Economic Update for the week of May 7th, 2012

WEEKLY ECONOMIC UPDATE
WEEKLY QUOTE      “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”   - Walt Disney WEEKLY TIP   If you are a single parent, a will, a power of attorney and disability income insurance are crucial to have – after all, you are the sole provider. WEEKLY RIDDLE   About 90% of this country’s land area is made up of arid tan desert, yet its flag is solid green – in fact, at present it is the only nation in the world with a flag containing just one color. What nation is this? Last week’s riddle: Four grown men decided to play on the sidewalk for three hours. No one chided them for childish or immature behavior; many appreciated the noise they made in unison. They even went home a bit richer. What were these men doing? Last week’s answer: They were street musicians performing for passerby.	May 7, 2012    UNEMPLOYMENT DOWN TO 8.1% The jobless rate dipped 0.1% in April, but Wall Street didn’t exactly cheer about it as just 115,000 non-farm jobs were added to the economy. Economists polled by Briefing.com thought payrolls would expand by 162,000. The Dow fell 168 points Friday on the news. On the bright side, job gains across February and March were revised upward by 53,000. Payrolls grew by a cumulative total of 635,000 positions in Q1 2012, making it the best quarter for hiring since Q1 2006.1,2,3     CONSUMER SPENDING UP 0.3% Analysts termed March’s gain disappointing after the (upwardly revised) 0.9% advance in February. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News anticipated a 0.4% improvement. Consumer incomes rose 0.4% in March, the best month in that category since December; consumer wages were up 0.3%.3    U.S. MANUFACTURING INDEX LEAPS NORTH The Institute for Supply Management’s April manufacturing PMI rose 1.4% in April to 54.8, representing the best monthly gain since June. Now for the bad news: the ISM non-manufacturing index showed a 2.5% drop in the same month to 53.5.2,4   AVERAGE RATE ON 30-YEAR FRM: 3.84% That is a new all-time low recorded by Freddie Mac in its May 3 Primary Mortgage Market Survey. A year prior, interest rates on 30-year conventional home loans averaged 4.71%. Rates on the refinancer’s favorite tool – the 15-year FRM – have dropped from 3.89% to just 3.07% in the same time frame.5    STOCKS DECLINE The job report drained enthusiasm from the market Friday, and stocks retreated for the week. The five-day performances: S&P 500, -2.44% to 1,369.10; DJIA, -1.44% to 13,028.27; NASDAQ, -3.68% to 2,956.34. Also notable: oil’s dive back under $100. At Friday’s NYMEX close, crude futures settled at $98.49, down 6.14% in a week.1,6    THIS WEEK: Monday offers Q1 results from Electronic Arts and Tyson Foods. Tuesday, DirecTV, Wendy’s, Disney and HSBC issue earnings reports. Wednesday brings earnings announcements from Priceline.com, NewsCorp, Toyota, AOL, Dean Foods, Macy’s, Activision Blizzard and Cisco. Thursday, new initial claims figures appear along with Q1 results from Kohl’s, Nordstrom and Sony; Fed chairman Ben Bernanke speaks at the annual Conference on Bank Structure and Competition in Chicago. Friday brings the April PPI and May’s initial University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey, and earnings arrive from Nissan and Nvidia. % CHANGE Y-T-D 1-YR CHG 5-YR AVG 10-YR AVG DJIA +6.72 +2.39 -0.36 +3.02 NASDAQ +13.48 +4.53 +2.99 +8.33 S&P 500 +8.87 +1.62 -1.81 +2.75 REAL YIELD 5/4 RATE 1 YR AGO 5 YRS AGO 10 YRS AGO 10 YR TIPS -0.30% 0.70% 2.24% 3.48%   Sources: money.msn.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov, treasurydirect.gov - 5/4/121,7,8,9 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 MarketingLibrary.Net Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. Marketing Library.Net Inc. is not affiliated with any broker or brokerage firm that may be providing this information to you. 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. 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. All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however we make no representation as to its completeness or accuracy. 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 - money.msn.com/market-news/post.aspx?post=06187871-41ac-4526-a225-e3067cf18d18 [5/4/12] 2 - briefing.com/investor/calendars/economic/2012/04/30-04 [5/4/12] 3 - www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/04/30/bloomberg_articlesM3ALE03T6SRQ01-M3ALE.DTL [4/30/12] 4 - www.ism.ws/ISMReport/MfgROB.cfm [5/1/12] 5 - www.cbsnews.com/8301-500395_162-57427288/record-low-mortgage-rates-what-to-do-now/ [5/4/12] 6 - montoyaregistry.com/Financial-Market.aspx?financial-market=common-financial-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them&category=29 [5/4/12] 7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=5%2F4%2F11&x=0&y=0 [5/4/12] 7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=5%2F4%2F11&x=0&y=0 [5/4/12] 7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=5%2F4%2F11&x=0&y=0 [5/4/12] 7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=5%2F4%2F07&x=0&y=0 [5/4/12] 7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=5%2F4%2F07&x=0&y=0 [5/4/12] 7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=5%2F4%2F07&x=0&y=0 [5/4/12] 7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=5%2F3%2F02&x=0&y=0 [5/4/12] 7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=5%2F3%2F02&x=0&y=0 [5/4/12] 7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=5%2F3%2F02&x=0&y=0 [5/4/12] 8 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyield [5/4/12] 8 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyieldAll [5/4/12] 9 - treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2002/ofm10902.pdf [1/9/02]