Today’s chart illustrates how the stock market has performed during the average pre-election year. Since 1900, the stock market has tended to outperform during the first seven months of the average pre-election year. For the remainder of the year, pre-election performance has tended to be choppy and slightly subpar. In the end, however, the stock market has tended to outperform during the entirety of the pre-election year. One theory to support this behavior is that the party in power will make difficult economic decisions in the early years of a presidential cycle and then do everything within its power to stimulate the economy during the latter years in order to increase the odds of re-election.

Quote of the Day
“If you are planning for one year, grow rice. If you’re planning for 20 years, grow trees. If you’re planning for centuries, grow men.” – Chinese proverb

Events of the Day
January 01, 2015 – New Year’s Day – Rose Bowl – Sugar Bowl
January 11, 2015 – Golden Globe Awards
January 12, 2015 – BCS Championship Game

Stocks of the Day
— Find out which stocks investors are focused on with the most active stocks today.
— Which stocks are making big money? Find out with the biggest stock gainers today.
— What are the largest companies? Find out with the largest companies by market cap.
— Which stocks are the biggest dividend payers? Find out with the highest dividend paying stocks.
— You can also quickly review the performance, dividend yield and market capitalization for each of the Dow Jones Industrial Average Companies as well as the performance of the  Dogs of the Dow.