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Show Page 8 The Ogden Valley news Volume XXIII Issue X July 15, 2015 Consumer Attitude Index Ticks Upward As Are You Saving Enough for Retirement? planning experts estimate you may have only $3,600 to invest annually and only Business Conditions In Utah Continue to Thrive needFinancial 70% to 80% of your current income to $284,236 after 25 years – an amount that could The Zions Bank Utah Consumer Attitude Index (CAI) increased 0.4 points to 111.8 in June. Consumer sentiment regarding the present situation improved, while expectations for the next six months dropped slightly. The CAI currently sits 13.6 points higher than its level twelve months ago. The national Consumer Confidence Index® (CCI) increased 6.8 points from May to June and currently sits at 101.4. The Present Situation Index, the sub-index of the CAI that measures how consumers feel about current economic conditions, has broken its record-high levels consistently over the past eight months. June provided no exception. Consumer confidence in the present situation of the economy is high, and currently sits at 120.9 points, up 2.7 points from May. The Present Situation Index is based on consumers’ attitudes about current business conditions and job availability. Utah has some of the most business-friendly policies in the nation, which may be why 57 percent of consumers in June—up from 55 percent last month—rank business conditions as good. Simultaneously, only 3 percent of Utahns assess general business conditions as bad, down from 5 percent in May. Perceptions that job availability is plentiful declined slightly, from 47 percent to 46 percent, but these attitudes are still historically high. The Present Situation Index registers 18.9 points higher than its level twelve months ago. Expectations for the future are slightly less optimistic than last month. The Expectations Index, the sub-index of the CAI that measures what consumers anticipate economic conditions six months from now will look like, decreased 1.2 points from May to June and currently sits at 105.8, which is still 10 points higher than its level a year ago. Opinions regarding business conditions in the next six months remained relatively steady from May to June. Thirty percent of consumers expect business conditions in their areas to be good six months from now, which represents no change from May or April, although a few more expect business conditions to worsen—8 percent instead of 5 percent. Twenty-eight percent of consumers expect job availability to be plentiful six months from now, which is down one point from May. The biggest drop in expectations related to perceptions of household income growth. Only 31 percent, compared to 35 percent last month, expect their household income to be higher in six months than it is today. The majority of consumers (63 percent) expect their household income to remain the same. Gasoline prices continue to increase, albeit slowly compared to growth rates earlier this year. Gasoline prices typically increase in the summer months, so current price increases mirror historical trends. Consumers’ expectations for gasoline prices are converging back to historical trends as well. In June, 76 percent of Utahns reported expectations that gasoline prices will go up over the next 12 months, while 14 percent expect prices to go down. For comparison, last month 84 percent expected prices to go up, and 13 percent expected them to go down. The average expected increase is 46 cents, whereas the average expected decrease is 35 cents. The current average price of gasoline in Utah is $3.00 per gallon, and the national average is $2.77 per gallon. Sixty-six percent of consumers expect interest rates for borrowing money to increase during the next 12 months, which is up six points from May. Sixty-eight percent of consumers expect prices for consumer goods to increase in the next year, which is one point lower than last month. Attitudes about the nation’s economy are down slightly in June: 26 percent believe the U.S. economy will improve during the next 12 months, which is down from 31 percent in May. Fewer Utahns expect an investment in their 401(k) to increase in the next year—42 percent instead of 44 percent. Twenty-seven percent expect their household income to increase faster than inflation, which is down one percent from last month. “Another month marked by improvement in consumer attitudes emphasizes Utah’s strong and growing economy,” said Scott Anderson, president and CEO of Zions Bank. “Attitudes have been consistently high, and Utah continues to set the economic standard for the rest of the nation, a standard that continues to bring even more business and job opportunities to the state.” Zions Bank provides the CAI as a free resource to the communities of Utah. The monthly CAI summary reports are released at a monthly press conference, coinciding with The Conference Board’s national CCI release date. The reports are available online at <www.zionsbank.com/cai> Analysis and data collection for the CAI are done by the Cicero Group, a premier market research firm based in Salt Lake City. The July CAI will be released during a press conference at a local business on July 28, 2015. Additional information is available at <www.zionsbank.com> CFOV SCRAMBLE cont. from page 1 Country Horsemen, Citizens for Responsible Development, Great Basin K-9 Search & Rescue, Huntsville Park, Liberty Park, Mountain Arts and Music, Ogden Nordic, Ogden Valley Arts, Ogden Valley CERT, Ogden Valley Land Trust, Ogden Valley