| With the first quarter of 2012 on the books, stocks managed to make one more final push this week, posting its best quarterly gains in more than a decade. Better-than-expected U.S. economic data coupled with positive news from the Euro zone sent equities rallying: the Dow Jones gained 0.5%, Nasdaq was up 4 points, and the S&P rose 0.4% during Friday’s trading session. This latest surge was in part due to positive U.S. consumer spending data, which was announced to have increased in the month of February. Despite experiencing significant volatility, gold futures also managed to stay out of the red, posting a 6% gain for the first quarter. Another developing market trend seen this quarter is the surge in a highly risky, but lucrative segment of the market: junk bonds. As investors continue satisfy their riskier appetites, junk bonds have experienced enormous inflows and in turn have handsomely compensated investors |
