I believe that I can do this, because this exercise has illustrated to me some of the tools and steps required to think critically about the market. I believe that this exercise has also highlighted the value of thinking creatively about the market as well. The market has a wide range of instruments available for investing. Stocks may be the most obvious, but they are not necessarily the most appropriate. Even blue chip stocks are not safe, so creative thinking is a must, in order to build the most appropriate portfolio for my needs and my timeframe. Works Cited

No author. (2008) History and Timeline Allstate.com. Retrieved October 30, 2008 at http://media.allstate.com/categories/19/releases/4028 other Allstate pages used in the production of this paper include the following:

Our Shared Vision. Retrieved October 30, 2008 at http://www.allstate.com/about/our-shared-vision.aspx

Stock price, financials, analyst information and ratios from Reuters. Retrieved October 30, 2008 at http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=ALL.N

Stock price chart from Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved October 30, 2008 at...

(2008). 2008 - First Half Results. Insurance Information Institute. Retrieved October 30, 2008 at http://www.iii.org/media/industry/financials/2008firsthalf/
Insurance industry statistics from Insurance Information Institute. Retrieved October 30, 2008 from the following pages:

http://www.iii.org/media/facts/statsbyissue/auto / http://www.iii.org/media/facts/statsbyissue/homeowners / http://www.iii.org/media/facts/statsbyissue/life/

Allstate, http://media.allstate.com/categories/19/releases/4028

Allstate, http://www.allstate.com/about/our-shared-vision.aspx

http://www.iii.org/media/facts/statsbyissue/homeowners / http://www.iii.org/media/facts/statsbyissue/auto / http://www.iii.org/media/facts/statsbyissue/life/

Hartwig, Robert P. (2008). 2008 - First Half Results. Insurance Information Institute.

Reuters, retrieved at http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/recommendations?symbol=ALL.N

Hartwig, Robert P. (2008). 2008 - First Half Results. Insurance Information Institute.