Fund performance

The number of dividend increases rose 32.5% in the second quarter of 2011 to 444, up from 335 in the second quarter of 2010, Standard & Poor’s Indices said.

When it comes to sovereign risk ratings, it could be a case of "out of Greece and into the fire" as venerable credit-rating agency Standard & Poor's this week joined Moody’s in issuing a sobering warning that Italy could be the next European nation in line for a downgrade.

Rising oil prices, $14 trillion in federal debt, the near shutdown of the government and a slowing global economy resulted in "horrible" results for equity funds in the second quarter, said Tom Roseen, head of research services at Lipper, during his company's preliminary performance report on equity funds in the second quarter of the year.

While investment managers are not worried about the end of the government QE2 stimulus, their enthusiasm for the economic recovery, stocks and bonds is waning, Russell Investments found in its quarter Investment Managers Outlook survey.

While France has devised a plan to roll over Greece’s debts, and the Greek parliament -- in the face of a national strike and major protests -- just passed austerity measures requested by the European Union, these early signs that worst of the Greek debt crisis is over doesn't mean investors can relax and assume all is well.

After a brief recovery in May the State Street Global Investor Confidence Index fell back below 100 in June, losing 5.1 points to settle at 99.2.

There is a great divide in the economic outlook of the 18% of the population earning $100,000 or more and the 50% earning $50,000 or less, the Consumer Reports Sentiment Index shows.

Henry Kaufman, one of the first economists to earn the now overused sobriquet “Dr. Doom” because of his generally bearish views on interest rates during the 1970s and '80s, is now warning that the conglomeratization of financial institutions, the continued securitization of non-marketable assets and the extreme leveraging which led to the most recent crash leave the global financial system vulnerable to new and potentially more devastating crises.

With only 51% of Americans believing they will have enough money to enjoy a comfortable retirement, an all-time low, the Country Financial Security Index fell one point in June to 63.7.

A number of areas of growing strength in the retail and commercial real estate market point to continued improvement in the U.S. economy, according to a report from real estate research and consulting firm Maximus Advisors.

When financial services leaders are no longer confident, where does that leave the rest of us?

Financial advisers and investors may want to heed some cautionary words from several economists at the Wharton School who think that the country's current economic recovery will remain a sluggish affair and, whenever it does stabilize, it will likely mark the beginning of a "new normal" that's less robust and prosperous than prior cyclical peaks.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index increased 0.8% in May to 114.7 (2004 = 100), following a 0.4% decline in April and a 0.7% increase in March. The largest contributions came from the interest rate spread, consumer expectations and housing permits.

Fifty-nine percent of Americans are not confident the U.S. economy will rebound within the next year, a survey of 1,011 adults by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards found.

Positive yet cautious hiring intentions are expected to persist throughout the summer, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. The Net Employment Outlook for the third quarter is +8%, up from +6% in the third quarter of 2010.

Consumer sentiment, as measured by the Consumer Reports Trouble Tracker Index, remains in negative territory in May for the second consecutive month, with consumers worried about slow job growth and news of the economic recovery stalling.

CHICAGO -- Just last month BlackRock’s Bob Doll told a room full of almost 2,000 advisers at the IMCA Annual Conference in Las Vegas that he believes the U.S. will continue to outperform developing markets and outperform Europe and Japan. “Investors should be overweight the U.S.” he said.

The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index rose to from -47.1 to -45.9 in the week ended June 5, the third straight week it has risen and its best reading since the end of April.

Just when financial advisers were starting to feel comfortable again, comes news that some key indicators are heading south again.

High gas prices, the federal deficit and high unemployment are depressing investor confidence, an investor survey conducted by Gallup for Wells Fargo shows.