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WEEKLY QUOTE
“One
man practicing sportsmanship is better than a hundred teaching it.”
-
Knute Rockne
WEEKLY TIP
Consider
scheduling automated bill payments and account transfers. It could remove
some “busy work” from your financial life.
WEEKLY RIDDLE
I
have rosy cheeks, I am round and cute – yet debate persists over whether I am
vegetable or fruit. What might I be?
Last week’s riddle:
I’m comprised of solid ground, and yet I see water all around.
What exactly am I?
Last week’s answer:
An island.
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March 4,
2014
MIXED RESULTS FROM CONSUMER INDICES
Wet, cold weather didn’t dampen the consumer outlook in
February – at least according to the month’s final University of Michigan
consumer sentiment index, which came in at 81.6. The index finished January
at 81.2. On the other hand, February’s Conference Board consumer confidence
index slipped 1.3 points to 78.1 (January’s reading was revised down to 79.4).1,2
PACE OF NEW HOME SALES PICKS UP
Wall Street and Main Street cheered the Census Bureau’s
announcement of a 9.6% jump in new home buying in January – the rate of new
home sales was the best in any month since July 2008. The National
Association of Realtors’ pending home sales index rose 0.1% in January, a
nice change from the 9% fall it took in the past year. December’s
S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index showed a 13.4% yearly gain in home
values, down from a 13.7% improvement in the November edition.2,3
Q4 GDP REVISED SIGNIFICANTLY DOWNWARD
Last week, the Bureau of Economic Analysis lowered its
fourth-quarter growth estimate from 3.2% to 2.4%. This did not shock economists
– in a MarketWatch poll, the consensus was for a 2.4% reading. Lagging
economic indicators released in February were worse than anticipated. In news
pertaining to Q1 GDP, January saw a 1.0% drop in overall durable goods
orders.2
STOCKS END FEBRUARY AT NEW RECORD HIGH
On
February 28, the S&P 500 settled at a new record close of 1,859.45 and a
gain of 1.26% on the week, even with growing concerns about Russian military
action in Ukraine. The Dow stood at
16,321.71 after a 1.36% weekly advance; the NASDAQ ended the week at 4,308.12
with a 5-day gain of 1.05%.4,5,6
THIS WEEK: Monday,
the January consumer spending report arrives from the Commerce Department,
along with ISM’s February manufacturing PMI, data on February auto sales, and
earnings from Acura and Icahn Enterprises. Tuesday, quarterly results are out
from AutoZone, Smith & Wesson and Radio Shack. ISM’s February service
sector PMI comes out Wednesday, plus a new Federal Reserve Beige Book, the
latest ADP employment change report and earnings from Revlon, BigLots! and
PetSmart. Thursday brings the new Challenger job-cut report, new initial
claims data, a report on January factory orders and earnings from Kroger,
H&R Block, Pandora, Costco and Chesapeake Utilities; a European Central
Bank policy meeting also occurs. The Labor Department’s February employment
report will be released Friday.
Sources: CNNMoney.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov - 2/28/144,5,6,7,8,9
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. 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 - reuters.com/article/2014/02/28/us-usa-economy-sentiment-idUSBREA1R12S20140228
[2/28/14]
2 - marketwatch.com/economy-politics/calendars/economic [2/28/14]
3 - dailyfinance.com/2014/02/28/contracts-buy-homes-barely-budge-january/
[2/28/14]
4 - money.cnn.com/data/markets/dow/
[2/28/14]
5 -
money.cnn.com/data/markets/nasdaq/ [2/28/14]
6 -
money.cnn.com/data/markets/sandp/ [2/28/14]
7 -
bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=2%2F28%2F12&x=0&y=0
[2/28/14]
7 -
bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=2%2F28%2F12&x=0&y=0
[2/28/14]
7 -
bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=2%2F28%2F13&x=0&y=0
[2/28/14]
7 -
bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=2%2F27%2F09&x=0&y=0
[2/28/14]
7 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=2%2F27%2F09&x=0&y=0
[2/28/14]
7 -
bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=2%2F27%2F09&x=0&y=0
[2/28/14]
7 -
bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=2%2F27%2F04&x=0&y=0
[2/28/14]
7 -
bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=2%2F27%2F04&x=0&y=0
[2/28/14]
7 -
bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=2%2F27%2F04&x=0&y=0
[2/28/14]
8 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyield
[2/28/14]
9 -
treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyieldAll
[2/28/14]
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Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Economic Update for the week of March 4th, 2014
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