Economic Update for the week of September 30th, 2014

WEEKLY ECONOMIC UPDATE
WEEKLY QUOTE                “No law or ordinance is mightier than understanding.”       - Plato            WEEKLY TIP               Schedule your yearly financial review to coincide roughly with an anniversary or a birthday. The life event will provide a ready reminder.        WEEKLY RIDDLE              What 2 common English-language words both contain 2 Cs in a row, 2 Ss in a row and two Ls in a row?     Last week’s riddle: What word measures weight and turns negative if spelled backwards?        Last week’s answer: Ton.	September 30, 2014      NEW HOME SALES JUMP, RESALES DIP Existing home sales slumped 1.8% in August – their first retreat since March, according to the National Association of Realtors. This followed gains of 2% or more in each of the previous three months. News about new home purchases was better: the Census Bureau recorded an 18.0% increase for August, more than making up for two months of declines. Keep in mind that these numbers may be significantly revised (as an example, May’s apparent 18.6% advance in new home buying was reduced to an 8.3% gain a month later).1,2         CONSUMER SENTIMENT RISES At a final September mark of 84.6, the University of Michigan’s much-watched consumer sentiment index climbed 2.1 points above its final August reading. Economists polled by Bloomberg expected it to reach 84.8, however. This month’s preliminary reading for the index was also 84.6.3         AN 18.2% DROP FOR HARD GOODS ORDERS The August descent was the biggest monthly dip ever recorded by the Commerce Department, following the biggest monthly rise ever seen – the revised 22.5% gain in July. Major variations in aircraft orders affected those percentages. Minus the transportation sector, durable goods orders were up 0.7% last month.4      5 VOLATILE DAYS ON THE STREET U.S. air strikes against ISIS. Key economic indicators soaring and plunging. An Apple selloff. Q2 GDP revised up to 4.6%. Bill Gross leaving PIMCO for Janus. All this made for a choppy week on Wall Street, with 5-day performances of major indices as follows: S&P 500, -1.37% to 1,982.85; NASDAQ, -1.48% to 4,512.19; DJIA, -0.96% to 17,113.15.3,5       THIS WEEK: August personal spending statistics and August pending home sales figures arrive Monday, along with earnings from Cintas. Tuesday offers the latest Conference Board consumer confidence index, July’s Case-Shiller home price index, September’s HSBC manufacturing PMI for China, September readings on eurozone unemployment and inflation and earnings from Walgreens. Official September factory PMIs for China, Japan and the euro area come out on Wednesday along with September’s ISM factory PMI for the U.S.; investors will also consider the latest ADP employment report. The European Central Bank holds a policy meeting Thursday, and that day also brings a new initial jobless claims report, August factory orders data and Q3 results from Constellation Brands. Friday, the Labor Department issues its September jobs report and ISM releases its September non-manufacturing PMI.    % CHANGE Y-T-D 1-YR CHG 5-YR AVG 10-YR AVG DJIA +3.24 +11.64 +15.41 +7.13 NASDAQ +8.04 +19.14 +23.16 +14.26 S&P 500 +7.28 +16.73 +17.97 +7.97 REAL YIELD 9/26 RATE 1 YR AGO 5 YRS AGO 10 YRS AGO 10 YR TIPS 0.57% 0.47% 1.60% 1.72%   Sources: online.wsj.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov - 9/26/146,7,8,9 Indices are unmanaged, do not incur fees or expenses, and cannot be invested into directly. These returns do not include dividends.
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«RepresentativeDisclosure»   This material was prepared by MarketingPro, Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. This information has been derived from sources believed to be accurate. Please note - investing involves risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional. This information should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any Federal tax penalty. This is neither a solicitation nor recommendation to purchase or sell any investment or insurance product or service, and should not be relied upon as such. All indices are unmanaged and are not illustrative of any particular investment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted index of 30 actively traded blue-chip stocks. The NASDAQ Composite Index is an unmanaged, market-weighted index of all over-the-counter common stocks traded on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System. The Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. NYSE Group, Inc. (NYSE:NYX) operates two securities exchanges: the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) and NYSE Arca (formerly known as the Archipelago Exchange, or ArcaEx®, and the Pacific Exchange). NYSE Group is a leading provider of securities listing, trading and market data products and services. The New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. (NYMEX) is the world's largest physical commodity futures exchange and the preeminent trading forum for energy and precious metals, with trading conducted through two divisions – the NYMEX Division, home to the energy, platinum, and palladium markets, and the COMEX Division, on which all other metals trade. Additional risks are associated with international investing, such as currency fluctuations, political and economic instability and differences in accounting standards. This material represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific point in time and is not intended to be a forecast of future events, or a guarantee of future results. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.  Investments will fluctuate and when redeemed may be worth more or less than when originally invested. All economic and performance data is historical and not indicative of future results. Market indices discussed are unmanaged. Investors cannot invest in unmanaged indices. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional.   Citations. 1 - investing.com/economic-calendar/ [9/26/14] 2 - forbes.com/sites/erincarlyle/2014/07/24/new-home-sales-slip-8-1-in-june/ [7/24/14] 3 - businessweek.com/news/2014-09-25/asia-stock-index-futures-fall-after-u-dot-s-dot-drop-dollar-holds-gain [9/25/14] 4 - marketwatch.com/story/us-durable-goods-orders-sink-record-182-in-august-on-fewer-jet-contracts-2014-09-25 [9/25/14] 5 - markets.on.nytimes.com/research/markets/usmarkets/usmarkets.asp [9/26/14] 6 - markets.wsj.com/us [9/26/14] 7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=9%2F26%2F13&x=0&y=0 [9/26/14] 7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=9%2F26%2F13&x=0&y=0 [9/26/14] 7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=9%2F26%2F13&x=0&y=0 [9/26/14] 7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=9%2F25%2F09&x=0&y=0 [9/26/14] 7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=9%2F25%2F09&x=0&y=0 [9/26/14] 7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=9%2F25%2F09&x=0&y=0 [9/26/14] 7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=9%2F27%2F04&x=0&y=0 [9/26/14] 7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=9%2F27%2F04&x=0&y=0 [9/26/14] 7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=9%2F27%2F04&x=0&y=0 [9/26/14]          8 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyield [9/26/14] 9 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyieldAll [9/26/14]