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WEEKLY QUOTE
“The
road to someday leads to a town of nowhere.”
- Tony Robbins
WEEKLY TIP
Remember
that you can give gifts of a present interest of up to $13,000 to anyone in 2012
without incurring federal gift tax. (For the 2012 tax year, the lifetime gift
tax exclusion is set at $5,120,000.)
WEEKLY RIDDLE
George
lives on the 26th floor of an apartment building. Each day, he takes the
elevator down to lobby and goes to work. When he returns home, he stands in
the lobby and presses the elevator button for the 20th floor, gets off on
that floor and walks 6 flights up to his residence without stopping. Why
doesn’t he just press the button for the 26th floor?
Last week’s riddle:
What do the letter T and an island have in common?
Last week’s answer:
They
are both in the middle of water.
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December 24,
2012
HOW LONG WILL THE FISCAL CLIFF IMPASSE
LAST?
Hopes
for a fiscal cliff deal dwindled last week as the "Plan B" proposal
backed by House Speaker John Boehner failed to attract enough support.
Friday, President Obama urged lawmakers to craft a smaller-scale bill that
could at least protect long-term jobless benefits and sustain the Bush-era
tax cuts for Americans making $250,000 or less. The “Plan B” bill proposed a
tax hike for those making more than $1 million; the President has proposed
raising taxes on those with incomes of $400,000 or greater. Negotiations
resume this week; House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi believes that “there’s
still a chance” of a deal happening before 2013.1,2
BIG ANNUAL GAINS IN HOME SALES, HOUSING
STARTS
Existing
home sales rose 5.9% in November, according to the National Association of
Realtors; they were up 14.5% from a year before. While housing starts fell
3.0% last month, the Census Bureau noted a 21.6% yearly gain in the
indicator. November also saw a 3.6% rise in building permits, with the annual
gain at 26.8%.3
MORE SPENDING,
LESS OPTIMISM
Consumer
spending advanced 0.4% in November, rebounding after a 0.1% retreat in
October. The Bureau of Economic Analysis also cited a 0.6% gain in personal
incomes last month. However, December’s final consumer sentiment survey from
the University of Michigan hit a five-month low of 72.9, down 1.6% from
November.4
HARD GOODS
ORDERS TOP EXPECTATIONS
Durable
goods orders rose 0.7% in November, the Census Bureau noted. Economists
polled by MarketWatch had expected only a 0.1% overall gain.5
AS CLIFF TALKS STALL, STOCKS MANAGE TO
RISE
The
S&P 500 rose 1.17% last week even with uncertainty lingering on Wall
Street. It settled Friday at 1,430.15. The NASDAQ (+1.67% to 3,021.21) and
Dow (+0.43% to 13,190.84) also advanced across the last full trading week of
2012. Gold ended the week at just $1,660.10 an ounce on the COMEX after a
$14.20 Friday gain. NYMEX crude settled at $88.66 per barrel Friday.4,6,7
THIS WEEK: Monday is
Christmas Eve; the NYSE will close at 1:00pm EST and take Christmas Day off.
October’s S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index arrives Wednesday. Thursday, the Conference Board’s latest consumer
confidence index appears along with Census Bureau data on November new home
sales. The National Association of Realtors releases its November pending
home sales report on Friday.
Sources: thestreet.com, usatoday.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov - 12/21/124,6,8,9,10
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 - money.cnn.com/2012/12/21/investing/stocks-markets/index.html
[12/21/12]
2 - www.marketwatch.com/story/boehner-not-walking-away-from-cliff-talks-2012-12-21
[12/21/12]
3 - money.msn.com/now/post.aspx?post=804aa73d-050d-4fe5-8985-28861e824d7d
[12/21/12]
4 - www.thestreet.com/story/11799242/1/stock-market-story-dec-21.html
[12/21/12]
5 - www.marketwatch.com/story/november-durable-goods-orders-jump-07-2012-12-21
[12/21/12]
6 - www.usatoday.com/money/markets/overview/
[12/21/12]
7 - montoyaregistry.com/Financial-Market.aspx?financial-market=retirement-investment-funds&category=3
[12/21/12]
8 -
bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=12%2F21%2F11&x=0&y=0
[12/21/12]
8 -
bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=12%2F21%2F11&x=0&y=0
[12/21/12]
8 -
bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=12%2F21%2F11&x=0&y=0
[12/21/12]
8 -
bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=12%2F21%2F07&x=0&y=0
[12/21/12]
8 -
bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=12%2F21%2F07&x=0&y=0
[12/21/12]
8 -
bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=12%2F21%2F07&x=0&y=0
[12/21/12]
8 -
bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=12%2F20%2F02&x=0&y=0
[12/21/12]
8 -
bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=12%2F20%2F02&x=0&y=0
[12/21/12]
8 -
bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=12%2F20%2F02&x=0&y=0
[12/21/12]
9 -
treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyield
[12/21/12]
9 -
treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyieldAll
[12/21/12]
10 - treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2002/ofm71002.pdf
[7/10/02]
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Thursday, December 27, 2012
Economic Update for the week of December 24th, 2012
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