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Lance A. BrowningFounding Partner, SVPIncome Solutions Wealth Management

3200 Troup Highway, Suite 150Tyler, Texas 75701855-428-3512 Toll Free903-787-8916 Direct903-312-1585 Mobile903-787-8919 Fax

Please visit us at:www.LanceBrowning.com

Weekly Market Commentary

April 8, 2013

The MarketsU.S. investors puzzled over disparate pieces of economic and world news last week. By the end ofthe week, major U.S. markets had tumbled indicating investors didnt like what theyd seen.

Under new leadership, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) announced an aggressive stimulus program thatwill inject $1.4 trillion into its economy over the next two years. The effort is intended to enddecades of stagflation. Stagflation is a period of economic stagnation characterized by risinginflation, higher unemployment, lackluster consumer demand, and lack of growth in businessactivity. Shares in the Japanese market, which closed before U.S. jobs numbers were announced,rose to almost a five-year high.

Elsewhere in Asia, escalating rhetoric from North Korea kept tensions high on the KoreanPeninsula and negatively affected investor sentiment.

In the U.S., economic news was largely disappointing and suggested a slowdown in the U.S.economy may be ahead. Manufacturing and service numbers came in below expectations, and aU.S. Department of Labor report showed far fewer jobs were added last month than expected. Onthe positive side, a different report showed unemployment had ticked lower, moving to 7.6 percentfrom 7.7 percent.

After hitting an all-time high on Tuesday, the Standard & Poors 500 Index finished the weekdown 1 percent. The Dow Jones Industrials and NASDAQ Indices also tumbled, finishing theweek down 0.1 percent and down 1.9 percent, respectively.

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U.S. Treasury markets benefitted from uncertainty about the strength of U.S. economic growth,the outcome of the Japanese stimulus program, and the potential for violence in Korea. The yieldon 10-year U.S. Treasury notes fell to 1.7 percent.

THERES A NEW BRIC IN TOWN.Youveprobably heard of the BRIC countriesBrazil,

Russia, India, and China. The nickname was created in 2001when Jim ONeill, an economist andthe future Chairman of Goldman Sachs, used it to describe the countries of the world that woulddrive future economic growth. He was right about the fact they would drive economic growth.According to The Economist, The BRICS alone have been responsible for 55 percent of globalgrowth since the end of 2009. Dragged down by debt and austerity, the 23 countries that make upthe developed world contributed just 20 percent to that growth.

You may have noticed The Economistcapitalized the S in BRICS. Thats because South Africarecently joined the team. Its the smallest BRICS country with a population of just 50 millioncompared to more than 1 billion for both China and India. South Africas GDP isnt all thatimpressive either. It ranks 28th in the world, according to The Guardian, while China ranks 2nd,

Brazil 6th, Russia 9th, and India 10th. The statistical comparison begs the question: Why was SouthAfrica added to the list of the worldspowerful emerging countries?

According to The Economist, geographic inequity was the driving force behind the new addition.The original BRICs did not include any countries in Africa which currently is the worlds fastestgrowing continent. Africas gross domestic product (GDP) growth is averaging about 6 percent ayear, a pace that is expected to remain constant for another decade. Over the decade ending inDecember 2012 Africa has seen:

Foreign direct investment more than tripled to $46 billion A 30 percent increase in real income per person A 74 percent decline in HIV infections A 30 percent decline in malaria deaths Mobile communications grow: now there are three mobile phones for every four people A 10 percent increase in life expectancy Steeply falling infant mortality rates An increase in secondary school enrollmentSource: The Economist

Africa is changing so rapidly many believe the continent deserves to have a voice as an emergingregion of the world. How to give it that voice? The solution was to add South Africa, thecontinents largest economy, to the BRICS.

Weekly FocusThink About It

A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.--Oliver Wendell Holmes, Supreme Court Justice

Best regards,

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Lance BrowningAli Cantua

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* The Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to berepresentative of the stock market in general.

* The 10-year Treasury Note represents debt owed by the United States Treasury to the public. Since theU.S. Government is seen as a risk-free borrower, investors use the 10-year Treasury Note as a benchmarkfor the long-term bond market.

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* Yahoo! Finance is the source for any reference to the performance of an index between two specific

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Sources:http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/05/us-markets-global-idUSBRE88901C20130405http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/07/us-imf-boj-idUSBRE93604720130407http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/stagflation

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