Click HERE to check out a handy 2013 IRA Contribution guide. Also, don’t forget to make your 2012 IRA contributions BEFORE the tax filing deadline of Monday, April 15th, 2013.

The US markets were up again last week with the Dow setting new records every day except Friday. On Friday of last week the Dow declined for the first time in 10 days, breaking its longest daily winning streak since 1996.

Retail sales rose a solid 1.1% in February surprising many analysts who expected the expiration of the payroll tax cut (a 2% increase in taxes for just about every American) to reduce consumer spending. Economists had expected a mere 0.5% increase and were encouraged with a reading over 1%. Apparently jobs growth is offsetting the payroll tax increase, thereby maintaining a strong consumer spending base. Since the US GDP equation is driven almost 70% by CONSUMERS, most analysts track these figures closely. This news will likely have some analysts increasing their forecasts for the 1st quarter GDP figures.

Jobless claims declined for the 3rd week in a row, driving the 4 week moving average to a 5 year low. Initial jobless claims fell 10,000 for the week of March 4th to 332,000. Continuing claims are also moving lower, reaching another recovery low and giving life to the markets last Thursday.

On Friday of last week the markets took a breather with the Dow declining a mere 0.2% on mixed economic data. Year-on-year, overall consumer prices inflated to 2% in February from only 1.6% in January (seasonally adjusted). This was basically what analysts expected and was encouraging to some investors who were concerned that CPI inflation might show a significant uptick in February. Nevertheless, consumer sentiment took a surprise plunge to a reading of 71.8, down from roughly 79 during the last 2 weeks of February. Most economists attribute this unexpected decline to uncertainty surrounding sequestration outcomes and the US debt ceiling debates.