|
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WEEKLY QUOTE
“We
must use time as a tool, not as a crutch.”
- John F. Kennedy
WEEKLY TIP
Have
you recently become a caregiver, or are you about to become one? It might be
wise to try and estimate the impact of your caregiving duties on your
finances (work hours lost, out-of-pocket expenses incurred).
WEEKLY RIDDLE
Francis
had finished cleaning the windows on his 2-story house when he slipped and
fell off a ladder. He wasn’t injured, however. How come?
Last week’s riddle:
I sleep by day and fly by night, with no feathers to aid my
flight. What am I?
Last week’s answer:
A bat.
|
January 27,
2015
A RISE IN HOME BUYING
Existing
home sales were up 2.4% in December and 3.5% for 2014. In its latest report,
the National Association of Realtors noted a median sale price of $208,500,
5.8% above a year before. The sales pace in the last half of 2014 was 8%
better than in the first half, with cheaper mortgages certainly a factor. (Last
week, a 30-year FRM averaged just 3.66% interest.) December saw a 1.9% dip in
building permits, but the Census Bureau also noted a 4.4% boost for housing
starts. Starts for 2014 totaled 1.01 million, a 9-year high. Last year,
groundbreaking increased 8.8%.1,2
ECB FIGHTS DEFLATION RISK WITH STIMULUS
Thursday, the European Central Bank unveiled a plan to
ease: a massive stimulus that will purchase 60 billion euros (about
$69 billion) of bonds per month through September 2016. The tipping point for
the move appeared to be the 0.2% December retreat in the eurozone inflation
rate. All this easing will weaken the euro even more, thereby offering relief
to the export-reliant economies of many eurozone nations.3
NASDAQ GOES POSITIVE YTD; GOLD TOPS
$1,300
Across four days, the tech-heavy benchmark rose 2.68% to
settle Friday at 4,757.88. The S&P 500 ended the week at 2,051.82, the Dow
at 17,672.60; those settlements resulted from 4-day gains of 1.63% for the S&P
and 0.94% for the Dow. Thursday, gold closed above $1,300 on the COMEX for
the first time since August; it settled Friday at $1,292.60, up 1.2% for the
week. A barrel of West Texas crude was valued at just $45.83 at Friday’s
NYMEX close.4,5
THIS WEEK: Monday, investors
react to Greece’s elections and earnings from Microsoft, D.R. Horton and
Texas Instruments. Tuesday, reports on December hard goods orders and new home
sales accompany the Conference Board’s consumer confidence index, the latest
S&P/Case-Shiller home price index and earnings from Apple, AT&T, 3M,
American Airlines, Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Lockheed Martin, Pfizer,
Novartis, Yahoo!, Procter & Gamble, Electronic Arts and Caterpillar. Wednesday,
the Federal Reserve issues a policy statement and earnings arrive from General
Dynamics, Facebook, Qualcomm and St. Jude Medical. NAR’s December pending
home sales report comes out Thursday, as do new initial claims numbers and
earnings from Sherwin-Williams, Stanley Black & Decker, Google, Time
Warner Cable, Unisys, Viacom, Visa, Whirlpool, Wynn Resorts, Abbott Labs,
Amazon.com, Colgate-Palmolive, ConocoPhillips, Dow Chemical, Harley-Davidson,
Ford Motor Co., Hershey, JetBlue, Northrop Grumman, Occidental Petroleum,
Raytheon, Royal Caribbean Cruises and Royal Dutch Shell. Friday brings the
first estimate of Q4 GDP and the final University of Michigan January
consumer sentiment index.
Sources: online.wsj.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov - 1/23/156,7,8,9
Indices
are unmanaged, do not incur fees or expenses, and cannot be invested into
directly. These returns do not include dividends. 10-year TIPS real yield =
projected return at maturity given expected inflation.
|
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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 - consumeraffairs.com/news/a-strong-finish-for-sales-of-existing-homes-012315.html
[1/23/15]
2 - dailyfinance.com/2015/01/21/new-home-construction-rises-december/
[1/21/15]
3 - latimes.com/business/la-fi-ecb-stimulus-euro-quantitative-easing-20150122-story.html
[1/22/15]
4 - proactiveinvestors.com/companies/news/59465/gold-retreats-06-to-1292-wti-down-brent-up-59465.html
[1/23/15]
5 - fxstreet.com/news/forex-news/article.aspx?storyid=4edca382-02d3-4d7b-8766-c764b9def512
[1/23/15]
6 - markets.wsj.com/us [1/23/15]
7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=1%2F23%2F14&x=0&y=0
[1/23/15]
7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=1%2F23%2F14&x=0&y=0
[1/23/15]
7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=1%2F23%2F14&x=0&y=0
[1/23/15]
7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=1%2F22%2F10&x=0&y=0
[1/23/15]
7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=1%2F22%2F10&x=0&y=0
[1/23/15]
7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=1%2F22%2F10&x=0&y=0
[1/23/15]
7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=1%2F24%2F05&x=0&y=0
[1/23/15]
7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=1%2F24%2F05&x=0&y=0
[1/23/15]
7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=1%2F24%2F05&x=0&y=0
[1/23/15]
8 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyield
[1/23/15]
9 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyieldAll
[1/23/15]
|
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Economic Update for the week of January 27th, 2015
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Economic Update for the week of January 20th, 2015
|
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WEEKLY QUOTE
“Rudeness
is the weak man’s imitation of strength.”
