and the rough start to 2014 most analysts are telling their retail clients to sit tight.

“Retail investors should do nothing at this point,” David Lutz, managing director at Stifel Nicolaus says. He adds that folks “should not panic and sell.”

But Veracruz’s Steve Cortes warns investors that in the near term they may want to “buckle up.” He says it’s time to have a Seattle Seahawks portfolio – that means defensive. For him a defensive portfolio is one that focuses on dividend stocks and U.S.-centric businesses. He adds that “2014 won’t be a repeat of the easy ride that was 2013.”

Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio

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