Economic Update for the week of April 8th, 2014

WEEKLY ECONOMIC UPDATE
WEEKLY QUOTE                “The greatest danger to our future is apathy.”       - Jane Goodall           WEEKLY TIP               Share the 10% rule with your kids – the idea that if they save or invest 10% of every dollar they earn, they’ll have a head start on accumulating wealth.          WEEKLY RIDDLE             It can only be broken with force, yet it can be dulled by contact with a piece of paper. What is it?         Last week’s riddle: Out of the 100 years in the 20th century, there is only one that reads the same upside down as it does right side up. What year is it?     Last week’s answer: 1961.	April 8, 2014      PAYROLLS EXPAND BY 192,000 IN MARCH This gain almost met Wall Street’s expectations. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast 200,000 new jobs. March’s hiring didn’t move the Labor Department’s unemployment indicators much: the jobless rate remained at 6.7%, the labor force participation rate rose just slightly to 63.2, and the population of long-term unemployed still hovered at around 3.7 million. Revisions improved January and February hiring figures, however: the Labor Department now says 144,000 Americans found jobs in January, and that 197,000 new jobs were created in February.1,2     FACTORIES PICK UP THEIR PACE March saw the manufacturing sector expand for a ninth consecutive month. The Institute for Supply Management’s factory PMI rose half a point in March to a reading of 53.7. (A day later, the Commerce Department announced that factory orders had risen 1.6% for February.) The Institute’s non-manufacturing PMI came in at 53.1 for March, rising 1.5 points. Still, both readings were beneath Investing.com consensus forecasts, which predicted a manufacturing reading of 54.0 and a service sector reading of 53.5.3     GOLD REGAINS THE $1,300 LEVEL   With a gain of 0.7% across five days, the precious metal settled at $1,303.50 on the COMEX Friday. Silver rose 0.8% across the week to finish at $19.95. In contrast, NYMEX crude slipped 0.5% from Monday to Friday, ending the week at $101.14.2   A TECH SELLOFF, A WEEKLY GAIN FOR THE S&P 500 Sharp drops Thursday and Friday took the NASDAQ down to 4,127.72 at week’s end. The tech-heavy benchmark lost 0.67% in five trading days as big-name tech and biotech shares stumbled. The week was better for the Dow (+0.55% to 16,412.71) and the S&P 500 (+0.40% to 1,865.09).4,5    THIS WEEK: No major economic releases are scheduled for Monday. Tuesday, a new earnings season kicks off with Q1 results from Alcoa. Wednesday, the March 19 Federal Reserve policy minutes are released, a report on February wholesale inventories appears and earnings arrive from Constellation Brands, Ruby Tuesday and Bed Bath & Beyond. Quarterly results from Family Dollar, Pier 1 Imports and Rite Aid come out on Thursday along with the latest initial jobless claims numbers. Friday, March’s Producer Price Index is released, the University of Michigan’s initial April consumer sentiment index appears, and Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Fastenal announce earnings.    % CHANGE Y-T-D 1-YR CHG 5-YR AVG 10-YR AVG DJIA -0.99 +12.37 +20.94 +5.54 NASDAQ -1.17 +27.99 +30.90 +9.85 S&P 500 +0.91 +19.56 +24.28 +6.21 REAL YIELD 4/4 RATE 1 YR AGO 5 YRS AGO 10 YRS AGO 10 YR TIPS 0.61% -0.70% 1.53% 1.75%   Sources: USATODAY.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov - 4/4/145,6,7,8 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 MarketingPro, 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 - kansascity.com/2014/04/04/4936580/march-gladness-hiring-turns-stronger.html [4/4/14] 2 - proactiveinvestors.com/companies/news/53231/gold-above-1300-oil-gains-09-for-the-day-but-down-05-for-the-week-53231.html [4/4/14] 3 - investing.com/economic-calendar/ [4/4/14] 4 - foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/04/04/wall-street-walloped-tech-plunge-ignites-selloff/ [4/4/14] 5 - usatoday.com/money/markets/overview/ [4/4/14] 6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=4%2F4%2F13&x=0&y=0 [4/4/14] 6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=4%2F4%2F13&x=0&y=0 [4/4/14] 6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=4%2F4%2F13&x=0&y=0 [4/4/14] 6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=4%2F3%2F09&x=0&y=0 [4/4/14] 6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=4%2F3%2F09&x=0&y=0 [4/4/14] 6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=4%2F3%2F09&x=0&y=0 [4/4/14] 6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=4%2F5%2F04&x=0&y=0 [4/4/14] 6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=4%2F5%2F04&x=0&y=0 [4/4/14] 6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=4%2F5%2F04&x=0&y=0 [4/4/14]           7 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyield [4/4/14] 8 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyieldAll [4/4/14]