- Eric Hoffer
WEEKLY TIP
50
or older this year? Take advantage of increased “catch-up” contributions with
your retirement accounts. If your contributions are pre-tax, you will be
saving tax dollars along the way.
WEEKLY RIDDLE
I
sleep by day and fly by night, with no feathers to aid my flight. What am I?
Last week’s riddle:
What comes at the end of a rainbow?
Last week’s answer:
The letter W.
|
January 20,
2015
WHAT HAPPENED TO RETAIL SALES?
Wall
Street was surprised by the news of December’s 0.9% retreat, especially given
November’s (revised) 0.4% advance. Minus auto buying, the decline was 1.0%. Economists
surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast a gain of 0.1%. The plunge came even
with holiday sales, cheap gas, strong hiring and increasing optimism about
household economic prospects (see below). This disappointment raises concerns
about the strength of Q4 consumer spending.1,2
CONSUMER PRICES TAKE A BIG DIP
December saw the Consumer Price Index decrease 0.4%, its
largest monthly pullback since December 2008. That brought its
2-month decline to 0.7%. Falling gas prices were a major influence, of course
– on Friday, AAA announced a nationwide average price of just $2.08 for a
gallon of regular unleaded. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index
hit an 11-year peak last week with a preliminary mark of 98.2.1
DRAMA FOR CURRENCIES, A BIG GAIN FOR
GOLD
The Swiss National Bank rocked the currency
markets Thursday by abruptly lifting its cap on its franc. In the minutes
after the announcement, the Swiss franc gained 25% on the dollar and 30%
against the euro while Germany’s DAX index fell 250 points. Perhaps the SNB anticipates
a stimulus from the European Central Bank. COMEX gold futures were
up 4.5% last week to $1,276.90 at Friday’s close; WTI crude settled at $48.69
on the NYMEX Friday.3,4
NO WEEKLY GAIN FOR THE S&P 500
It lost 1.24% across five volatile days to close at
2,019.42 Friday. No 5-day advances came for the Nasdaq or Dow either: the
former gave back 1.48% to end the week at 4,634.38, the latter 1.27% to
settle at 17,511.57 at Friday’s final bell.5
THIS WEEK: On
Monday, U.S. financial markets are closed in observance of the birthday of Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Tuesday sees IBM and Netflix release earnings. Wednesday,
earnings from U.S. Bancorp, eBay and Deluxe Corp. complement the Census
Bureau’s December report on housing starts and building permits. Thursday offers
earnings from Southwest Airlines, Verizon, Key Corp., Starbucks and Union
Pacific and new initial claims figures. Friday brings December existing home
sales data from NAR, the Conference Board’s latest leading indicator index
and earnings from Honeywell, GE, State Street Corp. and McDonald’s.
Sources: online.wsj.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov - 1/16/156,7,8,9
Indices
are unmanaged, do not incur fees or expenses, and cannot be invested into
directly. These returns do not include dividends. 10-year TIPS real yield =
projected return at maturity given expected inflation.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Please feel
free to forward this article to family, friends or colleagues.
If you would like us to add them to our distribution list, please reply with their address. We will contact them first and request their permission to add them to our list. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
«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 - businessweek.com/news/2015-01-16/consumer-sentiment-in-u-dot-s-dot-surges-to-11-year-high-as-fuel-drops
[1/16/15]
2 - briefing.com/investor/calendars/economic/2015/01/12-16 [1/16/15]
3 - tinyurl.com/kyk96kq [1/15/15]
4 - proactiveinvestors.com/companies/news/59328/gold-gains-1-to-1276-wti-up-at-4869-59328.html
[1/16/15]
5 - markets.on.nytimes.com/research/markets/usmarkets/usmarkets.asp
[1/16/15]
6 - markets.wsj.com/us [1/16/15]
7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=1%2F16%2F14&x=0&y=0
[1/16/15]
7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=1%2F16%2F14&x=0&y=0
[1/16/15]
7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=1%2F16%2F14&x=0&y=0
[1/16/15]
7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=1%2F15%2F10&x=0&y=0
[1/16/15]
7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=1%2F15%2F10&x=0&y=0
[1/16/15]
7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=1%2F15%2F10&x=0&y=0
[1/16/15]
7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=1%2F18%2F05&x=0&y=0
[1/16/15]
7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=1%2F18%2F05&x=0&y=0
[1/16/15]
7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=1%2F18%2F05&x=0&y=0
[1/16/15]
8 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyield
[1/16/15]
9 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyieldAll
[1/16/15]
|
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Economic Update for the week of January 13th, 2015
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WEEKLY QUOTE
“I
would not waste my life in friction when it could be turned into momentum.”
