Economic Update for the week of April 25th, 2018

WEEKLY ECONOMIC UPDATE
WEEKLY QUOTE                “Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.”        - William Faulkner            WEEKLY TIP               If you are a single parent, prioritize saving for retirement over paying college tuition. Helping your child with college costs is great, but not if it places your retirement at risk.       WEEKLY RIDDLE              It is clear, yet it muddies things. It arrives, but it falls down and quickly runs away. What is it?     Last week’s riddle: The oldest of two sisters is 4 years old. The little sister is half her age. When the big sister is 100, how old will the little sister be?       Last week’s answer: 98 years old.	April 25, 2018     CONSUMERS BOUGHT MORE IN MARCH According to a report from the Department of Commerce, retail sales jumped 0.6% last month. That was the biggest monthly gain recorded since November (and the first monthly advance of 2018). Sales of cars and trucks were up 2.0%, making March the best month for that category since September.1    CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY INCREASES New Census Bureau data shows housing starts improved 1.9% in March; also, building permits rose 2.5%. In February, permits fell 4.1% and starts declined 3.3%.2      INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT RISES 0.5% This March gain reported by the Federal Reserve followed a (revised) 1.0% advance for February. Industrial production was up 4.3% year-over-year through March.2     GAINS ON WALL STREET All three key U.S. equity indices advanced last week: the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.56%; the S&P 500, 0.52%; the Dow Industrials, 0.42%. Friday’s settlements: Nasdaq, 7146.13; S&P, 2,670.14; Dow, 24,462.94. The yield on the 10-year note hit 2.96% Friday, a high unmatched since January 2014.3,4       THIS WEEK: Alaska Air, Alphabet, Ameriprise Financial, Halliburton, Hasbro, Kimberly-Clark, TD Ameritrade, and Whirlpool announce earnings on Monday, when investors will also eye the latest existing home sales numbers. March new home sales figures and a new Conference Board consumer confidence index are out Tuesday, plus earnings news from 3M, Biogen, Capital One, Caterpillar, Chubb, Coca-Cola, Corning, Eli Lilly, Fifth Third, Freeport-McMoRan, JetBlue, Lockheed Martin, NextEra Energy, Pulte Group, Ryder, Texas Instruments, Travelers, and Verizon. On Wednesday, Aflac, Anthem, AT&T, Boeing, Chipotle, Comcast, eBay, Facebook, Ford Motor Co., Goodyear, Ingersoll-Rand, Kaiser Aluminum, Norfolk Southern, Northrop Grumman, Owens Corning, PayPal, Peabody Energy, Penske, Public Storage, Qualcomm, Raymond James, Rockwell Automation, Twitter, Universal Health Services, Viacom, Visa, and W.R. Grace report results. Thursday, earnings emerge from Ally, Altria, Amazon, Amgen, Bristol-Myers, ConocoPhillips, D.R. Horton, Discover, Domino’s, Dunkin’ Brands, Expedia, Fiat Chrysler, General Motors, Hilton Worldwide, Intel, MGM Resorts, Microsoft, Nokia, PepsiCo, Raytheon, Royal Dutch Shell, SkyWest, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Starbucks, Time Warner, Union Pacific, and Western Digital. Friday, earnings from Chevron, Colgate-Palmolive, ExxonMobil, Honda, Philips 66, Spectrum, and Weyerhaeuser coincide with the University of Michigan’s final April consumer sentiment index and the first estimate of Q1 GDP.    % CHANGE Y-T-D 1-YR CHG 5-YR AVG 10-YR AVG DJIA -1.04 +18.87 +13.63 +9.07 NASDAQ +3.52 +20.78 +24.58 +19.68 S&P 500 -0.13 +13.34 +14.34 +9.23 REAL YIELD 4/20 RATE 1 YR AGO 5 YRS AGO 10 YRS AGO 10 YR TIPS 0.79% 0.39% -0.59% 1.44%   Sources: wsj.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov - 4/20/183,5,6,7 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 - tinyurl.com/y6u52yj4 [4/16/18] 2 - investing.com/economic-calendar/ [4/17/18] 3 - markets.wsj.com/us [4/20/18] 4 - marketwatch.com/story/treasurys-continue-to-sell-off-as-10-year-yield-hits-more-than-four-year-high-2018-04-20 [4/20/18] 5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=4%2F20%2F17&x=0&y=0 [4/20/18] 5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=4%2F20%2F17&x=0&y=0 [4/20/18] 5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=4%2F20%2F17&x=0&y=0 [4/20/18] 5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=4%2F19%2F13&x=0&y=0 [4/20/18] 5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=4%2F19%2F13&x=0&y=0 [4/20/18] 5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=4%2F19%2F13&x=0&y=0 [4/20/18] 5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=4%2F21%2F08&x=0&y=0 [4/20/18] 5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=4%2F21%2F08&x=0&y=0 [4/20/18] 5 - bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=4%2F21%2F08&x=0&y=0 [4/20/18] 6 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyield [4/20/18] 7 - treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyieldAll [4/20/18]