Economic Update for the week of April 18th, 2017

WEEKLY ECONOMIC UPDATE
WEEKLY QUOTE               “If you would be wealthy, think of saving as well as getting.”      - Ben Franklin           WEEKLY TIP               Public school employees and state and local government employees may participate in both a 457(b) plan and a 403(b) plan if their employer offers both plans.            WEEKLY RIDDLE             Rick was born on December 4th, yet he claims his birthday always occurs in the summer. How is this possible?     Last week’s riddle: I was born as a rock, being molded to great degree. I dance around a fiery neighbor, who does not dance with me. Instead, it provides my people with some long-lasting energy. What am I?       Last week’s answer: The earth.	April 18, 2017    PRICES DECLINE IN MARCH In March, the Consumer Price Index retreated for the first time in 13 months. Its 0.3% dip left annualized consumer inflation at a moderate 2.4%. Fuels, autos, and groceries have all become less expensive recently, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Core consumer prices were up 2.0% in the year ending in March. The Producer Price Index fell just 0.1% in March, with the yearly PPI gain left at 2.3%.1,2        RETAIL SALES FALL March’s 0.2% decrease followed a 0.3% pullback in February. The silver lining? Minus gas and vehicle sales, retail sales were up 0.1% last month. Core retail sales were flat for March.2   AN IMPROVEMENT FOR CONSUMER SENTIMENT Rising to an initial April reading of 98.0, the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index improved 2.1 points from its final March level. The index’s current conditions component increased 2.0 points to an outstandingly high 115.2.2    A VOLATILE WEEK FOR STOCKS Selling outweighed buying during this past, abbreviated market week. Across four trading days, the S&P 500 fell 1.12% as U.S. investors considered both corporate earnings and global tensions. The Nasdaq Composite’s weekly losses were slightly deeper at 1.21%; the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined only 0.97%. Friday’s settlements: Dow, 20,453.25; Nasdaq, 5,805.15; S&P, 2,328.95.3,4   THIS WEEK: Earnings from Celanese, DISH Network, J.B. Hunt, and Netflix appear Monday. Tuesday, investors review earnings from Bank of America, Charles Schwab, Citrix, Goldman Sachs, Harley-Davidson, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Kinder Morgan, UnitedHealth, W.W. Grainger, and Yahoo!, along with data on March housing starts, building permits, and industrial output; also, Facebook’s F8 conference begins. Earnings announcements from Abbott Labs, American Express, BlackRock, CSX, eBay, Kaiser Aluminum, Morgan Stanley, Qualcomm, TD Ameritrade, and U.S. Bancorp emerge Wednesday, plus a new Federal Reserve Beige Book. On Thursday, the earnings parade includes Alliance Data, American Airlines, BB&T, BONY Mellon, Briggs & Stratton, D.R. Horton, E*TRADE, GATX, Imax, KeyCorp, Mattel, Nucor, PPG, Philip Morris, Sherwin-Williams, Snap-On, Travelers Companies, Unilever, Verizon, and Visa. March existing home sales figures are out Friday, along with earnings from General Electric, Honeywell International, Rockwell Collins, Schlumberger, Stanley Black & Decker, and SunTrust Banks.   % CHANGE Y-T-D 1-YR CHG 5-YR AVG 10-YR AVG DJIA +3.49 +14.10 +11.83 +6.22 NASDAQ +7.84 +17.37 +18.56 +13.30 S&P 500 +4.03 +11.82 +13.99 +6.03 REAL YIELD 4/14 RATE 1 YR AGO 5 YRS AGO 10 YRS AGO 10 YR TIPS 0.32% 0.24% -0.25% 2.31%   Sources: wsj.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov - 4/14/174,5,6,7 Indices are unmanaged, do not incur fees or expenses, and cannot be invested into directly. These returns do not include dividends. 10-year TIPS real yield = projected return at maturity given expected inflation.
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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. The information herein has been derived from sources believed to be accurate. Please note - investing involves risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investments will fluctuate and when redeemed may be worth more or less than when originally invested. 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 market indices discussed are unmanaged and are not illustrative of any particular investment. Indices do not incur management fees, costs and expenses, and cannot be invested into directly. All economic and performance data is historical and not indicative of future results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted index of 30 actively traded blue-chip stocks. The NASDAQ Composite Index is a 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 a market-cap weighted index composed of the common stocks of 500 leading companies in leading industries of the U.S. economy. 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. MarketingPro, Inc. is not affiliated with any person or firm that may be providing this information to you. 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/inflation-falls-for-first-time-in-13-months-cpi-shows-2017-04-14 [4/14/17] 2 - investing.com/economic-calendar [4/14/17] 3 - google.com/finance?q=INDEXDJX%3A.DJI&ei=4PbwWNn_O8-w2AbUyJ7ICQ [4/14/17] 4 - markets.wsj.com/us [4/14/17] 5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=4%2F14%2F16&x=0&y=0 [4/14/17] 5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=4%2F14%2F16&x=0&y=0 [4/14/17] 5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=4%2F14%2F16&x=0&y=0 [4/14/17] 5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=4%2F13%2F12&x=0&y=0 [4/14/17] 5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=4%2F13%2F12&x=0&y=0 [4/14/17] 5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=4%2F13%2F12&x=0&y=0 [4/14/17] 5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=4%2F13%2F07&x=0&y=0 [4/14/17] 5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=4%2F13%2F07&x=0&y=0 [4/14/17] 5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=4%2F13%2F07&x=0&y=0 [4/14/17] 6 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyield [4/14/17] 7 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyieldAll [4/14/17]