EXISTING HOME SALES UP, NEW HOME SALES DOWN
According to the National Association of Realtors, residential resales increased 3.2% in June with the median home value hitting an all-time peak of $236,400, 6.5% higher than a year ago. New home buying subsided 6.8% last month with the median sales price at $281,800, representing a 1.8% year-over-year decline. Even so, the pace of new home sales improved 21.2% across the first six months of 2015.1
LEADING INDICATOR INDEX RISES 0.6%
This June advance for the Conference Board’s LEI followed its 0.8% May gain; the LEI has risen at least 0.6% for the past three months. Six of its 10 indicators improved in June; only one declined.2
TRYING WEEK FOR STOCKS, GOLD & OIL
Earnings letdowns sent the Dow down 2.86% last week, the Nasdaq down 2.33%, and the S&P 500 down 2.21%. Friday, the Dow settled at 17,568.53, the Nasdaq at 5,088.63, and the S&P at 2,079.65. Gold closed Friday at its lowest level since early June: $1,085.50. Futures fell 2.3% for the week on the COMEX. West Texas Intermediate crude prices slipped 5.4% in five days to a Friday close of $48.14.3,4
THIS WEEK: Earnings from Baidu, Norfolk Southern, Norwegian Cruise Line, Plantronics, Rent-A-Center, The Hartford, and Wynn Resorts arrive Monday plus a report on June durables. Tuesday, the Conference Board’s July consumer confidence index and May’s Case-Shiller home price index complement earnings from Airgas, Akamai, Aflac, Ally Financial, Anadarko Petroleum, Buffalo Wild Wings, Cummins, D.R. Horton, Express Scripts, Ford Motor Co., Ingersoll-Rand, JetBlue, Merck, Panera, Pfizer, Twitter, UPS, U.S. Steel, Sirius XM, and Yelp. Wednesday, the Federal Reserve issues its latest policy statement, NAR provides its June pending home sales index, and earnings appear from Altria, Anthem, BlackRock, Callaway, CBRE, Garmin, Choice Hotels, Constellation Software, DIRECTV, Exelon, Facebook, General Dynamics, Goodyear, HealthSouth, Hilton, Humana, LifeLock, Marriott, MasterCard, MetLife, Noble Corp., Northrop Grumman, NutriSystem, O’Reilly, PG&E, Public Storage, Revlon, and Whole Foods. New initial claims numbers arrive Thursday plus the first estimate of Q1 GDP and earnings from Amgen, Avon, Cigna, Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, ConocoPhillips, Diebold, Edison, Electronic Arts, Expedia, Fiat Chrysler, LinkedIn, Monster, Occidental Petroleum, Pitney Bowes, Procter & Gamble, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, T-Mobile, Time Warner Cable, Universal Health, Valero, Fluor, Ingram Micro, and Virgin America. Friday, July’s final University of Michigan consumer index appears, plus earnings from Chevron, ExxonMobil, Royal Caribbean, Seagate, Tyco, and Weyerhaeuser.
% CHANGE Y-T-D 1-YR CHG 5-YR AVG 10-YR AVG
DJIA -1.43 +2.84 +13.71 +6.58
NASDAQ +7.44 +13.79 +24.84 +13.49
S&P 500 +1.01 +4.61 +17.72 +6.92
REAL YIELD 7/24 RATE 1 YR AGO 5 YRS AGO 10 YRS AGO
10 YR TIPS 0.51% 0.25% 1.24% 1.94%
Sources: wsj.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov – 7/24/155,6,7,8
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.
WEEKLY QUOTE
“The highest result of education is tolerance.”
– Helen Keller
WEEKLY TIP
If your company matches your retirement plan contribution, put enough into your account each pay period to earn the match. If you do, your account value may still rise nicely even when markets retreat.
WEEKLY RIDDLE
They are captured by mud and snow, left behind but never taken, and rarely seen in isolation. What are they?
Last week’s riddle:
Live without it and you will not prevail, but if you have too much of it, you will surely fail. What is it?
Last week’s answer:
Confidence.
Citations.
1 – cbsnews.com/news/new-home-sales-hit-june-slump/ [7/24/15]
2 – usnews.com/news/business/articles/2015/07/23/gauge-of-future-health-of-economy-up-06-percent-in-june [7/23/15]
3 – markets.on.nytimes.com/research/markets/usmarkets/usmarkets.asp [7/24/15]
4 – proactiveinvestors.com/companies/news/62576/gold-declines-08-to-1085ounce-wti-sheds-06-to-4814barrel-62576.html [7/24/15]
5 – markets.wsj.com/us [7/24/15]
6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=7%2F24%2F14&x=0&y=0 [7/24/15]
6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=7%2F24%2F14&x=0&y=0 [7/24/15]
6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=7%2F24%2F14&x=0&y=0 [7/24/15]
6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=7%2F23%2F10&x=0&y=0 [7/24/15]
6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=7%2F23%2F10&x=0&y=0 [7/24/15]
6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=7%2F23%2F10&x=0&y=0 [7/24/15]
6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=7%2F25%2F05&x=0&y=0 [7/24/15]
6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=7%2F25%2F05&x=0&y=0 [7/24/15]
6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=7%2F25%2F05&x=0&y=0 [7/24/15]
7 – treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyield [7/24/15]
8 – treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyieldAll [7/24/15]
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. 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. All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however we make no representation as to its completeness or accuracy. 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. This material was prepared by MarketingLibrary.Net Inc., for Mark Lund, Mark is known as The 401k Advisor, Investor Coach, The Financial Advisor, The Financial Planner and author of The Effective Investor. Mark offers investment advisory services through Stonecreek Wealth Advisors, Inc. an independent, fee-only, Registered Investment Advisor firm providing 401k consulting for small businesses and financial Advisor services for professional athletes and individuals. Stonecreek is located in Salt Lake City, Murray, West Jordan, Sandy, Draper, South Jordan, Provo, Orem, Lehi, Highland, Alpine, and American Fork in Utah.