- Frances Willard
WEEKLY TIP
If
your business is a corporation, how is it structured? Using multiple entities
might lead to big tax savings.
WEEKLY RIDDLE
What
comes at the end of a rainbow?
Last week’s riddle:
As I age my height changes, but not my importance. Your hand
guides me and I help articulate what you want to say. When we part, I am not
important or useful to you. What am I?
Last week’s answer:
A pencil.
|
January 13,
2015
ANOTHER GOOD JOBS REPORT
America’s
best year for hiring since 2000 wrapped up with 252,000 more people finding work
in December. Labor Department data showed the jobless rate declining to 5.6%
last month (the U-6 rate tracking the unemployed and underemployed decreased
to 11.2%). The economy added 2.53 million non-farm payroll jobs in 2014,
representing 1.9% net employment growth. October and November hiring totals
were respectively revised up to 261,000 and 353,000. December did see wages
slip 0.2%; private sector average hourly earnings increased just 1.7% during
2014.1
DECEMBER SEES ISM SERVICES PMI RETREAT
The latest Institute for Supply Management’s
non-manufacturing purchasing manager index came in at 56.2 – still strong,
but well under the November reading of 59.3. Tempering that disappointment is
the fact that ISM’s services index has shown sector growth for 59 consecutive
months.2
OIL DIPS BENEATH $50
The price of West Texas Intermediate crude fell 8.2% last
week on the NYMEX. A barrel was valued at just $48.36 at Friday’s close. With OPEC doing
nothing to reduce output, investors are left wondering when the steep losses
will end. Gold did very well last week, rising 2.5% on the
COMEX to settle Friday at $1,216.10.3
A WILD WEEK, A DOWN WEEK
Crude’s continuing slump, excellent December hiring,
assumptions of central bank action, fears following the terrorist attack in Paris
– they all contributed to pronounced volatility. Selling exceeded buying: the
S&P 500 lost 0.63% in five days to settle at 2,044.81 Friday. The Dow
pulled back 0.50% for the week to 17,737.37, the Nasdaq 0.49% to 4,704.07.4,5
THIS WEEK: Here
comes earnings season: Alcoa reports Q4 results Monday, with KB Home
following suit Tuesday. Wednesday offers data on December retail sales and
November business inventories, the latest eurozone factory output report, a
new Beige Book from the Federal Reserve and earnings from Charles Schwab,
Kinder Morgan, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase. Thursday’s spate of earnings
announcements includes releases from Bank of America, Citigroup, Intel,
Lennar, Schlumberger and BlackRock. On Friday, the December Consumer Price
Index and the Federal Reserve’s report on December industrial output arrive
along with the latest eurozone inflation reading and the preliminary January
consumer sentiment index from the University of Michigan.
Sources: online.wsj.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov - 1/9/155,6,7,8
Indices
are unmanaged, do not incur fees or expenses, and cannot be invested into
directly. These returns do not include dividends. 10-year TIPS real yield =
projected return at maturity given expected inflation.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Please feel
free to forward this article to family, friends or colleagues.
If you would like us to add them to our distribution list, please reply with their address. We will contact them first and request their permission to add them to our list. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
«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 - haver.com [1/9/15]
2 - ism.ws/ismreport/nonmfgrob.cfm [1/6/15]
3 - proactiveinvestors.com/companies/news/59186/gold-rebounds-after-2-straight-losses-us-crude-settles-down-09--59186.html
[1/9/15]
4 - google.com/finance?q=INDEXDJX%3A.DJI&ei=z02wVKKhKe7FiwLW2IBo
[1/9/15]
5 - markets.wsj.com/us [1/9/15]
6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=1%2F9%2F14&x=0&y=0
[1/9/15]
6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=1%2F9%2F14&x=0&y=0
[1/9/15]
6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=1%2F9%2F14&x=0&y=0
[1/9/15]
6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=1%2F8%2F10&x=0&y=0
[1/9/15]
6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=1%2F8%2F10&x=0&y=0
[1/9/15]
6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=1%2F8%2F10&x=0&y=0
[1/9/15]
6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=1%2F10%2F05&x=0&y=0
[1/9/15]
6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=1%2F10%2F05&x=0&y=0
[1/9/15]
6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=1%2F10%2F05&x=0&y=0
[1/9/15]
7 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyield
[1/9/15]
8 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyieldAll
[1/9/15]
|
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