And what a September it was...

By Dian Vujovich

The record books have a lot to write about when it comes to September 2010. For openers, I’ve heard it was the hottest one on record weather-wise in Florida. As for financial facts, stocks had their best performance in 71 years. Both incredible.

But September also brought with it other numbers. Like, trading volume was down 25 percent from August figures. And even though the DJIA was up 7.72 percent for the month, year-to-date it’s ahead about half that: 3.45 percent.

Similar performance for NASDAQ shows that index up over 12 percent for the ninth month of the year yet up only 4.38 percent year-to-date. Then there’s the S&P500. Chugging along with its year-to-date performance of a positive 2.34 percent, the index was hiked upwards thanks to its September move of plus 8.76 percent.

As for the investing mood in America, it’s kind of crazy. One the one hand people don’t’ like uncertainty and market volatility. Yet on the other, they don’t seem to be buying when prices are moving ahead and have been for some time. Look back just one year and you’ll find solid strides being made. The average diversified stock fund, for instance, was up 10.24 percent over the last 52-weeks ending September 30, according to Lipper.

Business news from Navellier’s Marketmail newsletter reveal a number of humongous mergers done during the month, like those including Southwest Airlines, Unilever and Wal-Mart. Additionally, he wrote that our dollar “collapsed in its worst decline since 2008, but a lower dollar tends to boost the earnings of many leading multi-national companies….”

Car sales were up in September. Ford, Chrysler, GM and Toyota all posted double-digit new car sales gains.

So why aren’t investors getting the buy stocks bug? One reason could be our nation’s over-the-top focus on negativity. The national news, be it reported on television, cable networks or the Internet all seem to be focused on bickering, complaining and hatefulness. None of which do any good for our individual lives or our futures. And none are 100 percent accurate.

I’m not going to deny that there aren’t a lot of things that need correcting within our economy as it appears that it’s the crooks and dumbbells on Wall Street within the banking and financial industries who seem to have the most control. But take one step back for a moment and you’re fingers from your Blackberry and you’ll see that it’s us, the individual, who are the ones that can turn things around.

While some have reported it’s time for anarchy in the streets, I’d rather see rose-colored glasses being handed out and worn. Gloom and doom doesn’t last forever you know, so a glance now and then from something more positive might do us all —and our portfolios—a little good.