Economic Update for the January 6th, 2015

WEEKLY ECONOMIC UPDATE
WEEKLY QUOTE                “Life is a reciprocal exchange. To move forward, you have to give back.”       - Oprah Winfrey            WEEKLY TIP               For 2015, see if you can keep the cost of your total monthly debt payments at 35% of your pre-tax income or less. You should be the master of your debt; it shouldn’t master you.        WEEKLY 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 riddle: It can be measured even though it lacks length, width or height. What is it?      Last week’s answer: Temperature.	January 6, 2015                         LATEST ISM FACTORY PMI IS A LETDOWN The 3.2-point December descent of the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index may not be as troubling as it first appeared to Wall Street. Purchasing managers surveyed by ISM noted that labor disputes at west coast ports held up raw material and hard goods shipments last month. At 55.5, the index still pointed to a growing factory sector even though it missed expectations (it came in 1.5 points beneath the forecast of economists polled by MarketWatch). The ISM factory PMI averaged 55.8 in 2014 for its best year since 2010.1,2     CONFIDENCE UP AS 2014 ENDS In December, the Conference Board’s consumer confidence index reached 92.6, approaching a seven-year high that the CB recorded in October. In addition, the CB’s index measuring the outlook on current economic conditions hit a high unseen since February 2008. November’s reading was revised up to 91.0 from the prior 88.7.3            AN UPTURN FOR PENDING HOME SALES According to the National Association of Realtors, they rose 0.8% in November – much better than October’s 1.1% retreat. October’s S&P/Case-Shiller home price index showed a 4.5% annual gain in its 20-city version, the smallest in two years; the nationwide gain was 4.6%, down from 4.8% in the September edition.3,4        STOCKS PULL BACK AS NEW YEAR BEGINS Another abbreviated trading week brought losses for the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite. The NASDAQ slipped 0.98% for the week to end up at 4,726.81 Friday; respective 1.09% and 1.46% retreats for the DJIA and S&P left those benchmarks at 17,832.99 and 2,058.20 settlements.5,6           THIS WEEK: No major releases are scheduled on Monday. Tuesday brings not only ISM’s December services index, but also key December PMIs from China, Japan and the eurozone. Wednesday, ADP’s December employment change report accompanies the minutes from the December 16-17 Federal Reserve policy meeting and earnings from Monsanto and Family Dollar. The December Challenger job-cut report arrives Thursday, plus a new round of initial claims figures and earnings from Bed Bath & Beyond, PriceSmart, Ruby Tuesday, Barracuda Networks, The Container Store and Constellation Brands. The Labor Department puts out its December jobs report Friday.    % CHANGE Y-T-D 1-YR CHG 5-YR AVG 10-YR AVG DJIA +0.06 +8.46 +14.20 +6.62 NASDAQ -0.20 +14.09 +21.66 +11.96 S&P 500 -0.03 +12.35 +16.92 +7.12 REAL YIELD 1/2 RATE 1 YR AGO 5 YRS AGO 10 YRS AGO 10 YR TIPS 0.41% 0.74% 1.48% 1.70%   Sources: online.wsj.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov - 1/2/156,7,8,9 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 - marketwatch.com/story/ism-manufacturing-index-falls-in-december-to-slowest-rate-since-summer-2015-01-02 [1/2/15] 2 - haver.com [1/2/15] 3 - businessweek.com/news/2014-12-30/consumer-confidence-index-in-u-dot-s-dot-increased-to-92-dot-6-in-december [12/30/14] 4 - marketwatch.com/economy-politics/calendars/economic [1/2/15] 5 - markets.on.nytimes.com/research/markets/usmarkets/usmarkets.asp [1/2/15] 6 - markets.wsj.com/us [1/2/15] 7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=1%2F2%2F14&x=0&y=0 [1/2/15] 7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=1%2F2%2F14&x=0&y=0 [1/2/15] 7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=1%2F2%2F14&x=0&y=0 [1/2/15] 7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=12%2F31%2F09&x=0&y=0 [1/2/15] 7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=12%2F31%2F09&x=0&y=0 [1/2/15] 7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=12%2F31%2F09&x=0&y=0 [1/2/15] 7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=1%2F3%2F05&x=0&y=0 [1/2/15] 7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=1%2F3%2F05&x=0&y=0 [1/2/15] 7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=1%2F3%2F05&x=0&y=0 [1/2/15]  8 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyield [1/2/15] 9 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyieldAll [1/2/15]