Tennis Association, Ogden Valley Winter Sports Foundation, Snowbasin Adaptive Ski, Valley Elementary and Snowcrest Parent Teacher Organizations, Weber Pathways, and Wolf Creek Foundation. on page # or the CFOV ad on page 6. Show us you’re a true OVer by coming out to play with us on August 1 at the CFOV fundraising event. Proceeds from the Summer Scramble will be used to help fund the work of the participating non-profits serving Ogden Valley via CFOV’s OVerDRIVE fundraising campaign. Participating non-profits are: Back maintain your present standard of living when you retire. Yet many Americans are saving only a fraction of what they’ll need for their “golden years.” Whether you are in your 50s or your early 20s, it is critical to begin planning and saving for retirement. Your financial advisor can help you review your current retirement savings and develop strategies to meet your retirement goals. In developing your plan, you and your financial advisor will need to determine: · How much you will need to save to retire comfortably · How much you will need to invest each year to reach this goal · How to properly allocate your investments among stocks, fixed income, and cash The first rule of retirement planning is to save as much as you can in your company retirement plan, such as a 401(k) or 403(b) plan. (The second is to try and save more than you think you can—stretch a little now to invest in your future.) Contributing to retirement savings with pre-tax dollars can make a substantial difference. Consider the following example: If you make a pre-tax contribution of $5,000 for 25 years, earning an 8% annual return, you will amass $394,772, which would be taxed fully upon withdrawal. Assuming you’re in the 28 percent tax bracket, if you paid taxes before you made your $5,000 investment, you would further be reduced by taxes on earnings during the accumulation process. Remember, your best chance of accumulating a comfortable retirement nest egg comes from developing an investment plan that starts at an early age and involves regular investments. The value of investing early—and thus benefiting from compounding earnings and stock price appreciation—is illustrated in the following comparison: Two investors earn an annual 8% rate of return. Investor A begins saving $2,000 a year at age 20 and saves for nine years before ceasing annual contributions. By age 64, the total investment of $18,000 has grown to $398,807. Investor B waits for nine years before he begins investing, and then invests $2,000 a year for 34 years. His total investment is $68,000 – nearly four times as much as Investor A – but, because he started later, his investment totals only $343,633 at age 64. The moral of this story: Start saving and investing early, and don’t stop. For those who haven’t started, contact your financial advisor to schedule a review of your retirement plan options. The time to begin is now. Examples are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not indicative of actual performance. GARBAGE cont. from page 1 rounding excess traffic and parking along the highway around Pineview Reservoir and corresponding safety issues; and parking problems along First Street heading towards Cemetery Point; and complaints regarding noise levels, illegal fires, enforcement against littering, and suspected drug use on and around the reservoir, Thompson confirmed that no additional officers are being added to address the uptick in problems and traffic, citing budget issues at the root of not being able to hire additional employees. When asked what could done about the problems on Pineview, he stated that talks are ongoing about the issues, but no solutions or plans have been arrived at. the story on Fox 13 (opening story) and they did great with the story. Can’t wait to see the others at 10:00 (p.m.).” All the major news stations covered the story, along with The StandardExaminer. Farley commented on the support, “It was truly incredible to see the outpouring of support and help as people came to clean up the reservoir.” The developed recreation areas at Pineveiw Reservoir are managed by American Land and Leisure under a special use permit with the UintaWasatch-Cache National Forest. AL&L manages areas around the reservoir including Anderson Cove, Jefferson Hunt, Cemetery Point, Middle Inlet, and Port Ramp as well as the campgrounds on the way to Monte Cristo. Their jurisdiction does not extend to the non-developed shoreline areas. A crew of 50 AL&L employees live onsite in the campgrounds and day use areas near Pineview to manage the recreation facilities and execute the conditions of the permit. The Forest Service owns the land where these campgrounds and day use areas are located around the reservoir and up the canyon. Claudia Webb, from American Land and Leisure, explained, “It’s like we’re the renter, and they’re (the Forest Service) the landlord.” American Land and Leisure, a national company, manages sites in twelve different states. During a phone interview with Weber County Sheriff Terry Thompson regarding the issues sur- Article provided by Robert W. Baird & Co. for Tim Ludlum. Tim is a Liberty resident and Financial Advisor at the Salt Lake office of Robert W. Baird & Co., member SIPC. He can be reached at 801-869-3875 or< tludlum@rwbaird.com> Shown above are the Hyde family of Eden and owners of Detours, an outdoor recreation and equipment rental store based in Huntsville Town, who assisted with the Pineview Reservoir cleanup. From left to right are River, Bonnie, Jeff, and Dakota Hyde with friend Kensie Kidd. |