Economic Update for the week of Sept 3rd, 2012

WEEKLY ECONOMIC UPDATE
WEEKLY QUOTE            “Variety is the soul of pleasure.”       - Aphra Behn        WEEKLY TIP            Understand that Newton’s fourth law of motion may carry over to your financial life: your returns may decrease as your trading activity increases.    WEEKLY RIDDLE      You hold 3 U.S. coins in your hand. None of them are dimes, pennies or quarters. They total 60¢. What 3 coins do you have in hand?       Last week’s riddle: A major league pitcher faces just 27 hitters in a baseball game. He retires all of them, allowing no runs and no hits. Still, his team loses the game 4-0. How is this possible?    Last week’s answer: He was a relief pitcher who did not start the game.	September 3, 2012      BERNANKE: FED SHOULD NOT “RULE OUT” EASING Speaking Friday at the Federal Reserve’s annual Jackson Hole, WY symposium, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke gave Wall Street a bit of a lift. Commenting that the recovery is “far from satisfactory”, he expressed that the central bank “should not rule out” further stimulus. The Dow rose 90 points on the day, certainly helped by Bernanke leaving a door open for QE3.1,5    CONSUMER SPENDING & INCOMES INCREASE Personal spending rose 0.4% in July, and the Commerce Department also noted a second consecutive 0.3% monthly rise in household income. This was welcome news following last week’s revised yet still modest 1.7% Q2 GDP reading.2     PENDING HOME SALES HIt 27-MONTH HIGH After a 2.4% July advance, the National Association of Realtors reported its pending home sales index at 101.7 – the healthiest reading since April 2010 and a 12.4% improvement from 12 months ago. Additionally, the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price index posted an annual gain for the first time in 20 months in June (+0.5%).3    WHICH CONSUMER POLL IS CORRECT? According to the Conference Board, pessimism has increased: its August consumer confidence gauge hit a 10-month low (60.6). Alternately, the University of Michigan’s final August consumer sentiment survey rose to a 3-month high of 74.3, a 2.0% gain that beat the forecast of economists polled by MarketWatch.4,5    WEEKLY LOSSES, BUT DECENT GAINS FOR AUGUST On the week, the DJIA lost 0.51% to slip to 13,090.84, the S&P 500 fell 0.32% to 1,406.57 and the NASDAQ edged down 0.09% to 3,066.96. Yet even with stocks on a 2-week losing streak, the Dow (+0.63%), S&P (+1.98%) and NASDAQ (+4.34%) put up August gains for the first time since 2009. Looking at the NYMEX, COMEX and AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report, oil ended the month at $96.47, gold at $1,687.60 and unleaded gasoline at $3.83.5,6,7    THIS WEEK: Monday is Labor Day – U.S. markets are closed. The August ISM manufacturing index comes out Tuesday along with data on July construction spending and August auto sales; Q2 earnings arrive from Smithfield Foods and Campbell’s Soup. Wednesday, Dollar General and H&R Block issue earnings reports. Thursday brings new weekly jobless claims figures, the August ADP employment report, ISM’s latest service sector index and Q2 results from Hovnanian. Friday, August unemployment figures arrive plus earnings from Kroger and Lululemon.    % CHANGE Y-T-D 1-YR CHG 5-YR AVG 10-YR AVG DJIA +7.15 +12.72 -0.40 +5.11 NASDAQ +17.73 +18.90 +3.63 +13.33 S&P 500 +11.85 +15.40 -0.91 +5.35 REAL YIELD 8/31 RATE 1 YR AGO 5 YRS AGO 10 YRS AGO 10 YR TIPS -0.68% 0.18% 2.34% 3.10%   Sources: cnbc.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov, treasurydirect.gov - 8/31/125,8,9,10 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 - www.cbsnews.com/8301-505123_162-57504249/bernanke-from-jackson-hole-no-qe3...yet/ [8/31/12] 2 - www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/30/us-economy-idUSBRE87S0ID20120830 [8/30/12] 3 - blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/08/29/u-s-pending-home-sales-highest-since-april-2010/ [8/29/12] 4 - www.marketwatch.com/story/consumer-sentiment-rises-slightly-in-august-2012-08-31 [8/31/12] 5 - www.cnbc.com/id/48858445 [8/31/12] 6 - money.msn.com/market-news/post.aspx?post=461e046e-bbfc-4426-8cdf-e3ae3e518d70 [8/31/12] 7 - montoyaregistry.com/Financial-Market.aspx?financial-market=common-financial-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them&category=29 [8/31/12] 8 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=8%2F31%2F11&x=0&y=0 [8/31/12] 8 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=8%2F31%2F11&x=0&y=0 [8/31/12] 8 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=8%2F31%2F11&x=0&y=0 [8/31/12] 8 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=8%2F31%2F07&x=0&y=0 [8/31/12] 8 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=8%2F31%2F07&x=0&y=0 [8/31/12] 8 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=8%2F31%2F07&x=0&y=0 [8/31/12] 8 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=8%2F30%2F02&x=0&y=0 [8/31/12] 8 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=8%2F30%2F02&x=0&y=0 [8/31/12] 8 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=8%2F30%2F02&x=0&y=0 [8/31/12] 9 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyield [8/31/12] 9 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyieldAll [8/31/12] 10 - treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2002/ofm71002.pdf [7/10/02]