Economic Update for the week of September 9th, 2014

WEEKLY ECONOMIC UPDATE
WEEKLY QUOTE                “People say that money is not the key to happiness, but I always figured if you have enough money, you can have a key made.”       - Joan Rivers            WEEKLY TIP               When you graduated from college, did you understand the stock market? Did you know how to budget, invest or manage debt? If your child or grandchild has left campus for the “real world” this year, see that he or she has an adequate grasp of these matters.        WEEKLY RIDDLE              What flies without wings, fuel, muscles, feet or a fuselage?          Last week’s riddle: Glittering points that southward thrust. Sparkling spears that cannot rust. What are they?        Last week’s answer: Icicles.	September 9, 2014      WALL STREET TAKES JOBS DATA IN STRIDE In August, a notable hiring streak ended: for the first time since January, the economy failed to create 200,000 new jobs during a month. Investors were disappointed by the news from the Labor Department, but it came with a silver lining: the moderation in job gains may give the Federal Reserve a bit less incentive to adjust interest rates down the road. The jobless rate ticked down to 6.1% last month; the U-6 rate (underemployed & unemployed) declined from 12.2% to 12.0%. August also saw 0.2% wage growth.1       FACTORY & SERVICE SECTOR GROWTH TOPS ESTIMATES Both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMIs overseen by the Institute for Supply Management posted August gains. ISM’s purchasing manager index for the service sector reached 59.6 last month while its factory sector PMI hit 59.0. Analysts polled by Briefing.com thought the services PMI would come in at 57.8, the factory PMI at 57.0. Word also came last week from the Commerce Department that factory orders were up 10.5% in July.2       GOLD & OIL BEAT RETREATS NYMEX crude dropped 2.7% last week, losing 1.3% Friday alone to settle at $93.32 a barrel; it didn’t do as badly as natural gas, which sank 6.9% last week. COMEX gold ended the week at $1,267.20 an ounce, representing a 4-day loss of 1.6%. Silver closed Friday at $19.17 an ounce, also falling 1.6% for the trading week.3    STOCKS POST SMALL GAINS IN A SHORT WEEK Rising another 0.22% across four days, the S&P 500 settled at 2,007.71 Friday. The NASDAQ and Dow also pushed higher: the former gained 0.55% in the abbreviated market week to close at 4,582.90 and the latter went north 0.34% to end the week at 17,137.36.4    THIS WEEK: Monday brings quarterly results from Campbell Soup and Casey’s General Stores. All eyes will be on Apple Tuesday, as it will likely unveil the iPhone 6 at its 9.9.14 media event; Wall Street will also consider earnings from Krispy Kreme, Barnes & Noble, Burlington Stores and Comverse. Wednesday marks the release of the July wholesale inventories report and earnings from Men’s Wearhouse and Restoration Hardware. On Thursday, China releases its August inflation data, a new initial claims report comes out, and Lululemon Athletica and Kroger announce earnings. Friday sees the release of the University of Michigan’s preliminary September consumer sentiment index plus the August retail sales numbers and the July business inventories report from the Commerce Department.    % CHANGE Y-T-D 1-YR CHG 5-YR AVG 10-YR AVG DJIA +3.38 +14.73 +16.30 +6.57 NASDAQ +9.73 +25.26 +25.40 +14.66 S&P 500 +8.62 +21.31 +19.51 +7.91 REAL YIELD 9/5 RATE 1 YR AGO 5 YRS AGO 10 YRS AGO 10 YR TIPS 0.31% 0.92% 1.70% 1.86%   Sources: online.wsj.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov - 9/5/145,6,7,8 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 - marketwatch.com/story/hiring-slows-as-us-adds-142000-jobs-in-august-2014-09-05 [9/5/14] 2 - briefing.com/investor/calendars/economic/2014/09/01-05 [9/5/14] 3 - livetradingnews.com/gold-silver-crude-oil-nat-gas-week-69596.htm [9/5/14] 4 - markets.on.nytimes.com/research/markets/usmarkets/usmarkets.asp [9/5/14] 5 - markets.wsj.com/us [9/5/14] 6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=9%2F5%2F13&x=0&y=0 [9/5/14] 6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=9%2F5%2F13&x=0&y=0 [9/5/14] 6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=9%2F5%2F13&x=0&y=0 [9/5/14] 6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=9%2F4%2F09&x=0&y=0 [9/5/14] 6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=9%2F4%2F09&x=0&y=0 [9/5/14] 6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=9%2F4%2F09&x=0&y=0 [9/5/14] 6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=9%2F7%2F04&x=0&y=0 [9/5/14] 6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=9%2F7%2F04&x=0&y=0 [9/5/14] 6 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=9%2F7%2F04&x=0&y=0 [9/5/14] 7 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyield [9/5/14] 8 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyieldAll [9/5/14]