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WEEKLY QUOTE
“Growth
itself contains the germ of happiness.”
- Pearl S. Buck
WEEKLY TIP
Do
your money decisions reflect your values? If they don’t, you can wind up
conflicted, stressed out and unhappy.
WEEKLY RIDDLE
It
is found in the ground, round as a circle and yards deeper than a cup, and a
hundred horses cannot pull it up. It isn’t going anywhere, it cannot think;
it might provide you with something to drink. What is it?
Last week’s 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 answer:
He is
too short to reach the button for the 26th floor.
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December 31,
2012
CRUNCH TIME IN WASHINGTON
After
a bipartisan meeting failed to produce a deal to avert the fiscal cliff,
President Obama had a terse message for Congress Friday evening: if the Senate
couldn’t come up with a new proposal during the weekend, he would urge its
leaders to arrange a simple up-or-down vote on a small-scale fix, a bill that
would extend long-term jobless benefits into 2013 and sustain the Bush-era
tax cuts for those earning $250,000 or less. “I'm optimistic we may still be
able to reach an agreement that can pass both houses in time,” the President
noted Friday. That certainly contrasted with Senate Majority Leader Harry
Reid’s view of prospects for a deal last Thursday: “I don't know timewise how
it can happen now.”1
UNSURPRISINGLY, CONSUMER CONFIDENCE
WANES
Worries
over the fiscal cliff presumably factored into the big December drop in the
Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index. It tumbled down to 65.1 from
November’s 71.5 mark, declining for a second consecutive month.2
HOME SALES,
HOME PRICES IMPROVE
New
home sales rose 4.4% in November, according to the Census Bureau; the
National Association of Realtors announced a 1.7% gain in pending home sales
for that month. These increases took new home sales and pending home sales to
their highest levels since April 2010. October’s S&P/Case-Shiller Home
Price Index came out last week and showed prices up 4.3% overall from a year
before.3
S&P 500 GIVES BACK ITS DECEMBER
GAINS
The
S&P slipped 1.94% last week to 1,402.43 as doubts over a fiscal cliff
deal mounted. The NASDAQ dropped 2.01% last week to settle at 2,960.31
Friday; the DJIA slipped 1.92% in five days to end the week at 12,938.11. As
for the CBOE VIX, it closed above 22 on Friday. On the NYMEX, oil gained 2.4%
last week to a Friday close of $90.80 a barrel; gold futures lost 0.3% on the
week to settle Friday at $1,656.30 an ounce.4,5,6,7
THIS WEEK: The fiscal
cliff deadline arrives Monday on Capitol Hill. Tuesday is New Year’s Day;
U.S. financial markets will be closed. Wednesday, at least some tax hikes and
federal spending cuts may kick in; ISM comes out with its December
manufacturing index, and the Commerce Department releases December auto sales
figures. Thursday brings new initial jobless claims figures, new Challenger
and ADP reports, December’s FOMC minutes and earnings from Family Dollar.
December’s jobs report is out Friday, plus ISM’s service sector index and earnings
from Mosaic.
Sources: cnbc.com, usatoday.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov, treasurydirect.gov - 12/28/124,5,6,8,9,10
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 - www.cnbc.com/id/100343159 [12/28/12]
2 - www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-consumer-confidence-20121227,0,1460310.story
[12/27/12]
3 - www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-28/pending-sales-of-existing-u-s-homes-climb-for-third-month-1-.html
[12/28/12]
4 - www.cnbc.com/id/100343266 [12/28/12]
5 - 247wallst.com/2012/12/28/247-wall-st-closing-bell-december-28-2012-markets-sink-on-lack-of-cliff-deal-nok-rimm-hlf-call/
[12/28/12]
6 -
www.usatoday.com/money/markets/overview/ [12/28/12]
7 - montoyaregistry.com/Financial-Market.aspx?financial-market=retirement-investment-funds&category=3
[12/28/12]
8 -
bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=12%2F28%2F11&x=0&y=0
[12/28/12]
8 -
bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=12%2F28%2F11&x=0&y=0
[12/28/12]
8 -
bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=12%2F28%2F11&x=0&y=0
[12/28/12]
8 -
bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=12%2F28%2F07&x=0&y=0
[12/28/12]
8 -
bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=12%2F28%2F07&x=0&y=0
[12/28/12]
8 -
bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=12%2F28%2F07&x=0&y=0
[12/28/12]
8 -
bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=12%2F27%2F02&x=0&y=0
[12/28/12]
8 -
bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=12%2F27%2F02&x=0&y=0
[12/28/12]
8 -
bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=12%2F27%2F02&x=0&y=0
[12/28/12]
9 -
treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyield
[12/28/12]
9 -
treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyieldAll
[12/28/12]
10 - treasurydirect.gov/instit/annceresult/press/preanre/2002/ofm71002.pdf
[7/10/02]
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Thursday, January 3, 2013
Economic Update for the week of December 31st, 2012
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